Jim Lowe - Online Programs and Extension

DVM, MS, DABVP (FOOD ANIMAL)
Associate Dean of Online Programs and Extension
Professor, Veterinary Clinical Medicine

While creating knowledge is critical, making that knowledge useful is the foundation of Dr. Lowe’s veterinary career.

Dr. Lowe, a 1994 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, is an educator, advisor, researcher, and farmer based in Illinois. His passion for helping people lead better lives by improving food production systems has led him around the world, from private practice to academia in his quest to understand food systems and share that knowledge with those that will benefit. As a life-long learner he completed the Executive Veterinary Program in 2000 and a Master of Science degree in infectious disease management in 2004 from the University of Illinois and became board certified in Food Animal Practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2004.

Currently Dr. Lowe is a Professor and Associate Dean of Online Programs and Extension. This office offers online veterinary education in our College. He maintains a consulting practice as a member of a consulting group that has advisory relationships with 25% of the beef cattle marketed in the US, 8 of the top 30 swine producers in North America, pork and beef producers in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia, packer-processors, food retailers, restaurant chains and all of the major multi-national animal health suppliers.

His scholarly efforts focus on developing system-based approaches to problems effecting animal and human health. He has active collaborations with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital investigating factors driving influenza A evolution and relationships with multiple commercial organizations to apply novel technologies to improve veterinarian and caregiver decision making. His lab is working on measuring factors that influence pathogen transmission within and between herds and how management systems influence host response to disease.

Since joining the faculty at the University of Illinois, Dr. Lowe has used his passion for educating others to assist in the development and implementation of high impact educational programs. He is the co-coordinator of the Executive Veterinary Program (EVP) in Swine Health Management which over the last 25 years has 255 alumni including 18 Presidents, 15 Practitioners of the Year and 50% of the Young Veterinarian of the Year award winners of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. The most recent class of 40 veterinarians represents 40% of the pigs produced in the US, all of the major genetic suppliers and all of the major animal health companies. He is also the co-developer and coordinator of both the Executive Pork Producers Program and the EVP program in Beef Health Management. In addition, he was the co-developer of a Massive Open Online Course entitled Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management which had over 9000 participants in its first offering, 35% of which were from developing nations.

He has served on the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Board of Directors, was the recipient of the 2007 Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award and presented the 2010 Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture. He resides in Illinois with his wife who is also a veterinarian. In his free time, he enjoys a good game of golf and taking Reba, his Brittany spaniel, to the field hunting.