Dr. Kelly Meiklejohn, associate professor, and Dr. Yogesh Saini, professor, both of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, have been named University Faculty Scholars for 2025.
The faculty scholars program, launched in 2012, recognizes outstanding academic achievements and teaching, service and scholarship contributions. Honorees carry the title through their NC State employment. Scholars are nominated by individual colleges, and these nominations are further reviewed by senior faculty.
“I am so delighted to see Dr. Meiklejohn and Dr. Saini recognized by the university in this way,” says Dr. Kate Meurs, the Randall B. Terry Jr. dean of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. “The NC State Faculty Scholars program is an extremely competitive program, and only a small number of faculty from the whole university are recognized annually. Both of these individuals are outstanding researchers and educators and, importantly, are wonderful members of the NC State community.”
Dr. Meiklejohn joined NC State in 2018 as part of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program Cluster hire in Forensics. Meiklejohn, who has a Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of Wollongong, Australia, previously served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit of the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
“I am honored to have been named a University Faculty Scholar,” Meiklejohn says. “I am grateful for the support from my staff, students, department and college. It is fantastic that the university has a mechanism to acknowledge the hard work faculty across the university put into research and teaching.”
Dr. Saini, a lung and liver immunotoxicologist who joined NC State in 2023, received his DVM and his MVSc from the College of Veterinary Sciences in Palampur, India. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining NC State, Dr. Saini was a faculty member at the School of Veterinary Medicine- Louisiana State University.
“I am truly honored to have been selected as a University Faculty Scholar,” Dr. Saini says. “It’s a privilege to be part of NC State University, a remarkable institution that fosters a vibrant culture of collaboration and offers exceptional research infrastructure. I am deeply grateful to my incredible colleagues and the university leadership for recognizing the work of my research team. This support is not only motivating but also inspiring, and it further strengthens our commitment to advancing impactful research.”
The two faculty members are prolific researchers. The National Institute of Justice recently awarded Meiklejohn two grants totaling more than $600,000 to support her innovative and crime-fighting work in forensic biology. Saini, who researches the respiratory tract and liver, has four active grants from the National Institutes of Health that are focused on understanding deadly diseases including asthma, COPD and hepatocellular carcinoma.
With her two new grants, Meiklejohn will investigate a new DNA method for determining whether leather items such as belts, shoes and purses have been made illegally with the skin of endangered animals and, in a separate study, whether a different highly sensitive method for quantifying DNA can identify additional evidence samples suitable for DNA processing.
Saini’s lab focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying myeloid cell biology, allergic asthma and toxicant-induced diseases, particularly in the lung and liver. Its goal is to develop novel therapeutic strategies targeting specific cell types involved in lung and liver pathologies. The lab’s interdisciplinary approach combines immunology, toxicology and cutting-edge technologies to advance the understanding of how toxicants and genetic factors contribute to disease progression, with a strong emphasis on translating these findings into therapeutic applications.
“My being recognized as a University Faculty Scholar reflects the supportive environment fostered by our College of Veterinary Medicine leadership,” Saini says. “Dean Meurs, Associate Dean of Research Dr. Joshua Stern and Department Head Dr. Kaori Sakamoto foster the productivity and success of CVM faculty members.”
NC State recognized two College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members as University Scholars last year: Dr. Glenn Cruse, a mast cell biologist in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, and Dr. Gustavo Machado, an infectious disease modeler in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology.
CVM faculty members honored as scholars in previous years include:
- Ben Callahan, associate professor of microbiomes
- Margaret Gruen, associate professor of behavioral medicine
- Santosh Mishra, associate professor of neuroscience
- Mike Nolan, professor of radiation oncology and biology
- Liara Gonzalez, associate professor of gastroenterology and equine surgery
- Cristina Lanzas, professor of infectious disease
- Casey Theriot, professor of infectious disease
- Lauren Schnabel, professor of equine orthopedic surgery
- Troy Ghashghaei, professor of neurobiology
- Jody Gookin, FluoroScience Distinguished Professor in Veterinary Scholars Research Education and professor of internal medicine
- Sid Thakur, professor of molecular epidemiology and the executive director of NC State Global One Health Academy.
