Gilger Recognized With NC State’s Highest Faculty Honor

Dr. Brian Gilger, a professor of ophthalmology at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, has won the highest academic honor that NC State University presents to faculty members: the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence.

Gilger, who has been an NC State veterinary medicine faculty member for 30 years, has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has conducted research in ocular drug delivery, immunology, pharmacology and toxicology.

“I have had a long and successful career here at NC State University, with the success being a direct result of the talented and dedicated students, interns, residents and fellow faculty that I have had the honor to work with,” Gilger says. “If I have any particular talent, it’s the ability to surround myself with these wonderful individuals. I have prided myself on conducting research in ophthalmology that would directly benefit my patients and their caregivers, and I hope I have improved their lives.”

The Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence was named in honor of NC State’s first professor of history and its first president. It recognizes faculty members whose careers have demonstrated outstanding achievement and sustained impact in research, teaching or extension and engagement.  

Honorees receive an engraved medal and framed certificate and will be recognized at NC State’s spring commencement ceremony May 3.

“Dr. Gilger is an outstanding example of a clinical researcher who leads discovery at both the research bench and the barn stall,” wrote Dr. Kate Meurs, the Randall B. Terry Jr. dean at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, in a nominating letter. “He pushes new information and innovations back to the clinic for implementation by publishing in peer review journals and then moving the information to textbooks and continuing education conferences for clinicians and students.”

Gilger, who received his DVM from Ohio State University, served as editor and author for three editions of the textbook Equine Ophthalmology. He also has served as president of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, as well as president of the International Equine Ophthalmology Consortium.  

In her nomination letter, Meurs highlighted Gilger’s important contributions to treating critical eye issues in the horse, including the development of an episcleral implant that releases therapeutic doses of cyclosporine directly to the eye. That invention allows immune mediated keratitis, a common and debilitating eye disease, to be successfully controlled. Gilger also has demonstrated that stem cells may substantially improve wound healing in the equine cornea.

He remains an active fixture in the classroom, on committees and in the clinic, Meurs said, mentoring countless DVM students, house officers, graduate students and undergraduate researchers. 

Gilger says he is thankful that NC State University gave him the opportunity to teach ophthalmology not only at the College of Veterinary Medicine, but also throughout the country.

“It’s been my honor and pleasure to be a source of information for our own local practitioners and also for ophthalmology colleagues throughout the world,” he says. “It’s fantastic that the Holladay award recognizes my long commitment to teaching, discovery and practice of ophthalmology at NC State University.”