Chair
Leslie Lyons
University of Missouri - Columbia, College of Veterinary Medicine
Columbia, MO United States

Term of service (1st 2025-2029)

Leslie Lyons is the Gilbreath McLorn Endowed Professor of Comparative Medicine at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine (Columbia, MO). She received her education in human genetics from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA). Her career has focused on comparative gene mapping across mammalian species with emphasis on the domestic cat. Her laboratory has identified more than 30 cat mutations within 25 genes, including 21 diseases, cat AB/B blood type (2), and, recently, two diseases in wild felids. She launched the 99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing Initiative—an effort to have deep coverage on cats with inherited diseases and as a SNP resource for the community, which has led to the development of a high-density array and an exome capture array. Her research focuses continue in domestic cat diseases and traits, population genetics of domestic cats, and developing genetic resources for forensic sciences for cats. Lyons introduced comparison testing for cats to ISAG and has more recently initiated the workshop for Animal Genetic Testing Standardization. She is currently a member of the ISAG Executive Committee and a member of the Hereditary Disease Committee for the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (Toronto, ON, Canada) and is working to help coordinate genetic interests between the societies. Lyons works closely with cat breeders and associations to ensure dissemination of genetic information to the lay public and consumers.

Member
Tosso Leeb
University of Bern, Institute of Genetics
Bern, Switzerland

Term of Service (1st, 2025-2029)

Tosso Leeb studied chemistry with a major in biochemistry. He received his PhD in 1995 from the University of Munich (Munich, Germany) for work toward characterization of the pig genome. After postdoctoral research at the University of Texas Science Center (San Antonio, TX) he moved to the University of Göttingen (Göttingen, Germany) where is completed his habilitation in molecular genetics. In 1999, Leeb became a professor at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (Hanover, Germany). Since 2005, he has been a professor for veterinary genetics and animal breeding, and director of the Institute of Genetics at the University of Bern (Bern, Switzerland). Leeb’s research focuses on monogenic traits in animals. His group has identified more than 100 causal genetic variants for inherited traits, including morphological characters and inherited diseases. He is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (Halle, Germany ) and has received several prizes for his research contributions, including a Humboldt Research Award and an International Canine Health Award. Leeb is also a curator of the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) database and a long-standing ISAG member. He has served on several standing committees and was a member of the ISAG Executive Committee from 2017 to 2025.

Member
Imke Tammen
University of Sydney
Narellan NSW, Australia

Term of Service (1st, 2025-2029)

Member
Jessica Petersen
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE United States

Term of Service (1st, 2025-2029)

Member
Robert Grahn
University of California-Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
Davis, CA United States

Term of Service (1st, 2025-2029)

Member
Steven Harrison
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Winter Garden, FL United States

Term of service (1st, 2025–2029)

Member
Bart Broeckx
Ghent University
Merelbeke, Belgium

Term of Service (1st, 2025-2029)

Bart Broeckx graduated as a veterinarian in 2011 and obtained his PhD in 2015. In addition, he earned an Msc in statistical data analysis in 2017 and became a juridical expert in 2022. In 2018, he was appointed as professor at the Laboratory of Animal Genetics at Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium). He is the founder of the dedicated small animal clinical genetics/genetic counseling facility at that faculty (www.akgg.ugent.be), a service dedicated to helping owners, breeders, and veterinarians with questions linked to hereditary diseases. Broeckx is also the chairman of Purpose Dogs, a nonprofit breeding program for assistance dogs (www.purpose-dogs.be).

Member
Jerold Bell
Dept. Clinical Sciences, Tufts Cummings School of Vet Med
Broad Brook, CT United States

Term of Service (1st, 2025-2029)

Jerold S. Bell earned his DVM from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and is an adjunct professor of Clinical Genetics at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine (North Grafton, MA). Bell chairs the Hereditary Disease Committee of the World Small Animal Veterinary Medical Association (Toronto, ON, Canada), is a member of the Board of Directors of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA, Columbia, MO), and the American Kennel Club (AKC, New York, NY) Health and Welfare Advisory Panel. He is author of Veterinary Medical Guide to Dog and Cat Breeds. He was trained in genetics and genetic counseling at Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) and University of Missouri (Columbia, MO). He practices small animal medicine and surgery at Freshwater Veterinary Hospital in Enfield, CT.