Frank William Pierson, MS, DVM, PhD, Diplomate, ACPV
Dr. Bill Pierson is Professor Emeritus of Biosecurity and Infection Control and Avian Medicine with the Department of Population Health Sciences in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Pierson earned his DVM in the 1984 charter class of the College and his PhD in avian medicine and infectious diseases in 1993. He is board certified as a diplomate by the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.
Dr. Pierson's research, teaching, and mentoring interests lie in the areas of infectious disease, immunology, biosecurity, and the development of animal models for human disease. Primary research interests include chickens as a model for hepatitis E, hemorrhagic enteritis virus in turkeys, and mycobacteriosis.
Current projects include the molecular characterization of various pathotypes of hemorrhagic enteritis virus (Siadenoviridae), the effect of stress and vitamin C on the response to hemorrhagic enteritis virus vaccination, the development of autogenous mycobacterial vaccines, the effectiveness of waterless hand sanitizers in the prevention of nosocomial/zoonotic infections in veterinary settings, the pathophysiology and epidemiology of Ornithobacterium rhinotrachealaein turkeys and hepatitis E virus in chickens, and the use of chickens as an experimental model for the study of hepatitis E in humans.