The Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center brings together curiosity and expertise from a wide variety of science backgrounds in an effort to truly understand and improve wildlife health. We work with many affiliates, so this list evolves with our projects and collaborations:  

Edward (Rob) Atwill
Epidemiology and medical ecology of infectious diseases potentially transferred between livestock and wildlife; assessing microbial contamination of the environment by livestock and wildlife, with a special emphasis on microbial contamination of surface water.

Aaron C. Brault
Identification of viral determinants of vector competence and vertebrate virulence for arthropod-borne viruses, such as West Nile encephalitis virus. Molecular epidemiological approaches and genetic engineering techniques for improved diagnostics and risk assessment for emerging diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors.

Deborah Brosnan
Marine scientist crafting innovative, science-based solutions to environmental issues globally. An ongoing research program in restoring and sustaining resilient marine ecosystems in a changing world.

Richard Brown
Humboldt State: Ecological maintenance of pathogens that infect wildlife, transmission ecology, ecological relevance of pathogen strain variation, tick-borne disease ecology, diseases of wild carnivores, and other topics related to wildlife diseases.

Barbara A. Byrne
Bacterial pathogenesis and host:pathogen interactions. Control of expression of virulence proteins of Rhodococcus equi, interaction of Salmonella enteritidis with epithelial cells, and characterization of intestinal microbiota in health and disease.

Tim E. Carpenter
Director of Center for Animal Disease Modeling. Livestock production economics; mathematics and simulation modeling; spatial and wildlife epidemiology.

Bruno B. Chomel
Zoonotic disease epidemiology and diagnostics; microbiology; infectious disease (bovine, companion animal, laboratory animal, primate, ruminant, wildlife).

Bruce Christensen
Assistant Professor of Population Health & Reproduction at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with a specialty focus in equine reproduction.

Deana Clifford
Deana is the lead non-game veterinarian at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a research scientist at the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center. She has expertise in epidemiologic study design, disease risk analysis and disease management of wildlife species. 

Tracy L. Clippinger 
Zoological Society of San Diego Affiliate: Captive wildlife medicine; diseases associated with intensive husbandry; reintroduction of captively-bred endangered species.

Alan Conley
Biochemical and molecular control of gonadal and adrenal steroidogenesis and its role in the reproductive development and physiology of vertebrates.

Patricia A. Conrad
Biotechnology, immunology, infectious disease, parasitology. Molecular biology; immunology of pathogenic protozoa (Neospora, babesia, sarcocystosis). Development of parasite-specific DNA probes and immunoassays; immunological and epidemiological studies on protozoal parasites of dogs, horses, cattle and humans; special interest in characterization of protozoal parasites that cause infertility, abortion in cattle; and tick-transmitted protozoa.

John M. Eadie
Waterfowl ecology and evolution; behavioral ecology; ecological and conservation genetics

Holly B. Ernest
Genetics for wildlife conservation and management; genetic epidemiology; conservation biology; wildlife veterinary medicine; spatial ecology; forensic genetics

William T. Ferrier
Raptor medicine; falconry; infectious diseases and toxins in wild birds.

Janet Foley
Epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. Special interests include granulocytic ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, and plague. Simulation and analytical modeling of infectious disease persistence and emergence in nature, using different pathogen-host systems. Infectious diseases in animal shelters: bordetellosis, diarrheal diseases, feline URI, arthropod induced dermatopathy. Maintenance and spread of infectious diseases in coral reef ecosystems.

Mourad Gabriel
Executive Director of Integral Ecology Research Center. Dr. Gabriel's expertise include Wildlife Disease Ecology, Ecotoxicology, Wildlife Management, Disease Risk Assessment, Carnivore Conservation and Human Dimensions in Wildlife Conservation.

Ian A. Gardner 
University of Prince Edward Island: Epidemiology of swine, wildlife, and livestock diseases; diagnostic test evaluation; analytical and clinical epidemiology; swine pneumonia

Richard Golightly
Humboldt State University Affiliate: Habitat use, energetics, food habits and nutrition; urban wildlife; and effects of anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife

Gary Greene
CSU Monterey Bay: Marine Geology, Benthic Habitats, Submarine Canyons & Landslides, Tsunamis, Coastal Processes

Frances Gulland
Gulland was previously a Senior Scientist at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, where she was actively involved in the veterinary care and rehabilitation of stranded marine mammals and research into marine mammal diseases since 1994.

