Leadership

Stacy Morris (MAg, BS) is the associate director. She joined the agency in 2009 serving as the chief of staff in a dual role for both TVMDL and the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD). In 2017, Morris was promoted to TVMDL’s assistant director. In 2021 she was promoted to her current role. As the associate director, Morris provides executive leadership for agency operational functions. She leads and manages an array of services and programs including core business strategies, executive operations, human resources, personnel development, client services, business intelligence, marketing and communications, outreach, and other agency-wide initiatives. 

Including her time at TVMDL, Morris has dedicated over 20 years of service to the State of Texas and its associated agencies. She began her career working for the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Agriculture at Texas A&M, directing the Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Internship Program (ANRP). In 2001, Morris became the assistant committee clerk for the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee and its then-chairman, State Representative David Swinford. Returning to College Station, Stacy joined the V.G. Young Institute of County Government, part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. While working at the Institute, Morris received both the National and State Epsilon Sigma Phi award for early career service.

Morris earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural development in 1999 and a master’s degree in natural resources development in 2003, both from Texas A&M University. 

To schedule an appointment with Stacy, contact Sallie Walker.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Jordan Brod serves as the agency’s operations program director. Brod has served TVMDL his entire career. He joined the agency in 1999 as a student worker in the histopathology section. In 2000, he joined the lab full-time and progressed through the histopathology section serving as a technician and manager. In 2005, he joined the agency’s quality assurance and safety program and progressed to a manager position in 2007. In 2010, he was promoted to serve as the agency’s operations manager until 2021 when he was promoted to his current role as the agency’s operations program director.

In his role Jordan oversees TVMDL’s facilities, information technology (IT), client supply store, biohazard and glassware sterilization, and shipping components. In all facets of his role, Jordan ensures the success of others by mitigating potential issues and addressing any that arise despite his preventative measures. His efforts to support IT and shipping are broad, yet critical in serving TVMDL’s employees and clients. Much of his daily tasks revolve within the facilities component. Each day, Jordan works through maintenance requests, plans for future projects, and safeguards the efficiency of TVMDL’s laboratories. 

Brod is a 2000 graduate of Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. Throughout his time at TVMDL, Brod has actively participated in countless leadership programs, including the Texas A&M AgriLife’s Emerging Leaders and Advanced Leadership Programs, the Governor’s Executive Development Program, and most recently is serving on the steering committee for the AgriLife LEAD Program.

To schedule an appointment with Jordan, contact Sallie Walker.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Matthew Durham is the agency’s assistant director for finance and chief financial officer. In his role, Durham is responsible for all financial activities including formulating and analyzing data in support of the agency’s mission, preparing biennial legislative budget requests, managing procurement activities, preparing the annual operating budget, and overseeing federal cooperative grants, agreements and contracts.

He joined TVMDL in 2021 following a 17-year tenure at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) where he served as the assistant hospital director for finance and operations. While there, he provided strategic leadership across all financial and operational areas. Prior to joining the VMTH, Durham served in various financial capacities across Texas A&M University dating back to 2000.

Durham is a 1997 graduate of Texas A&M University. In 2011, Durham completed a three-year graduate program from the Veterinary Management Institute at Purdue University. In 2018, he completed the “Executive Certificate in Business Essentials” certificate program from the Texas A&M University Mays Business School.  He has also served as a steering committee member for the North American Veterinary College Administrators for the past eight years.

To schedule an appointment with Matthew, contact Sallie Walker.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Terry Dobrovolsky is the agency quality assurance and safety program director. She joined TVMDL in 2006 as the quality assurance manager. Since joining, she has been instrumental in helping TVMDL maintain and achieve accreditation and has enhanced the agency’s testing programs. In her current role, Dobrovolsky manages and promotes the Quality Assurance Program by coordinating activities with three quality managers and four resident directors.

A highly skilled auditor and quality assurance professional, Dobrovolsky is largely responsible for the design and implementation of TVMDL’s quality assurance system. This system establishes and monitors the operating procedures that safeguard accurate diagnostic results. In addition, she oversaw implementation of a quality system software solution that allows she and her staff to more effectively manage document control, training, and test related documents and records. Dobrovolsky has successfully guided TVMDL through the complex process of receiving full accreditation from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD). TVMDL’s labs received full accreditation for five years after each audit, which included site visits to each of the four laboratories. Additionally, she provided guidance for TVMDL’s drug testing laboratory in the successful pursuit of that lab’s ISO 17025 accreditation.

Dobrovolsky earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University in 1982. Before joining TVMDL in 2006, she served for six years as a client manager, performing ISO accreditation audits for BSI, Inc., an international business services company headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

To schedule an appointment with Terry, contact the College Station lab.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Kiril Dimitrov, DVM, PhD, joined TVMDL in 2019. Initially, he served as the virology and molecular diagnostics section head at TVMDL’s Amarillo laboratory. The following year he joined the College Station laboratory to serve as the virology section head. In 2021, he was promoted to the agency’s assistant director for microbiology and research and development where oversees the agency’s bacteriology, molecular diagnostics, serology, and virology sections in addition to the agency’s efforts to enhance testing methodology.

Dimitrov came to TVMDL from the U.S. National Poultry Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Athens, Georgia where he had served as a visiting scientist since 2014. During his stay at USDA, Dimitrov worked on the development of rapid diagnostics methods that reflect the constant and continuous changes of the genetic makeup of virulent avian viruses and characterization of their pathogenicity. He also researched viral molecular epidemiology and evolution and has been extensively working on third- and fourth-generation sequencing methodologies and related bioinformatics. Among his past research interest is development of efficient live, inactivated, and recombinant vaccines to control avian viral diseases. Prior to his tenure at USDA, Dimitrov served as an assistant professor and laboratory director at the Regional Research and Diagnostic Laboratory for Newcastle Disease and Avian Influenza in Aksakovo, Bulgaria. In addition to academic experience, Dimitrov has served in various veterinary capacities.

In 2005, Dimitrov earned his master and doctoral degrees from Trakia University in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. After graduation, he trained at various agencies specializing in food safety, avian disease diagnostics, and molecular diagnostics of livestock diseases before continuing his education. In 2013, he earned a PhD from the National Diagnostic and Research Veterinary Medicine Institute in Sofia, Bulgaria. While there, his research focused on etiological and molecular-epidemiological studies of Newcastle disease.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dimitrov, contact the College Station lab.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Gabriel Gomez, DVM, PhD, DACVP, is the assistant agency director for pathology. He joined the College Station lab in 2013 as a veterinary pathologist. In 2015, he was promoted necropsy assistant section head and assumed the role of pathology section head in 2020. In 2021 was promoted to an assistant agency director.

In his current role, Gomez oversees necropsy, histopathology, and anatomic pathology services at the College Station and Canyon labs. These sections are imperative to TVMDL’s 6,000-plus annual clients and are often the starting point for samples tested across other TVMDL sections. In addition to his administrative duties Gomez is a board-certified pathologist has a special interest in immunology, infectious diseases, neoplasia and prion diseases, such as Chronic Wasting Disease.

In 2001, Gomez earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Oklahoma State University. In 2005, he earned a second bachelor’s degree in animal science and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, also from Oklahoma State University. He completed a residency in anatomic pathology in 2008 and a PhD in 2013 from Texas A&M University.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Gomez, contact the College Station lab.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Terry Hensley, DVM, MS, has served as the assistant agency director for diagnostic services since 2012. In his role, he is charged with overseeing veterinary services, intra-agency collaborations, case coordination, and consultations with TVMDL’s clients. He also serves as the liaison between TVMDL and multiple regional, state, and federal partner organizations to oversee the agency’s regulatory testing components.

