Distinguished Research Alumnus
Established in 2010, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Research Alumni Award honors alumni with advanced degrees from CVM who have brought distinction to their research and profession. Recipients span a diverse range of academic disciplines and career paths: all are leaders who make an impact and whose achievements bring honor to the college. Please join us in congratulating our 2023 awardee, Dr. Scott Dee.
Dr. Scott Dee, DVM, MS, PhD, ACVM
Director of Applied Research, Pipestone System/Pipestone Veterinary Services, Dr. Scott Dee is a three-time alumnus of the CVM, having received his DVM (1987), MS (1985), and PhD (1996) from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. He is board certified in Veterinary Microbiology. Quantity in his productivity (160+ publications), quality and impact of the work (recognized by lead articles in journals, cover stories, and awards ), and innovativeness in the approach are all characteristics of Dr. Scott Dee’s research career. As evidenced by examining his research portfolio (Scott Dee Biographical Sketch), he has been consistently productive in research on infectious disease control and transmission. Most importantly his research scholarship, both as a faculty member and as a practitioner, has changed how people in the swine industry manage health and disease. As stated by Dr. Dee in a recent self-written reflection of his career Scott Dee Announces Retirement; Reflects on Top 10 Lessons Learned | Pork Business his primary goal has been “to create new knowledge to help swine veterinarians and pork producers protect their swine herds from infectious disease challenges, such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) and African swine fever (ASF)”.
There is no question that Scott has created new knowledge - knowledge that has translated to changes in how swine production is practiced. He has dramatically advanced the practice of biosecurity on the farm level. His work along with that of others has changed how feed is considered as a source of infectious agent spread, how trucks could be a source of infection to a farm, how farms need to protect from airborne disease introduction and how producers and veterinarians must work together to achieve comprehensive disease control — to name just a few.
Scott joined Pipestone Veterinary Services in Pipestone in July of 2011. Before joining the clinic, Dr. Dee was a swine practitioner in Morris, Minnesota for 12 years and for the last 12 years a professor at the University of Minnesota, where he conducted research in the areas of PRRSV transmission and biosecurity.
Currently, he serves as Director of Pipestone Applied Research focusing on areas such as viral transport and transmission in feed, feed biosecurity, and antimicrobial resistance at the level of the swine farm.
From Drs. Tom Molitor, Jerry Torrison, Montse Torremorell, Andres Perez, Maxim Cheeran, and Maria Pieters's nomination letter:
"Dr. Scott Dee has had a highly distinguished career in applied research investigating problems addressing swine infectious diseases and disease control. Scott Dee developed innovative approaches to solving infectious disease problems. His findings have been impactful, altering and improving production practices and thinking. There is no question of his alumni status; it is three-fold. He is most deserving of the Research alumni award. We can think of no better candidate for the 2023 award. Thank you for considering his nomination. All of us strongly support the nomination."