Paige Carmichael

Dr. Paige Carmichael, a professor of veterinary pathology in the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, serves as a steadfast voice advocating for increased diversity in her profession and greater inclusion across the university.

She is the recipient of the Dawn D. Bennett Alexander Inclusive Community Award, recognizing the outstanding contributions of faculty to the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion both within and beyond the classrooms at the UGA.

Regarded as one of the preeminent leaders in veterinary medicine, her primary area of research emphasis has centered on better understanding a group of inherited neurological diseases in dogs. Her work has led to the development of a test for globoid cell leukodystrophy in Irish Setters and mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA in wire-haired dachshunds.

Carmichael’s work also extends to the investigation of potential therapeutics and treatments for these conditions, such as the use of xenogeneic stem cell transplants in a caprine model of MDSIIID. Additionally, her research group was the first to describe FeLV-associated myelopathy in cats.

Despite her success as a researcher, Carmichael noted she draws the greatest satisfaction from working with her students. “Teaching satisfies more than research or receiving tenure,” said Carmichael. “I get ‘teacher’s high’ when I witness my students’ learning. It’s rewarding when they’re learning because they want to, and when they come to class with something new that I haven’t talked about because they want to learn on their own.” Carmichael earned her DVM from Tuskegee University’s School of Veterinary Medicine in 1987, becoming a temporary instructor at UGA’s Tifton campus upon completion of her studies. She entered a combined pathology residency and program at the University, becoming a board-certified pathologist in 1995.

She is the first Black professor at the University to receive the prestigious Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship, and she’s also been the recipient of various awards and honors, including the Lilly Teaching Fellowship, the Carl Norden-PfizerDistinguished Teaching Award, the Tyler Award for TeachingInnovation, the Iverson Bell Award and UGA’s Fulfilling TheDream Award. She also has been awarded the Outstanding Alumnus Award from Tuskegee.

Carmichael also is involved in the life of the University community, serving on the Board of Directors for both the UGA Athletic Association and the Georgia Museum of Art. She also co-founded the Teaching Academy Fellows Program which helps early-career faculty become more effective teachers.

Carmichael lives in Athens and is the oldest of four children born to Patrick and Janet Carmichael. She is married to John Ahee and they have twin daughters, Nicole and Yasmin, two granddaughters, Esther and Olivia, and a Bernese mountain dog named Noah.