Phillip Myer receives awards for outstanding service and research
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrated the accomplishments of some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual awards luncheon. The 2026 ceremony was held on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on August 4. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the institute.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the celebration and praised the honorees for their devotion to the land-grant mission. “Our UTIA staff and faculty continue to overwhelm me with their enthusiasm and unparalleled expertise,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing Real. Life. Solutions. to the people of Tennessee. These award winners represent the efforts and accomplishments this past year that will most benefit all Tennesseans and society – impacts that will have lasting benefits through teaching, research and Extension for years to come.”
Phillip Myer, professor in the Department of Animal Science, received the 2026 Webster Pendergrass Outstanding Service Award. This award is presented in memory of former Vice President for Agriculture Webster Pendergrass and recognizes a teaching, research, or Extension faculty member who has contributed most to the fulfillment of the institute’s goals and objectives. Myer also received the 2026 AgResearch Mid-Career Faculty Research Excellence Award. This award recognizes demonstrated commitment and meritorious achievements in research by faculty during the mid-stage of their academic career. The award reflects the positive impacts that a faculty member’s efforts in research and technology development have had on UT AgResearch stakeholders or the science community at large, especially during the past five years.
Myer’s research focuses on gut microbiology in beef cattle with an emphasis on the rumen microbiome and its significance to feed efficiency and nutritional physiology. His research has resulted in regional, national and international invitations to speak and has informed reports to Congress on advancing agriculture. He helped create the website rumenmicrobes.utk.edu, where anyone can learn about the science of microorganisms and animal nutrition.
Beyond his research program, Myer has represented UTIA through service and leadership that connects the institute’s work across university, state, national and international audiences. At UT, he serves as Graduate Director for the Department of Animal Science and has served as an AgResearch Faculty Fellow, a Research Security Ambassador through the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, Faculty Senate senator, member of the UT System Visioning Committee, member of the UT Student Conduct Board, and member of the UTIA International Advisory Council. Through these roles, he has contributed to graduate education, faculty governance, research strategy, strategic planning, research integrity, international engagement and student support. His stakeholder-facing work, Extension-oriented educational materials, and student research communication efforts has also helped connect animal science research with producers, students and agricultural audiences, complementing UT Extension’s work while representing UTIA across broader agricultural and scientific communities. His training partnerships have helped position UTIA in broader conversations on beef cattle production, rumen microbiology, feed efficiency, research integrity and agricultural workforce development.
Recently, Myer received $750,000 in funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund a Fellowship for Undergraduate Scientific Exchange in Animal Science. Nicknamed FUSE, the program will link undergraduate students with hands-on experience that connects scientific research directly to agricultural practice. By strengthening the pipeline of well-trained animal science professionals, the program will support not only agriculture, but also local communities, economies and food systems that rely on a resilient and innovative workforce. The project will train undergraduate students through mentored research, farm-based experiences and Extension activities that translate science into practical solutions for producers and stakeholders. Myer will work with his colleague and co-PI Jennie Ivey, professor in the Department of Animal Science. The effort is part NIFA’s $8.8 million effort to support research and Extension experiences for undergraduates (REEU).
Among his many honors and awards, Myer received the 2023 Outstanding Early Career Animal Scientist Award in Research by the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS). In 2021 he received the T.J. Whatley Distinguished Young Scientist Award from UTIA. This honor recognizes a young scientist who has less than 12 years of professional experience and a minimum of five years of service on the agricultural faculty.
Myer received his B.S. in biology from Bradley University in 2008 and his Ph.D. in microbiology in 2013 from Purdue University. As a postdoctoral researcher, he worked at the USDA-ARS-US Meat Animal Research Center from 2013-2015 researching gut microbiome impacts on nutrition and feed efficiency in finishing beef steers. Myer has secured more than $5 million in extramural support and has over 250 publications, including 75 refereed journal articles, three books/chapters, and 109 abstracts. He has advised 11 M.S. and five Ph.D. students, and seven international interns/three visiting scholars.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.