James L. Sartin, who holds a joint appointment as professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, was recently elected as president-elect of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS).  

ASAS fosters the discovery, sharing and application of scientific knowledge concerning the responsible use of animals to enhance human life and well-being.

“This is a tribute to Dr. Sartin’s dedication to ASAS and to his many contributions to animal science,” said Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies Frank Bartol.

Sartin teaches graduate courses in endocrinology and molecular endocrinology, as well as endocrinology and renal physiology in the veterinary curriculum. His research focuses on growth hormone secretion, on the physiological consequences of disease, the effects of disease to limit normal animal growth, and the use of anabolic hormones and other molecules to help overcome the negative consequences of disease processes.

He received his BA (1973) and MS (1976) degrees from Auburn University and a PhD degree (1978) from Oklahoma State University. Sartin was a postdoctoral trainee at Temple University in Philadelphia before joining the faculty at Auburn University in 1982.

He has received more than $3 million in extramural grant funds, including a current grant award from the USDA to study kisspeptin as a regulator of growth hormone. One of the founders of “Domestic Animal Endocrinology,” Sartin served as editor-in-chief of the journal from 1984-2007.

Throughout his career, Sartin has received numerous awards for research and teaching. Examples of awards he has received include the Director’s Research Award in 1987 from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and was named an Auburn University Alumni Professor in 1989. He received the Young Animal Scientist Award from the Southern Section of ASAS in 1992 and an Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching Award from Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005.   In 2008, he received the Animal Growth and Development Award for outstanding research by ASAS.

He currently serves on the board of advisors for the International Society for Farm Animal Endocrinology and he is organizing the August 2011 symposium on models of animal disease in farm animals for the European Association for Animal Production in Stavanger, Norway.