Mirella Meyer-Ficca

2026 Outstanding Graduate Mentor of the Year Award

College of Veterinary Medicine | Veterinary Clinical and Life Sciences

Dr. Mirella L. Meyer-Ficca is an Associate Professor in USU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where she leads a research program focused on the intersection of environmental exposures, germline biology, and epigenetic inheritance. Trained as a geneticist and molecular biologist, she earned her German Diploma in Biology—equivalent to a master’s degree—from the University of Kaiserslautern, specializing in genetics, human genetics, organic chemistry, and zoology. She completed her Ph.D. in Human Genetics and Virology at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tübingen in 2002; her dissertation investigated cardiotropic viral cytotoxicity and strategies for cardiomyocyte immortalization.

Dr. Meyer-Ficca’s current research explores how environmental factors—including toxicants, oxidative stress, and nutrition—alter the male germline epigenome and influence gene regulation in offspring. Her work aims to determine how paternal exposures shape sperm epigenetic programming and, ultimately, the health of future generations. She has published on male fertility, epigenetics, niacin metabolism, and aging.

At Utah State University, she teaches courses in cell biology, biotechnology, toxicology, epigenetics, and public health. She has mentored graduate and undergraduate students across multiple departments, including veterinary medicine, animal science, natural sciences, and biology. Her laboratory integrates molecular biology, cell biology, and reproductive physiology to advance the understanding of intergenerational epigenetic mechanisms. Dr. Meyer Ficca’s long-term research goal is to contribute insights to the emerging perspectives on how lifestyle and environmental conditions experienced by prospective fathers can influence the well-beingof their children. As a mentor, she strives to empower students to become passionate, successful researchers dedicated to improving the health of future generations.