Kansas State University

Two internationally-recognized scientists — including the university's first National Academies member — accept appointments in veterinary medicine

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

Renowned researchers Jim E. Riviere and Nancy Monteiro-Riviere will be joining the Kansas State University faculty in August, he as McDonald Chair of Veterinary Medicine and she as Regents Distinguished Research Scholar. Both will be university distinguished professors in the department of anatomy and physiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

"These two prominent scientists have been recognized by their peers for their innovative and important research — he in pharmacology and she in toxicology," said President Kirk Schulz. "Jim is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and serves on its Food and Nutrition Board. Nancy is a fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.

"We anticipate that both these outstanding individuals will play an important role in helping Kansas State reach our goal of being a top 50 public research university by 2025," Schulz said. "To reach this goal it is vital that we increase the number of National Academies members among our faculty. Jim is the first at K-State."

Currently, both are faculty members in the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

"Jim and Nancy will help move forward some of the goals of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the university and the state of Kansas," said Ron Trewyn, vice president for research. "Their hiring not only moves the university closer to the goals of K-State 2025, but also supports Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's goal to grow the Kansas animal health industry and to move the veterinary college to a top five national ranking." Trewyn said Gov. Brownback helped recruit the couple.

"Adding these two leading scientists enhances K-State’s already strong reputation in animal health research," said Gov. Sam Brownback. "Kansas State University and the College of Veterinary Medicine have unlimited potential for growth. I’m delighted the Rivieres are moving to Kansas to help the veterinary school become one of the U.S. News most highly ranked veterinary schools in the nation, and to further enhance the university's contributions to economic development."

At North Carolina State, Riviere is the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and the director of the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics. His work looks at risk assessment of chemical mixtures, absorption of drugs and chemicals across skin, and the food safety and pharmacokinetics of tissue residues in food producing animals.

Monteiro-Riviere is a professor of investigative dermatology and toxicology in the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics in the department of clinical sciences at North Carolina State. She is also a faculty member in the joint North Carolina State University/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill biomedical engineering program. And she is a research adjunct professor in the department of dermatology in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work examines absorption of chemicals and nanomaterials through skin. A component of this research has become increasingly important in recent years in helping the U.S. military develop antidotes and treatments for soldiers exposed to chemical warfare agents.

"With the hiring of Nancy and Jim, we are advancing the college's goal of attracting and retaining top faculty who will invigorate research efforts, resulting in more research-based developments in animal and human health," said Ralph Richardson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Riviere holds six patents, has authored/edited 10 books and 490 scholarly publications in pharmacokinetics, toxicology and food safety, and received more than $19 million as principal investigator on extramural research grants. Monteiro-Riviere holds two patents, has authored two books and 268 publications, manuscripts and book chapters in the fields of skin toxicology, nanotechnology and nanomaterials. She has received more than $13 million in extramural research support as principal investigator from various government and private sources. Both have mentored dozens of award-winning graduate students.

He is a fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Zeta and Sigma Xi and has served on the Science Board of the Food and Drug Administration. He currently is chair of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Strengthening Core Elements of Regulatory Systems in Developing Countries. Among his honors are the 1991 Ebert Prize from the American Pharmaceutical Association, the Harvey W. Wiley Medal and FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Association of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Riviere is editor of the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and co-founder and co-director of the USDA Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank, or FARAD, program. His current research interests relate to the development of animal models; applying biomathematics to problems in toxicology, including the risk assessment of chemical mixtures, pharmacokinetics, absorption of drugs and chemicals across skin; and the food safety and pharmacokinetics of tissue residues in food-producing animals. He has served as Director of North Carolina State University’s Graduate Program in Biomathematics.

Monteiro-Riviere was recently elected to the board of directors of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, of which she is an elected fellow. She is a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Zeta honor societies. She received the inaugural Purdue University Distinguished Women Scholars Award in 2011.

She served on the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods, on the International Council on Nanotechnology, as well as a NATO workshop on nanomaterial risk assessment. She was selected to participate in the National Academy of Sciences Keck Future’s Initiative Workshop on Nanoscience and the National Research Council’s committee reviewing the federal strategy on environmental health and safety research needs of engineered nanoscale materials. She serves on numerous editorial boards for journals in the fields of toxicology, nanotoxicology, nanomedicine and transdermal drug delivery.

She is frequently invited as the leading speaker at professional meetings and has presented 127 keynote speeches to colleagues around the world on nanotoxicology, transdermal drug delivery and related topics. She has offered several national and international workshops and continuing education courses on nanotoxicology.

Monteiro-Riviere earned her bachelor's degree in biology cum laude from Stonehill College, North Easton, Mass., and her master's and doctorate in anatomy and cell biology from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. She completed two years of postdoctoral work at the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology Centers for Health Research (now Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences), Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Riviere earned his bachelor's degree in biology summa cum laude and a master's degree in endocrinology with distinction from Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass. He earned a DVM and a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Purdue University. He was awarded an honorary D.Sc. from Purdue in 2007.

Married in 1976, the couple have three adult children.