NEW FACES
by Lianne Carr

“I am glad to be back where students realize the value of their professional education,” says Dr. Gary Iwamoto, who has rejoined the college faculty as a professor of veterinary biosciences after a five-year absence.

Dr. Iwamoto was first introduced to veterinary anatomy and neurobiology by his mentor at UC Davis, Dr. Ralph Kitchell. After completing his PhD in physiology at Davis, Dr. Iwamoto accepted a position at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, where he taught human anatomy for 10 years.

“It was always Dr. Kitchell’s wish that I teach veterinary students. When the opportunity to come to Illinois arose, it was better for my own peace of mind,” says Dr. Iwamoto.

In his first ten years at Illinois’s veterinary college, Dr. Iwamoto enjoyed teaching anatomy with colleagues Dr. Louise Abbott and Dr. Gerald Pijanowski, now associate dean of academic and student affairs. Working again with Dr. Pijanowski and department head Dr. David Gross factored in his decision to return to the College. “I felt I’d be among friends,” he says.

Dr. Iwamoto also considers his return “better from a research standpoint” since there are more people studying related issues in the College than anywhere else on the campus. His research focuses on the neural control of cardio-respiratory activity, with special emphasis on exercise physiology. His research lab will be fully moved by the summer.

During his absence, Dr. Iwamoto continued at the university as professor of kinesiology. In addition, Dr. Iwamoto recently served with the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Scientific Review on the Respiratory and Applied Physiology Study Section as a research consultant. The group reviewed grant proposals relating to areas of applied physiology ranging from cardio-respiratory to muscle and thermal regulation among many.

Among the benefits of returning to the college, Dr. Iwamoto stresses that working with veterinary students will be the biggest reward.

“It is important for me to leave a legacy of well-trained veterinary students.”

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It wasn’t until after Dr. Humphrey Hung-Chang Yao arrived in Urbana to pursue graduate studies in reproductive biology through the Department of Animal Sciences that he found that he “had so many connections with the University of Illinois.”

“My undergraduate adviser in Taiwan had been a graduate student of Dr. Gary Jackson (who recently retired from the veterinary college faculty) and another professor in Taiwan was a U of I graduate in physiology,” he says.

Dr. Yao completed a master’s degree in 1997 and a PhD degree in 1999, both at Illinois. His research used the chicken ovary as a model for development of the follicle.

In early 2000, Dr. Yao went to Duke University for post-doctoral studies. While there he worked on the cellular mechanism of gonad development in mice and red-eared slider turtles under environmental and steroidal variation. The project used recombinant gonads from turtles and mice. Dr. Yao says, “I was happy to bring my comparative background to the project.”

Dr. Yao came back to Illinois as a part of the Post Genomic Initiative and is now an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences. While his appointment has a small teaching and service portion, research will continue to dominate his time.

He expects his current work to “cause a paradigm shift in the field.” His research calls into question the long-held belief that the female sex is the default sex and suggests that the ovary must actively inhibit some testicular features. Knockout mouse studies show two molecules that, if absent in the female, lead to testicular vascularization of the ovary.

Away from the college, Dr. Yao keeps freshwater cichlids and seawater reef fish. He also enjoys tennis and basketball. In his spare time, he translates English novels or textbooks into Chinese.