Alastair Cribb
D.V.M., Ph.D., FCAHS
Research/Areas of Interest
Veterinary and comparative clinical pharmacology
Comparative molecular toxicology
Comparative pharmacogenetics
Idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions
Drug classes of particular interest include NSAIDs, anti-epileptic drugs, and antimicrobials
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Pharmacology/Pharmacogenetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1991
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, 1984
Biography
Alastair Cribb, D.V.M., Ph.D., FCAHS, joined Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University as its fifth dean in 2019. Cribb served as dean until August 31, 2026, when he was appointed as Dean Emeritus. Dr. Cribb is currently a professor of clinical pharmacology in the Department of Comparative Biology at Cummings School.
Under his leadership as dean, Cummings School navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that students were able to continue in their program, that clinical services were available, and that research programs remained active. A new curriculum was introduced in the fall of 2024 and the entering class size expanded from 100 to 130. Financial aid support for students was doubled. Full accreditation was renewed in March of 2026. Over the seven years of his term, philanthropic support for the School and its endowment nearly doubled. Research funding increased approximately 50% and there was a significant expansion of faculty research space, along with the creation of shared research resources. The school's departments and clinical and diagnostic units were re-aligned to better serve the School and its programs. A Campus Master Spatial Plan was created and Veterinary Learning Center is now under construction. Additional projects are now underway or are in the planning stages.
Prior to joining Cummings School, Cribb was the founding dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He also assisted with the development of other new veterinary schools. He was professor of clinical pharmacology at the Atlantic Veterinary College, where he held a Medical Research Council New Investigator Award and a Canada Research Chair in Comparative Pharmacology and Toxicology. He established the Prince Edward Island Health Research Institute and served on the task force that led to the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). He served on the CIHR Governing Council and was a founding fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
Cribb's research expertise is in veterinary and human pharmacogenetics and molecular toxicology. He has published extensively in veterinary and human literature, focusing on improving our understanding of serious but rare adverse drug reactions. His work has helped elucidate the basis of sulfonamide hypersensitivity reactions, the mechanisms of renal toxicity of drugs and chemicals, and the role of genetically determined metabolism in cancer risk.
Cribb earned his D.V.M. at Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, in 1984 and completed a small animal internship at Michigan State University in 1985. He earned his Ph.D. in clinical pharmacology and pharmacogenetics at the University of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Cribb then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 1992 to 1996, he worked in drug safety assessment at Merck & Co. in Pennsylvania.
Under his leadership as dean, Cummings School navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that students were able to continue in their program, that clinical services were available, and that research programs remained active. A new curriculum was introduced in the fall of 2024 and the entering class size expanded from 100 to 130. Financial aid support for students was doubled. Full accreditation was renewed in March of 2026. Over the seven years of his term, philanthropic support for the School and its endowment nearly doubled. Research funding increased approximately 50% and there was a significant expansion of faculty research space, along with the creation of shared research resources. The school's departments and clinical and diagnostic units were re-aligned to better serve the School and its programs. A Campus Master Spatial Plan was created and Veterinary Learning Center is now under construction. Additional projects are now underway or are in the planning stages.
Prior to joining Cummings School, Cribb was the founding dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He also assisted with the development of other new veterinary schools. He was professor of clinical pharmacology at the Atlantic Veterinary College, where he held a Medical Research Council New Investigator Award and a Canada Research Chair in Comparative Pharmacology and Toxicology. He established the Prince Edward Island Health Research Institute and served on the task force that led to the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). He served on the CIHR Governing Council and was a founding fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
Cribb's research expertise is in veterinary and human pharmacogenetics and molecular toxicology. He has published extensively in veterinary and human literature, focusing on improving our understanding of serious but rare adverse drug reactions. His work has helped elucidate the basis of sulfonamide hypersensitivity reactions, the mechanisms of renal toxicity of drugs and chemicals, and the role of genetically determined metabolism in cancer risk.
Cribb earned his D.V.M. at Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, in 1984 and completed a small animal internship at Michigan State University in 1985. He earned his Ph.D. in clinical pharmacology and pharmacogenetics at the University of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Cribb then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 1992 to 1996, he worked in drug safety assessment at Merck & Co. in Pennsylvania.