Lagniappe Magazine Features McNeese Professor

Professor of Chemistry Dr. Mark Merchant is the cover story for the Jan. 20 issue of Lagniappe Magazine.
Dr. Merchant is a leading researcher specializing in alligator immunology, a field he first began investigating due to a fascination with the alligator’s uncanny healing abilities.

The Lagniappe article details Dr. Merchant’s exploration to find what makes an alligator’s immune system so efficient and hopes his research can one day lead to new antibiotic drugs to fight infection.

One aspect of Dr. Merchant’s research led to the university’s second patent. He and and Dr. Chip LeMieux, dean of McNeese’s College of Agricultural Sciences, developed a new type of feed supplement for weanling pigs and poultry hatchlings – one made of alligator blood.