Recognizing a researcher dedicated primarily to swine welfare for the first time, the American Veterinary Medicine Association has selected Dr. Monique Pairis-Garcia, professor of global production animal welfare at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, as the recipient of its 2026 Animal Welfare Award. 

The association will present the award — which recognizes achievements in advancing animal welfare through leadership, public service, education, research, product development or advocacy — to Dr. Pairis-Garcia this weekend at its annual convention in California. Dr. Shelly Vaden, professor of internal medicine at NC State, will receive the group’s 2026 Clinical Research Award as well.

As a veterinarian in North Carolina, the nation’s third-largest pork producer, Dr. Pairis-Garcia said being recognized for her important global work advancing pain management for pigs is especially meaningful.  

“The first thing that hit me was how proud I am to represent the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, to represent North Carolina and to represent an industry that has not always been recognized for its work in animal welfare,” said Dr. Pairis-Garcia, who has been at NC State since 2019. “I’m so excited to be recognized with this award because I would not have been able to accomplish what I have in pig welfare without the open door policy from the industry and the commitment that our college and university have to serve our agriculture industries in our state.”

Her research, conducted in large part on commercial farms in partnership with the National Pork Board and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, focuses on applying animal welfare science to farm assessments, audits, pain management and humane euthanasia.  

“We get really comfortable with what the standard practice is,” she said. “It’s important from a welfare standpoint that we’re constantly questioning ourselves, that we’re acknowledging the things that we’re doing good on, but also the things we’re not really doing good on, and pushing ourselves to move forward and continuously improve welfare on-farm.”  

A Global Reach

Dr. Pairis-Garcia, one of the few veterinarians board-certified by the American College of Animal Welfare, just completed a yearlong sabbatical at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, where she helped the world’s fourth-largest pork producer institute an educational program to assess pig welfare and behavior. Her work is expected to raise welfare standards across Brazil’s food supply chain.

“Dr. Pairis-Garcia has dedicated her career to turning rigorous welfare science into practical tools that improve daily life for animals on farms in the United States and around the world,” said Dr. Michael Q. Bailey, AVMA president, in a news release about the award. “Her work in humane euthanasia, pain management and on-farm welfare assessment reflects the very best of our profession, and we are proud to recognize her with this award.”

At NC State, Dr. Pairis-Garcia divides her time among research (50%), extension (30%) and teaching (20%), concentrating on applied research as animal welfare becomes more of a priority for swine vets and producers.

“It is very important to me that my research be directly translated into the field,” she said. “I work on projects that commercial pig producers can implement the next day at the farm, and I try to work on solutions that are going to make sense for large-scale systems and everyday problems that we’re dealing with on a large scale.” 

Most recently, she helped veterinarians in Iowa determine the cause of a vast increase in the number of lame sows. Legislation has required new rules on the time swine must spend together in pens, but the increased time in this housing system has proved deleterious to sow health, Dr. Pairis-Garcia and other researchers found. To address this, she worked directly with the industry to change the flooring and environment to help mitigate this problem. 

“I really think it’s important that the research doesn’t just get stuck at the university level at publication,” she said. “It has to be able to translate, especially to the people working with the pigs every day. A lot of my work has been trying to help caretakers and producers understand the why behind what they’re doing and to help them rely on this toolkit of resources they can use to improve welfare every single day on a farm with those pigs I don’t get to see every day.”

A Southern California native, Pairis-Garcia had every intention of becoming a small animal or equine veterinarian when she started her DVM training at Iowa State University and is surprised as anyone that she’s working with pigs.

“I had never touched a pig until I got to vet school,” she said. “I was planning to take care of all the puppies and cats out there, and maybe the occasional horse, but then Iowa State hired an animal welfare professor, Dr. Suzanne Millman, and she had an introductory course, and I just absolutely fell in love with the concept of animal welfare and behavior.”

A Seat at the Table

Since that course Pairis-Garcia also has completed a Ph.D. in animal science, advised by Dr. Anna Johnson, with a focus on managing pain in swine. She currently serves on the Pig Welfare Committee for the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and National Pork Board. 

“I would rather be involved in the industry and have a seat at the table and be able to be that voice to say we have to do better than to walk away from an industry that’s not perfect or walk away from a field of veterinary medicine that hasn’t been completely optimized,” she said. “I’m happy to be that annoying voice in the background that continually says we have to think about welfare.”

This spring, Pairis-Garcia’s body of work also led to her being named an NC State University Faculty Scholar, a universitywide honor that recognizes outstanding academic achievements and teaching, service and scholarship contributions. Honorees carry the title through their NC State employment. 

“Dr. Pairis-Garcia’s research, teaching and service efforts all support the same critical One Health mission: improving global animal welfare and pain management,” said Dr. Kaori Sakamoto, head of the NC State Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, in her nomination letter. “Her work has earned national and international attention and is fundamentally changing the current approaches to animal welfare in veterinary medicine. Her career embodies the advocacy, innovation and empathy that this award represents, and I could not think of a more deserving scientist.”