Larry Reynolds, distinguished professor of animal sciences, has been selected to present the 51st annual Faculty Lecture on Tuesday, April 7, at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater. Considered one of the most prestigious of NDSU’s awards, the lectureship recognizes sustained professional excellence in teaching, scholarly achievement and service.
His lecture, “A Womb With a View: How Fetal Development Affects Adult Health,” will examine the links between birth weights and adult diseases like type 2 diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. The lecture and reception in the Plains Room are free and open to the public.
Reynolds joined NDSU in 1985 and focuses his research on providing an optimal uterine environment to ensure maternal, fetal and postnatal health in humans and livestock.
“We’ve known forever that low birth weights are bad,” he said. “What’s new is that whatever causes this can lead to long-term, lifelong problems. Our goal is to figure out the causes and then to develop strategies to minimize the negative consequences of low birth weight.”
Since 1985, Reynolds has received more than $6 million in federal grants; served on or chaired more than 25 grant advisory committees at the federal level; and organized several national and international symposia. He regularly supervises and mentors junior faculty and students at every level, but he particularly enjoys his involvement with undergraduate students.
“NDSU has a strong focus on undergraduates,” he said. “It’s just a lot of fun to include them in the research. Undergraduates just want to take it all in and have fun with it.”
Reynolds recently completed a three-year term as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Animal Science, the world’s leading animal science journal. He serves as editor-in-chief of the animal science image gallery at the National Agricultural Library. In 2007, he received the prestigious Animal Physiology and Endocrinology Award from the American Society of Animal Science. In 2008, he was named a distinguished professor at NDSU.