CORE - Advisory Council

Dr. Gnad graduated from Kansas State University in 1996. He entered private practice in Kansas before returning to faculty position at KSU-CVM. While at KSU, his clinical and research efforts focused on beef cattle production medicine. At the time of his departure from KSU, he was the Head of Agricultural Practices. After returning to private practice, he was the managing partner for Nebraska Vet Services before founding Heritage Vet Partners where he now serves as CEO.

Dr. Clavijo earned a doctoral degree in veterinary microbiology/virology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada in 1995 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from National University in Bogota, Columbia in 1986. Prior to his appointment at NBAF, Dr. Clavijo served as laboratory executive director of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) National Centre for Animal Disease, which operates laboratories in Winnipeg and Lethbridge. As director, he oversaw the administration of diagnostic services, related technology development, and research to detect and prevent transboundary, emerging and zoonotic animal diseases. During his professional career, Dr. Clavijo has taken several important assignments including, senior science advisor for the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD) at Texas A&M University; advisor for Diagnosis, Surveillance and Control of Zoonotic and Emerging Diseases at the Pan American Health Organization; associate director for scientific programs at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL); and technical advisor in foot-and-mouth disease for the Pan American Center for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (PANAFTOSA).

Dr. Clavijo was appointed as the NBAF director in October 2019.

Brandon Depenbusch is the Vice President of Cattle Feeding for Irsik & Doll Feed Services, Inc.  Since graduating from Kansas State University in 2009, he has spent 15 years in the cattle feeding industry.  His primary role is to support the overall cattle-feeding operations of his company.  Over the years he has participated in many large-scale research studies in the production setting. His mission is clear, “To build beef and build people”.  “There’s nothing more rewarding than creating a nutritious, safe, and wholesome beef product and helping people discover their leadership capacity.”

Dr. Lechtenberg received his DVM degree in 1987, followed by a PhD (Nutrition/Anaerobic Microbiology) in 1988. Kelly spends his time helping assure that the meat offered to US consumers is safe, wholesome and produced in a fashion that is considerate of the needs of animals entrusted to his care. After several years in mixed animal practice and beef cattle consultation, he has focused efforts on operating a contract research organization. He and his team have been instrumental in the development of dozens of vaccines and pharmaceutical designed to improve the health and well-being of beef and dairy cattle, swine and poultry.

Dr. Schuh earned a BS in zoology and a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from North Dakota State University and served as a postdoctoral fellow in pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School before returning to her alma mater as a faculty member in 2004 where she was a teacher, researcher, and administrator until her move to Kansas State in 2023. Dr. Schuh has broad experience in university administration, having had roles that spanned academic programs, business, regulatory compliance, research development, and federal relations. She has extensive background working with and supporting agriculture and technology entrepreneurs to spur economic development. She serves on numerous boards and committees and continues to build public-private partnerships that address challenges and develop new opportunities in agriculture for the state of Kansas and the agrobiosecurity of the global food system.

Dr. Justin Welsh is the lead for the Merck Animal Health livestock Technical Services team. His team is responsible for supporting the commercial teams in the cattle, swine and poultry industries in the US market. This team of veterinarians and nutritionists are located throughout the US. They focus on veterinary and producer education, as well as organizing and implementing research related to product life cycles and their uses in the field. Dr. Welsh earned his undergraduate degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska and completed his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine.