Faculty

In memory of Edward Hoover, D.V.M., Ph.D. (1942-2023), University Distinguished Professor

Edward “Ed” A. Hoover was a preeminent figure in the field of veterinary virology and prion research, as well as an outstanding educator and mentor. He is best known for his development of one of the first FeLV vaccines, which has protected millions of cats worldwide against the leukemia-causing retrovirus and is an example of a successful retroviral vaccine. He was also part of the research group that discovered the transmission method of chronic wasting disease in deer populations. Throughout his prolific career, he conducted studies that interrogated the relationship between exposure to pathogens and disease outcome, with goals of understanding the basis of viral and prion disease pathogenesis and developing vaccine and other therapeutic modalities for some of the most virulent diseases of humans and animals. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2014 and the National Academy of Inventors in 2016. Over his lifetime, he accrued more than $50 million in extramural funding for his laboratory’s work and published more than 280 papers. Missed most by his friends and colleagues— twisty, turny, conversations that traversed science, nature, the absurdity of life, nascent ideas leading to big discoveries… all while pondering the wonder of their connectivity. Read his full National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir.