John Ellis

About the Author

Dr. John Ellis received his DVM from the University of Illinois, in 1979, and a subsequent Ph.D. in comparative pathology from Colorado State University, in 1984. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and the American College of Veterinary Microbiology (ACVM;Immunology, Virology). After graduation from veterinary school, he worked as a staff veterinarian and instructor in animal science at the Navajo Community College in Arizona, and a Research Associate in Peru for the US Agency for International Development. He was a postdoctoral fellow and subsequently visiting Scientist at the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Disease in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on bovine cellular immunology. Additionally, Dr. Ellis was previously a diagnostic pathologist and on the faculty of the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Wyoming.

Since 1992, Dr. Ellis has been in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, where he teaches virology and immunology. Dr. Ellis is extensively published, having written or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, and was the number 2 most cited author in the veterinary literature from 1995-2005. He has also authored textbook chapters, and numerous papers and lectures published in conference proceedings. Dr. Ellis has given over 300 invited lectures in various scientific professional forums. He has conducted primary research on a variety of infectious diseases ranging from lentiviral infections in sheep to circovirus infections in pigs to CIRD in dogs to BRD in cattle. One of his primary research interests has been the development and efficacy testing of intranasal and parenteral vaccines for respiratory infections, including Bordetella bronchiseptica in dogs and bovine respiratory syncytial virus in calves. He was recognized as the Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist for 2024 by the ACVM.