Speaker Bios

(In alphabetical order)

Geraldine Hunt, BVSc, PhD, FACVSc

Dr. Geraldine Hunt graduated from the University of Sydney in 1983 and worked for two years in private small animal practice in Canberra before returning to Sydney to do a PhD in cardiac electrophysiology at Westmead Hospital. She then worked a further year in small animal practice in Bankstown, Sydney before undertaking a Residency in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Sydney. From 1991 to 1997 she was Lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy and Surgical consultant to the University Veterinary Centre, Sydney. She was then appointed Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Surgery and Head of Surgery, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Sydney in 1997. In 2001 she was appointed Associate Professor and in 2003 Director of the University Veterinary Centre, Sydney. She is currently a visiting professor in the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Her clinal and research interests include surgery for congenital diseases, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, and reconstructive surgery.

Michael S. Kent, DVM, DipACVIM(Oncology), DipACVR

Dr. Michael Kent graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California, Davis. He completed an internship at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a year in clinical practice. Dr. Kent became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2002 and of the American College of Veterinary Radiology in 2004. In 2006, he received his masters degree in clinical research. He was formerly the Director of the Medical Oncology Residency Program for the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and Radiology at the University of California, Davis.

Teresa Lightfoot, DVM, DABVP (Avian)

Dr. Lightfoot received her DVM from the University of Missouri in 1980. She completed an externship at the St. Louis Zoo, and has been practicing in Florida since 1980. Dr. Lightfoot is ABVP - Avian specialty boarded and is the 2009-2010 incoming ABVP president. She has served as a consulting veterinarian for the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary since 1987. Dr. Lightfoot served on the Florida Board of Veterinary Medicine from 1995 to 1999, and served as Chair from 1997-1999. She is the author and editor of two exotic medicine textbooks, "Clinical Avian Medicine" and "Exotic Pet Behavior". She is also a reviewer for Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, Exotic DVM Journal and the Association of Avian Veterinarians Conference Proceedings. She lectures frequently on avian and exotic medicine and surgery both nationally and internationally. Dr. Lightfoot is the recipient of the Association of Avian Veterinarians Gold Star Award, the Florida Veterinarian of the Year award. the Ted Lafeber Avian Practitioner Award and the Exotic Veterinarian of the Year from the International Conference on Exotics.

Douglas R. Mader, MS, DVM, DABVP

Dr. Mader, a graduate from the University of California, Davis in 1986, is the co-owner the Marathon Veterinary Hospital, a referral hospital in the Conch Republic. Dr. Mader is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Canine and Feline Practice) and a Fellow in the Royal Society of Medicine. Currently he is the consulting veterinarian for the Marathon Sea Turtle Hospital, the Monroe County Sheriff's Zoo, the Key West Aquarium and the Theater of the Sea. Dr. Mader is an internationally acclaimed lecturer and is on the review boards of several scientific journals. He has published numerous articles in scientific and veterinary journals, national magazines, and, is the author/editor of the Elsevier publication, Reptile Medicine and Surgery.

Geoff Pye, BVSc, MSc, DACZM

Dr. Geoff Pye received his Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Melbourne in 1988. Following six years of private practice with dairy cattle, small animals, and exotic animals, Dr. Pye completed a Master of Science degree in Wild Animal Health at the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1995. He then worked at the Melbourne Zoo, the Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo and was acting senior veterinarian at Currumbin Sanctuary (Queensland). Dr. Pye then moved to the United States, completing an internship in Exotic Animal, Wildlife, and Zoo Animal Medicine at Kansas State University and a residency in Zoological Medicine at the University of Florida. He became a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2001. He was a clinical instructor in zoological medicine at the University of Florida, based at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida. Between 2002 and 2005, he was the staff veterinarian at Victoria's Open Range Zoo in Werribee and contributed to the teaching program in exotic animal medicine for veterinary students at the University of Melbourne. He is currently the Senior Veterinarian for the San Diego Zoo.

Drury Reavill, DVM, DACVP, DABVP (Avian)

Dr. Drury Reavill graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University and practiced at the Avian Medical Center of Sacramento, as well as provided clinical consultation and laboratory services to practitioners through California Avian Laboratory, a national service exclusively devoted to avian and exotic animals, and California Veterinary Diagnostic Labs of West Sacramento.. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Avian Medicine) in 1993, recertified in 2003. She completed her residency in anatomic pathology, including instruction in zoo pathology and course work at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (Anatomic Pathology) in 2000. Dr. Reavill has over 19 years of experience in avian and exotic clinical practice, laboratory diagnostics and pathology. She has authored or co-authored over 30 papers, 10 book chapters, one book, and a CD, each covering a wide range of exotic animal disease conditions.

Sam Silverman, DVM, PhD, DACVR

Dr. Silverman obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a doctorate in Comparative Pathology from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Silverman is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology. He has been a Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery and Radiological Sciences at the University of California, Davis since 1975. Dr. Silverman has published over 65 articles and two texts, "Radiology of Rodents, Rabbits, and Ferrets" and "Radiology of Birds: An Atlas of Normal Anatomy and Positioning". He is currently a private practitioner with a practice in Marin County, Sausalito, California.

Additional speaker biographies to come!