Laura Molgaard, DVM, Dean of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, has announced that Albert Rovira accepted the offer to serve as interim director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, effective Aug. 22. He fills the position most recently held by Jerry Torrison.

Rovira received very strong support through the nomination process and is well positioned to take on this new challenge because he has served as the assistant director since 2019. He has been on the UMN faculty since 2008 when he joined as a food animal diagnostician. Rovira graduated with his veterinary degree at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain) in 2000. In 2002, he completed a master's degree in swine pathology at the same institution. In 2003, he moved to the United States to pursue his PhD on swine disease diagnostics, which he completed at the University of Minnesota in 2007.

In his role as assistant director, Rovira has been able to secure additional funds for the VDL from USDA and FDA through competitive grants. These projects are enhancing the ability of the VDL to respond to foreign animal diseases in food animals. In addition to his service and leadership responsibilities, Rovira collaborates in research projects on swine infectious disease with other faculty at the University of Minnesota. He has co-authored 52 peer-reviewed articles and 119 abstracts in professional meetings, and has delivered 51 invited presentations.

Dean Molgaard will be launching a national search for the director role in the coming months.

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