The Robert Leader Endowed Lecture Series is a celebration of the leadership and vision of Dr. Robert Leader who spent 20 years as a devoted faculty member for the College of Veterinary Medicine. During his tenure at MSU, Dr. Leader served as Chairperson for the Department of Pathology, Associate Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine and, lastly, Assistant to the Director of the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, where his contributions greatly influenced the Center’s development and implementation.

Through this lecture series, we strive to continue Dr. Leader's great aspirations to promote communication between leading scientists and MSU graduate students, interested faculty, and the community at large. The intent of this interaction is to advance understanding of comparative medicine and food safety. The lecture series will remain in perpetuity as a reminder of Dr. Leader’s significant contributions.