Frank “Skip” Bartol, Professor of Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology, will give Auburn University’s 2023-24 Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 3:30 p.m. in the Newsom Auditorium of Bailey Hall at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The lecture honors a faculty member who has made significant contributions to graduate education at Auburn University. Bartol’s address is titled “Journey to the Milky Way: Maternal Lactocrine Programming of Postnatal Development.”
His research in reproductive and developmental biology led to proposal of the lactocrine hypothesis for maternal programming of postnatal development. The term ‘lactocrine programming’ is now widely accepted by scientists working in developmental and perinatal biology and medicine.
Bartol joined the AU faculty in 1983 and has served as Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Veterinary Medicine since 2009. He received the BS degree from Virginia Tech, MS and PhD degrees from the University of Florida, and advanced training in molecular biology in the Center for Animal Biotechnology at Texas A&M University.
In 2005, Bartol was named a “Donald Henry Barron Lecturer” by the Perinatal Biology Research Program at the University of Florida. He was named “Alumni Professor” at AU in 2009. In 2017, he was recognized as a “Distinguished Alumnus” by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. Bartol is a founding member of the AL-EPSCoR Graduate Research Scholars Program which has awarded over $17M in research grants to graduate students statewide, generating over 300 graduate degrees across multiple disciplines since its inception in 2006. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Animal Science, the Society for the Study of Reproduction, and the Society for Theriogenology. An advocate for the responsible use of animals in research and education, Bartol is a contributing author to the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching. He recently crafted the position statement on animal use in research for the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges and serves as a voting member of the FASEB Animals in Research and Education Subcommittee to the Science Policy committee (2022-2025).
Bartol is the 49th lecturer in the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture series, which is jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Auburn Alumni Association. Since beginning in the 1975-76 academic year, it has developed into a major university lecture series that fosters a better understanding of the scholarly contributions made by Auburn’s faculty. Nominations for the honor are solicited from the university’s faculty, and the recipient is selected by a committee of graduate faculty members. The lecturer receives a $2,000 award from the Auburn Alumni Association and is recognized at Auburn University’s annual Faculty Awards ceremony.
Following the lecture, a reception with light refreshments will be held in the entry lobby to Newsom Auditorium. Students, faculty and members of the community are invited to RSVP and attend the lecture event. For more information about the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture, visit aub.ie/DGFL.
Register to attend the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture on Feb. 13, 2024
Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lectureship
Last modified: January 9, 2024