Michelle Hawkins
Companion avian and exotic animal medicine and surgery; disease transmission between companion exotics and their owners. Director of the California Raptor Center. 

Pam Hullinger
UC Davis in the school of veterinary medicine working on foreign animal disease prevention, policy development and response planning at both the state and national levels.

David A. Jessup
California Department of Fish and Game Affiliate: Infectious diseases and their effect on wildlife populations. Oil pollution and other man-made and environmental toxins; wildlife capture, anesthesia, and handling and relocation.

James Jones
Comparative physiology: respiratory, cardiovascular, exercise, metabolic, thermoregulation, environmental, integrative, evolutionary; biomechanics, allometry, structure-function relationships; physiological ecology; and transport stress.

Sree Kanthaswamy
Population genetics and animal forensics.  Using simple tandem repeats (STRs) or microsatellites and mtDNA markers to define the genetic and population structures of captive and wild populations of non-human primates. Animal forensics based on the analyses of traces of animal blood, saliva and hair collected at crime scenes or from civil cases for DNA-typing.

Kevin Keel
Behavior associated cranial abscesses in white-tailed deer; pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome and techniques to reduce mortality among bats; novel canine parvoviruses and emerging enteric disease in raccoons and cats; epidemiology and pathogenesis of a novel orthomomyxovirus affecting common eiders; environmental factors associated with mass strandings of lesser shearwaters.

Michael Lairmore
Dean of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine: Oversees all UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine activities, personnel, facilities and funding resources. 

Nadine Lamberski
Zoological Society of San Diego Affiliate: Captive and free-ranging wildlife medicine, especially felids.

V. Michael Lane
Mammalian reproductive hormones, fertility and fecundity; field applications of contraception.

Bill Lasley
Biotechnology, epidemiology, reproduction (primate, wildlife, zoo/exotic). Ovarian function; early pregnancy and comparative reproductive endocrinology. Wildlife reproduction. Comparative reproductive endocrinology, toxicology, and epidemiology. Reproduction of non-domestic species; endocrine aspects of female fertility and early pregnancy, reproductive epidemiology.

Linda J. Lowenstine
Pathology and pathogenesis of naturally occurring diseases of captive and free-living marine mammals, nonhuman primates, and birds especially those affecting conservation and captive propagation. Current focus is on the herpesviruses of sea lions and harbor seals, the role of viruses and pollutants in cancer in sea lions, domoic acid intoxication in marine mammals and birds, diseases of gorillas, orangutans and bonobos and cardiovascular disease in great apes.

Leslie Lyons
Comparative genetics; genetic maps to address inherited diseases.

James N. MacLachlan
Viral pathogenesis; Molecular characterization of West Nile virus, equine arteritis virus & bluetongue virus; pathogenesis of bluetongue infection of cattle, sheep and wildlife; pathogenesis of equine arteritis virus infection.

Gary D. Marty
Effects of infectious diseases and toxicants on wild fish populations

Greg Massey
Specialties: Advanced analytics, avian medicine and surgery, oiled wildlife rehabilitation, emergency response/crisis management, field operations planning and management, avian capture techniques. 

Brenda McCowan
Behavioral ecology and evolution of mammalian vocal communication; animal behavior and communication as tools for animal production, management, and conservation

Stuart Meyers
Sperm cell biology, stallion infertility, evaluation of sperm function, cryobiology of macaque and horse sperm.

Melissa Miller 
California Department of Fish and Game Affiliate: Investigative pathology in marine animals; toxoplasmosis; domoic acid; sea otter recovery. 

Robert Moeller
Foreign animal diseases; food animal diseases, pathology and toxicology; diseases of fish and fish pathology; botulism in livestock.

Chuck Mohr
Cell pathology, immunotoxicology, mast cell biology, signal transduction, cellular calcium regulation, immunotoxicology.

Jim Moore
Bodega Marine Laboratory: Monitoring the geographic distribution of the rickettsial bacterium that causes withering syndrome (WS), a devastating disease of multiple California abalone species, and examining species-specific difference in virulence, disease progression and potential impact of climate change.

Michael Murray
Dr. Michael Murray is a key figure in sea otter conservation efforts from California to the Russian Far East. He is also deeply engaged in the exhibit and field research activities of the Aquarium’s Project White Shark, cares for the aquarium’s living collection, and has worked to support recovery of endangered bald eagles and California condors.

Bennie I Osburn
Biotechnology, immunology, infectious disease (bovine, ruminant). Immunopathology, fetal and viral disease, bluetongue virus, preharvest food safety.

John Pascoe
Pathophysiology of respiratory disease; pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disease

Joanne Paul-Murphy
Dr. Paul-Murphy is board certified in the specializations of zoological medicine (DACZM) and animal welfare (DACAW). She is a professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. 

Niels C. Pedersen
Infectious and immunologic diseases of animals. Retroviral diseases of cats and monkeys. Animal models for human AIDS.

Patricia Pesavento
The Pesavento laboratory is interested in diseases affecting intensively housed animals, and in particular we study shelter associated feline and canine diseases. The compounded vulnerability of shelter animals to disease includes host compromise (eg stress, nutrition), but also dense populations of animals provide a unique environment with a high prevalence of pathogens and intense variability in pathogen virulence.

Bruce Rideout
Zoological Society of San Diego Affiliate: Pathogenesis and epidemiology of infectious diseases; avian embryonic and neonatal pathology as it relates to captive propagation for recovery programs; population dynamics of infectious disease and disease risk assessment for translocation and reintroduction programs. 

Jeffrey Roberts
Associate Director of Primate Services at the California National Primate Research Center. 

Laura Rogers-Bennett
Laura's research at Bodega Marine Laboratory addresses processes that impact the health of marine populations and communities and applies these to fishery management and marine conservation issues.

Cheryl Scott
Holding licenses in both human and veterinary medicine, she became a One Health Practitioner, capable of viewing health and diseases that cross species and discipline barriers. Practicing locally and globally she makes decisions and interventions in the best interest of animals, humans and the environment as a whole.

Karen Shapiro
Areas of research interest include transport and fate of zoonotic pathogens in watersheds and coastal ecosystems; effects of landscape change and climate variability on disease transmission; impacts of water scarcity and impaired quality on human and animal population health, and food safety.

Joe Silva
UC Davis School of Medicine: Expert in infectious diseases and has clinical interests in the areas of general internal medicine, immune deficiency and antibiotic-associated colitis.

Eugene P. Steffey
Anesthesia, anesthesiology, cardiopulmonary physiology, physiology/pharmacology.

Jeffery L. Stott
Immunology infectious disease (bovine, ruminant, equine, wildlife). Immunopathogenesis of viral and bacterial diseases in ruminant, equine and marine mammal species. Immunomodulation of the mucosal immune system. Developmental and comparative immunology of marine mammal species, domestic livestock (bovine/equine) and zoo animals.

Meg Sutherland-Smith
Zoological Society of San Diego Affiliate: Captive and free-ranging wildlife medicine.

Lisa A. Tell
Diseases of free ranging and companion avian species. Special emphasis on avian mycobacteriosis and treatment of avian fungal infections of the respiratory tract. Expanding population size of endangered psittacine species and providing a means of genome resource banking.

Jerrold Tannenbaum
Animal ethics and law; agricultural law and ethics; veterinary ethical, legal, and policy studies; animal research ethics; animal welfare science and ethics; environmental ethics. 

Ross P. Tarara
Wildlife pathology with emphasis on primates.

Koen Van Rompay
Viral pathogenesis and the effects of antiviral drug treatment. HIV vaccine research for developing countries.

Frank J.M. Verstraete
Comparative odontology; comparative oral and dental pathology; structure and pathology of the temporomandibular joint in mammals. 

E. Scott Weber
Dr. Weber joins UC Davis from the New England Aquarium in Boston. He will be collaborating on efforts to develop a California Marine Animal laboratory. Interest and experience with zoological and aquarium collections, companion exotic animals, marine animal rehabilitation, and conservation medicine. Special interest in the immune response of fish, reptiles, and amphibians to infectious disease.

Barry W. Wilson
Muscle growth and development; neurotoxicology; ecotoxicology.

JoAnn Yee
Technical Supervisor, Pathogen Detection Laboratory at the California National Primate Research Center. 

Pam Yochem

Huaijun Zhou
Research in immunogenetics, molecular genetics, functional genomics, and bioinformatics in poultry.

Jeffrey Zuba
Zoological Society of San Diego Affiliate: Captive and free-ranging wildlife medicine; endangered species recovery and reintroduction; diagnostic techniques in large mammals.