Dr. Adam Harris, DVM, Diplomate, Clinical Pathology
Research Scientist
Assistant Professor, Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
I grew up in a very small town in North Carolina called Sawmills. It was named for the lumber trade that was once the predominant industry in the area. As a child, I grew up next to a dairy farm and spent countless hours exploring outside, which sparked my interest in animals early on.
In college at NC State, I fell into veterinary medicine serendipitously. My love for science led me to the medical field but soon, I discovered that my real interest was working with animals. I feel fortunate to have met so many teachers and mentors who nurtured my passions and guided me on my journey of becoming a veterinary scientist.
I earned a BS degree in 2013. I stayed at NC State to complete the DVM program and graduated in 2017. Since my undergraduate days, I have always loved research and working on scientific projects, so after vet school, I knew I wanted to continue along this path. I came to Colorado State University for the combined Clinical Pathology Residency and PhD training program.
I was attracted to this program because there is no other place with this level of resources or researchers in my field. This program is really unique to Colorado State and I knew this would be the best fit for my research goals.
It was during my PhD training that I became very passionate about hematopathology – specifically, acute leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancers. My research efforts have focused on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in dogs, which can be used as a translational model for humans. In both species, the clinical course is rapid and unfortunately, the prognosis is very poor – especially for dogs. I am working to uncover similarities between human and dog acute myeloid leukemia via translational research, in hopes of finding novel therapies to improve outcomes for both species.
In 2023, I finished my training and earned my PhD. I now split my time between teaching, serving as a clinical pathologist for the vet hospital, and researching.
I am a research scientist in the Clinical Hematopathology Laboratory and work alongside Dr. Anne Avery. Together, we’re looking for DNA mutations that drive AML to determine if there are any overlaps with human AML cases. Our initial findings have identified overlapping DNA mutations and features between the two entities. Our next step is to research the efficacy of novel therapies that can improve outcomes for both species.
As an Assistant Professor in the Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology department, I teach a variety of classes on the topic of hematology, specifically disorders of the blood. I also mentor several undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary students, and residents in hopes of sparking their interest in science, similar to my previous mentors.
The rest of my time is spent serving in a clinical service role as a pathologist for the veterinary hospital. I look at diagnostic samples and provide the attending veterinarian with a diagnosis and recommendations based on the findings. I diagnose everything from inflammatory disease to cancer. Working in the clinic reminds me just how prevalent cancer is and how hard it can be for our patients. It keeps me passionate about teaching and especially the work I’m doing in the lab.
To me, cancer is fascinating because there are a lot of questions still unanswered. We don’t have a great deal of treatment options in veterinary medicine and the disease is highly complex, especially for AML. I’m passionate about understanding biological overlaps and the drivers for this cancer in both species. My goal is to improve treatments and outcomes for both human and veterinary patients.
When I’m not working, I love to hike and be outside with my husband, Mac, and our dogs – Luna and Tootsie. We have a 40-acre farm with chickens and goats, and we’ve also recently become hay farmers.