Thomas Parsons, VMD, PhD, ACAW

Thomas Parsons is Professor & Director of the Swine Research and Training Center in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. from Amherst College and his VMD and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, Parsons studied in the veterinary medical scientist training program and then was supported by the von Humboldt Society to train at the Max Planck Institute for Biomedical Research in Heidelberg, Germany. He joined Penn’s faculty in 1995 as an assistant professor of swine medicine; he was promoted to associate professor of swine production medicine in 2005 and became a full professor in 2019. Parsons is a charter member of the American College of Animal Welfare and serves as the faculty coordinator for Penn’s master’s program in animal welfare and behavior, as well as head of mammalian field investigations for the Pennsylvania Diagnostic Laboratories at New Bolton Center. His research focuses on the advancement of sustainable models of agriculture through the study of animal behavior, health, welfare and applications of technology. Parsons is recognized globally by scholars and industry leaders for re-envisioning swine housing and feeding systems to improve welfare.