Faculty Spotlight: Mansour earns AAVA award for contributions as researcher, educator
Veterinary Anatomy professor will also serve as AAVA president-elect
By Troy Johnson
By now, the baristas at coffee shops in and around the Auburn University campus have gotten to know Dr. Mahmoud Mansour’s face and name, as well as his preferred order.
Extra hot cappuccino with oat milk and an extra shot.
“That combo really gets the brain going,” said Mansour, a professor of veterinary anatomy who joined the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006.
While Mansour’s preferred coffee shop changes, his order has remained consistent during the “creative and meditative” moments he has spent in them while writing six textbooks focusing on equine, ruminant and avian anatomy. “Writing anatomy textbooks has been a labor of love for me,” Mansour said.
Mansour’s output explains, in part, why he recently earned the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists (AAVA) Fellow Status Award. The Fellow Status Award honors AAVA members who have made significant contributions to education and research in anatomical science. In order to be considered, members must demonstrate excellence in teaching and research, sustain service to the organization, and maintain at least 10 years of continuous AAVA membership.
In July, the AAVA announced that Mansour will serve as its president-elect. In this role, Mansour will serve on the organization’s leadership committee and preside in the absence of the president. Once the current president’s term concludes, he will make the transition in that role.
“My priorities during this transition include supporting the AAVA’s strategic goals, promoting educational excellence, and fostering collaboration and mentorship among members,” he said. “I’m also committed to strengthening engagement with early-career anatomists and supporting initiatives that highlight innovation in anatomy education and research.”
Mansour said his research interests in reproductive biology were shaped by early career collaborations with Dr. Hari Goyal at Tuskegee University and with Drs. Tim Braden and Frank “Skip” Bartol at Auburn. Over time, his focus has grown to include cancer and metabolic diseases since anatomical and microstructural understanding can yield important insights. While caffeine has played a significant role in fueling textbooks that have resulted in five Auburn Author Awards, Mansour also attributes the output to the collaborative culture within the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Among the colleagues whose insights have been valuable are Dr. Paul Rumph, who has taught veterinary anatomy for more than 50 years, and the late Drs. Joe Rowe and Janet Steiss. Mansour also said Dr. Ray Wilhite, anatomy lab coordinator, has enhanced the visual quality of his books through dissection photography.
Beyond his contributions as an author, Mansour has earned multiple awards for his teaching and research, including the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Outstanding Faculty Member Award, SGA Teacher of the Year and the Zoetis Teaching Award. He has taught small animal anatomy for 19 years and coordinates the large animal anatomy course each spring.
“I genuinely love teaching anatomy and especially value the one-on-one interactions I have with students in the gross anatomy lab,” he said. “These sessions create a special opportunity to get to know students by name, understand their learning styles, and provide individualized support. It’s this direct engagement that makes teaching anatomy so rewarding.”