MICHAEL
W. DRYDEN
Professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology
There
are more than 2,000 different kinds of fleas, and Americans spend
more than $1 billion a year trying to fight them. Michael W. Dryden,
professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State
University, says people should know their enemy and not assume
all fleas are created equal.
Dryden is considered one of the world's foremost experts on fleas and ticks and was once the subject of a French documentary about his work with fleas. He has been an expert source on fleas for The Wall Street Journal and the television show "Good Morning America." He has been an invited lecturer at numerous international, national, state and regional scientific conferences and veterinary continuing education meetings. These lectures have taken him to 21 different countries. In 1993, he received a patent for the "Flea Trap," an intermittent light trap for cat fleas, and he has also conducted research on virtually every major flea and tick product.
Dryden received his bachelor's degree in biology and his D.V.M. from Kansas State University. He received his master's degree and doctorate in veterinary parasitology from Purdue University. He has been at K-State since 1990. In 1995 he was awarded the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence for contributions that significantly advance our knowledge of animal health. In 2005 he was awarded the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association's KSU-Distinguished Service Award, and in 2006 he earned the Bayer Animal Health Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of outstanding instruction of second-year veterinary students.
He is a member of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Society of Veterinary Parasitologists, the Entomological Society of America, Gamma Sigma Delta agricultural honor society, and Phi Zeta national veterinary honor society. He is also a founding member of the Companion Animal Parasite Council.
Dryden can be reached for comment at 785-532-4613, 785-776-8460 or by e-mail at dryden@k-state.edu.