BATON ROUGE – Dr. Rebecca Christofferson, Assistant Professor, Pathobiological Sciences at LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, was named a recipient of the 2021 Worley Professor of Excellence Award, which is presented by Worley and LSU’s Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes.
Dr. Christofferson was recognized during the LSU vs. Texas A&M football game on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021.
Dr. Rebecca Christofferson studies emerging viruses and how they spread in populations. In addition to her work within the United States, she has collaborations in South America, Africa, and Asia and her overall goals are to help stop viruses from spreading with a combination of lab work, fieldwork, and math modeling. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and other LSU researchers set up a COVID testing lab that served hospitals and first responders across Louisiana. She regularly represents LSU in the local, national, and international press and hopes that her Louisiana accent comes through.
“My motivation is that – first, I like puzzles,” said Dr. Christofferson. “Science is the ultimate puzzle. It’s a dangling carrot in that every time you find an answer, it comes with at least one more question. To me, science is the closest to magic you can get these days and since I never got my letter to Hogwarts, I’ll take it. Second, I love Louisiana. I was born and raised here and I want to show what people from Louisiana can do and how we do it. We do great things, but we also do it for great reasons: to help our neighbors, to make the world a better place, or sometimes just because it’s fun. We’re unique, and in my small way, I want to show the world that if you want things done (and to have a good time doing it), don’t forget to look at Louisiana and LSU.”
“We at Worley are committed to delivering a more sustainable world – and we believe education is the cornerstone for our future,” said Amanda Knost, SVP, U.S. Gulf Coast for Worley. “The students of today are the innovators and leaders of tomorrow, and we congratulate Dr. Rebecca Christofferson, who we are grateful to recognize as the Worley Professor of Excellence at LSU for the roll she plays in educating tomorrow’s leaders.”
“We appreciate Worley not only as a long- standing partner of LSU Athletics but an organization that promotes the accomplishments of the LSU Faculty,” said Lance Burgos, General Manager of LSU Sports Properties. “Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Christofferson, who greatly deserves this recognition for all the work she has done to not only represent this great University and Louisiana but for the challenges face to try and save lives through these unprecedented times.”