- July 2023
Laboratory Technologist
Mississippi Veterinary Research and Diagnostic Lab
Pearl, MS
Years in Position/Service to MSU: 6
Chris Kyzar may work behind the scenes, but his job is front and center to the health of Mississippi’s largest commodity.
As a laboratory technologist at the Mississippi Veterinarian Research and Diagnostic Laboratory in Pearl, Kyzar works primarily in poultry research and diagnostics. The tests help monitor for different potential outbreaks such as avian influenza or Mycoplasma Gallsepticum/Mycoplasma Synovia [respiratory infections in avian species]. Kyzar is also cross-trained to perform testing in mammalian species.
“One of my main goals at Mississippi State is to learn as much as I can, so I can serve the state of Mississippi the best I can. I feel like I am making a difference for my state and for the future of the agriculture community here,” said Kyzar.
During the fall Kyzar is part of the Chronic Wasting Disease team that tests thousands of deer during the hunting season to make sure that the deer are safe for the hunters of Mississippi.
“I have always loved animals and learning all I could about them so that I can help them. I worked in vet clinics for years before I graduated from Mississippi State, which made me interested in diagnostic work,” said Kyzar.
Kyzar earned his degree in Biochemistry from Mississippi State University in 2015.
“I never worked in a lab until I graduated but I got some lab experience at the Department of Environmental Quality, and I enjoyed it, so I applied to work at this lab because it combined my interests,” he said.
Kyzar and his wife, Megan, have one daughter, Addilyn Faye Kyzar, born in April 2022.
“She makes life so much sweeter every day. I cannot wait to get her ringing her cowbell this fall. She can’t say ‘Hail State’ yet, but she can say dog, so we are almost there!”
MSU is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.
