Carolyn Gates

Maureen Carolyn Gates is an American–New Zealand academic veterinarian, and is a full professor at Massey University. She specialises in evidence-based solutions for animal health problems, and has been recognised for developing innovative teaching methods.

Academic career
Before entering private practice, Gates completed her undergraduate veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Gates then completed a PhD titled Controlling endemic disease in cattle populations: current challenges and future opportunities at the University of Edinburgh in 2014, supervised by Mark Woolhouse. Gates worked in veterinary surveillance at Texas A&M University, and joined the faculty of Massey University in 2015 as a lecturer, rising to full professor in 2023.

Gates is interested in researching evidence-based solutions to animal problems. She has worked on the surveillance and eradication of bovine viral diarrhoea virus, for which she conducted a nationwide survey. She has also co-developed a platform for sharing information about backyard poultry, and has commented on the threat that foot-and-mouth disease poses to New Zealand production. Gates has also been recognised for her teaching, having developed blended learning and peer learning approaches for clinical education for veterinary students.

Honours and awards
Gates was awarded the 2018 Massey University Early Career Research Medal, and the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics Emerging Scientist Award. She also won the 2022 Prime Minister's Educator of the Year Award, awarded by Ako Aotearoa.