Melissa Dyson Named U-M's Interim Attending Veterinarian/Director of ULAM
In order to provide a seamless transition in leadership, which will be most effective in final preparations leading up to the AAALAC Site Visit in July, Melissa Dyson, DVM, DACLAM, has been named U-M’s Interim Attending Veterinarian/Director of the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM).
Dr. Dyson is currently the Associate Director of ULAM and U-M’s Associate Attending Veterinarian for Training Services. She first joined the University of Michigan in 2005 after completing a residency in Comparative Medicine at the University of Missouri in conjunction with the Research Animal Diagnostic Laboratories. Dr. Dyson received her veterinary degree from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
A critical leadership position within the University and the Animal Care & Use Program, the Attending Veterinarian is responsible for the health and well-being of all laboratory animals used at U-M. As the Director of ULAM, Dr. Dyson will also oversee husbandry, housing, veterinary care, and practices for utilization of animals in research programs campus-wide and at both U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint.
Dr. Dyson will replace Robert C. Dysko, DVM, DACLAM, who has served as the University’s Attending Veterinarian/Director of ULAM since 2012. During his tenure, Dr. Dysko implemented a wide variety of initiatives to strengthen U-M’s Animal Care & Use Program. Under his leadership, the program has:
- Launched the In-Vivo Animal Core and the Refinement & Enrichment Advancements Laboratory
- Refined animal surgery, housing, and enrichment procedures
- Grown ULAM into a team of 200+ that supports over 3,000 researchers across the U-M research enterprise.
Dr. Dyson’s extensive experience with the University's Animal Care & Use Program, coupled with her continued commitment to partnering with the U-M research community to promote the highest animal welfare standards in all aspects of research, testing, and teaching, will prove invaluable as U-M looks toward the AAALAC Site Visit and the future of its Animal Care & Use Program.
The University is conducting a national search for U-M’s new, permanent Attending Veterinarian/Director of ULAM. Questions about the search should be directed to the Search Committee at AVSearchCommittee@umich.edu.