Dr. John T. Bryans spent more than 35
years exploring the causes, pathogenesis, epidemiology and
immunology of various equine infectious diseases. For 13
of those years, Dr. Bryans worked with Dr. E. Roger Doll
(also a Hall of Fame inductee) and together they discovered
the virus causing equine viral arteritis and equine viral
abortion and developed vaccines for them. Dr. Bryans also
developed vaccines for salmonellosis and strangles, and a
blood test to detect contagious equine metritis.
Dr. Bryans was born in Paterson, New
Jersey, and received his B.S. degree from Florida Southern
College, his M.S. degree in microbiology at the University
of Kentucky, and his Ph.D. degree in microbiology in 1954
from Cornell University. He began his career at the University
of Kentucky in 1954 as a virologist at the UK Agricultural
Experiment Station. He became a professor of veterinary
science in 1960, and was named chairman of the Department
of Veterinary Science in 1973. In 1987, he was named a
Distinguished Alumni Professor.
Because of the nature of infectious diseases, Dr. Bryans
often stepped outside the laboratory and encouraged the
international exchange of information on them. He was the
principal organizer of the first four International Conferences
on Equine Infectious Diseases (the first was held in Stresa,
Italy, in 1966) and the author of more than 100 articles,
as well as a significant contributor to eight books.
Dr. Bryans was a member of Phi Kappa
Phi, Sigma Xi, the American Society for Microbiology, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology,
the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Conference
of Research Workers in Animal Diseases in North America.
He was often consulted by numerous laboratories around the
world as well as the Veterinary Biologics Division of the
U.S.D.A., and worked with such groups as racing and breeders’
associations in France, Italy, Ireland, Japan and the United
States. Dr. Bryans obtained five U.S. and foreign patents
and won several honors, including an honorary doctor of veterinary
medicine degree from the University of Berne, Switzerland,
and was elected to the Academy of Veterinary Science at the
University of Barcelona. |
The
Equine Research Hall of Fame — John T. Bryans