After starting his veterinary career as a private practitioner in Alaska, Hensley completed a post-doctoral Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease study at the University of Georgia. Upon completion he served as a veterinary medical officer for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Oregon for the next ten years. Prior to joining TVMDL, Hensley served as the assistant agency director for the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Hensley is a three-time graduate of Texas A&M University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science in 1973, a master’s degree in poultry science in 1977, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1984.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Hensley, contact the College Station lab.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Julie Piccione, DVM, MS, DACVP, is the assistant agency director for clinical pathology. She joined TVMDL in 2015 as the section head for the College Station lab’s clinical pathology section in 2015 and was promoted to her current role in 2021.

During her tenure at TVMDL, Piccione has elevated the agency’s commitment to accurate and timely diagnostic testing. She was integral in developing one of TVMDL’s most popular services, digital cytology. As assistant agency director for clinical pathology, Piccione oversees the agency’s clinical pathology, parasitology, and endocrinology testing services in College Station and Canyon.

Piccione earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Central Florida in 2007. In 2012, she earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida. In 2015 she completed a residency in clinical pathology and earned a master’s degree in veterinary pathobiology from Texas A&M University, and achieved board certification with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Piccione, contact the College Station lab.

Phone: 979.845.3414

Alexis Thompson, DVM, PhD, DACVPV, is the resident director for TVMDL’s Canyon lab. She joined the agency in 2023 as a food animal diagnostic diagnostician. In 2024, she was promoted to serve as the lab’s resident director.  

In her role, Thompson oversees the daily operations of the Canyon lab. In addition, she serves the lab’s food animal clients by offering testing guidance, result interpretation, and consultation services.

Thompson graduated from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 2015. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2019, completed a residency in Population and Preventative Medicine in 2022, and earned a PhD in 2023, all from Mississippi State University. In 2024 she earned a board-certification in epidemiology from the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Thompson, contact the Canyon lab.

Phone: 806.651.7478

Martin Ficken, DVM, PhD, DACVP, DACPV, is the resident director for the Sam and Sally Glass Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory in Gonzales. He joined the College Station lab as a veterinary pathologist in 2009. In 2011, he was appointed interim resident director for the Gonzales lab with the position becoming permanent in 2012.

In his role as resident director, Ficken effectively splits his time between his administrative duties and lab services. As an administrator, Ficken is charged with managing three other employees.

Though his team is small, they serve a significant role in protecting the health of Texas’ 700

million-plus chickens by performing testing services for backyard and commercial poultry producers. In addition to administration, Ficken is one of approximately 300 board-certified poultry veterinarians in the nation and couples this specialty with his role as a board-certified veterinary pathologist.

Ficken earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nebraska in 1979. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University in 1981 and a master’s degree in 1983.  He received his PhD from Texas A&M University in 1987. He earned board certification from the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1987 and a second board certification from the American College of Poultry Veterinarians in 1992.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Ficken, contact the Gonzales lab.

Phone: 830.672.2834

Gabriel Senties-Cue, MVZ, EPAA, MS, DACPV, is the resident director for TVMDL’s Center lab. He joined the agency in 2017. As resident director, Senties-Cue provides leadership for the lab’s four employees. The Center lab is charged with protecting Texas’ 700 million-plus chickens by providing timely and excellent service to both commercial and backyard producers. In addition to his administrative duties, Senties-Cue serves as the lab’s poultry pathology pathologist.

Early in his career, Senties-Cue was a clinical fellow assigned to the Newcastle Disease Taskforce at the California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Lab. Later, he served as an assistant clinical professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University. There he focused on avian diagnostics, as well as teaching veterinary classes in poultry disease and avian necropsy techniques. Prior to coming to TVMDL, he served as an associate clinical professor, branch chief, and coordinator of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) for CAHFS.

Senties-Cue received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences and a specialty in poultry sciences and poultry diseases from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1980 and a master’s degree in avian sciences from the University of California – Davis in 1985. In 2002, Senties-Cue completed his residency in avian medicine from University of California – Davis.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Senties-Cue, contact the Center lab.

Phone: 936.598.4451