The Equine Research Hall of Fame — Travis C. McGuire, Jr.

Dr. Travis C. McGuire, Jr. has dedicated a long and distinguished career to the study of immunology of domestic animals, specifically on characterizing and defining the equine immune system, leading the way to the control of various infectious diseases of horses.

Inducted October 2005.

Dr. McGuire was born in 1941 in Wellington, Texas.  He received his B.S. and D.V.M. with Honors at Texas A & M University before moving to Washington State University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1968.  Dr. McGuire, joined the faculty in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at Washington State University in 1978.  Since then he has been a visiting scientist at the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya, and served as Director of Medical and Veterinary Biotechnology, Washington Technology Center, for the State of Washington.

Characterization of equine immunoglobulins and preparation of reference antisera against them was the cornerstone of Dr. McGuire’s research.  The reagents he developed resulted in discovery of severe combined immunodeficiency in Arabian horses, a previously unrecognized disease and facilitated research on many other animal diseases.  His study of this disease provided him with background into the immunologic control of infectious diseases, and led to important discoveries on the equine immune response, equine infectious anemia, and equine babesiosis.  His research into the failure of passive transfer in foals and the development of strategies to minimize such failures positively impacted the survival rate of neonatal foals.  Dr. McGuire’s current research interest is to obtain a greater understanding of the major histocompatibility complex and its association with the equine immune response; this will greatly assist in the design of effective equine vaccines. 

Dr. McGuire has received various awards for his scientific achievements, including the Beecham Award for Research Excellence and two Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Awards.  He has served on the Review Committee for Research in Veterinary Sciences for the universities of Bern and Zurich and the editorial advisory boards of several scientific journals.  Training future researchers in equine immunology is of utmost importance to Dr. McGuire, as evidenced by his participation in training programs and fellowships from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Washington’s postdoctoral training program.  He has published well over 300 research articles in his highly distinguished career and holds nine patents in partnership with other scientists.