Lais Rosa Rodrigues Costa
Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension
Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension
Population Health & Reproduction
Population Health & Reproduction
Licenses
AVMA Examination for Foreign Veterinary Graduates
Federally Accredited Licensed Veterinarian Category II
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine – Large Animal Medicine
Licensed Veterinarian in the State of Louisiana
Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, International Veterinary Acupuncture Society
Diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners – Equine Practice
Licensed Veterinarian in the state of Massachusetts
Licensed Veterinarian in the state of Delaware
Licensed Veterinarian in the state of Pennsylvania
Licensed Veterinarian in the state of California
AVMA First Responder Veterinary Certificate
Large Animal Technical Rescue - Technician Level
California Disaster Service Workers Volunteer
AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) Treatment Veterinarian
Licensed Amateur Radio Technician
FEMA IS-700.b: National Incident Management System, on-demand certificate training
FEMA IS-200.c: Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response, on-demand certificate training
FEMA IS-10.a: Animals in Disasters: Awareness and Preparedness, on-demand certificate training
FEMA IS-100.c: Introduction to Incident Command System (ICS 100), On-demand Certificate training.
FEMA MGT 415: Disaster Recovery in Rural Communities (Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium), Woodland CA, 8-hr in-person training
Education
1994, MS, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Maxwell Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
1998, DVM, Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates by the American Veterinary Medical Associati,
2005, PhD, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
1999, Residency, Louisiana State University, Veterinary Hospital and Clinic
1987, VMD, Faculdade de Médicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brasil
1996, UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Davis CA
1991, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
2026, ResQFAST,
2024, Secure Beef Supply (SBS) Trainer , National Cattlemen's Beef Association
2022, Public Health Implications of Hazards and Disaster Research CONVERGE Training Module, CDC TRAIN
2022, Emergency Response to Natural Disasters for Livestock Facilities, CDC TRAIN
2021, Animal Fire Training Evacuation and Rescue, Colorado State University and Code 3 Associates
2021, S-190 Basic Wildland Fire Behavior, ResQFAST, Glenn Allen, CA
2021, Livestock Decontamination Training, Code 3 Associates, Glenn Allen, CA
2020, Fieldwork Toolkit Series, UC Field Research Safety Center of Excellence
2024, Sierra Rescue International and UC Davis FD, UC Davis Campus (2018, 2021, 2024)
2018, National Veterinary Response Team Advanced Training, United States Department of Health & Human Service
Active Research Grants
Co-Principal Investigator, Development of a Mobile App in Targeted California, Oregon and Hawaii Counties for Pre And Post Disaster Planning, Maurice Pitesky (Principal Investigator), USDA Smith Lever
Honors and Awards
1987 “Horacio Passos” Award for the Outstanding Veterinary Medical Student
1994 Member of The Honor Society of Agriculture Gamma Sigma Delta
1998 ACVIM Young Investigator Research Award
1998 Award in Clinical Research
1999 Award in Clinical Research
1999 Joan A. O’Brien Award
1999 ACVIM Young Investigator Research Award
2001 Grant-in-Aid of Research Award for PhD: “Development of a novel in vitro system for evaluation of the effects of cytokines in equine bronchial epithelial cells”, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
2002 Member of The Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine Phi Zeta
2002 Joan A. O’Brien Award
2005 Young Investigator Award
2006 Biography published in 2006.
2007 Biography published in 2007.
2008 Biographical record published in the 62th ed.
2009 Woman of the Year in Education
2009 Biographical record published in the 63rd ed.
2019 Aggie Heroes Class of 2019 Award
2019 Commendation to the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team Medical Reserve Corps for the response to the 2018 Butte County Camp fire
2024 I am the creator of the idea and co-founder with team member Melyssa Rehman (Veterinary Technician for the Clinical Skills Lab), additional team members include two Senior Veterinary Students, Nicole Gonzalez and Amanda Ayers (Class 2025).
Research Focus
My program goals are to mitigate the negative impacts of emergencies and disasters on the health and welfare of livestock, companion animals and captive wildlife species. The applied research focuses on understanding the challenges that rural commuities face based on an evaluation of the hazards, the needs of communities at risk and the resources available. Community preparedness is built on an understanding of needs and crafting of strategies to fill the gaps and build capacity. The applied research also aims to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of these strategies.
Specialty Focus
My program focuses on All-Hazards-All-Animals Emergency Preparedness. The goals of the program are to mitigate the negative impacts of emergencies and disasters on the health and welfare of livestock, companion animals and captive wildlife species through education, information and capacity building. To accomplish these goals the program is built on a Preparedness Triad: Hazards-Vulnerabilities-Capacity. The triad structure includes the three elements of preparedness: Assesment of the Hazards, Understanding the Vulnerabilities and Accounting for the Current Capacity, with the ultimate goal of building capacity through partnerships and outreach.
Ten Recent Publications
2026
Brosnan RJ, Aleman M, Costa L, Knych H, Dooupenloup A, Vedavally U, Unkel CM
The spearmint extract L-carvone as a euthanasia agent in sheep
2025
Morales CJ, Costa LRR^
Complications Associated with Equine Diagnostic and Elective procedures
2024
Brosnan RJ, Knych HK, Cenani A, Costa LRR
Pharmacokinetics of intramuscular L-carvone in sheep
2024
Morales CJ, Costa LRR^
Chronic Cough and Hyperpnea: Clinical Approach to Equine Asthma
2023
Dybdal N, Horgan M, Costa L, Davis E, Lucero S, Nieves S, Quiroz V, Weberg K, Madigan JE
Equine Gunshot Euthanasia: Creation of a 3D-Printed Model with Integrated Sensors for Training
2023
Brosnan RJ, Cenani A, Costa LR, Condy P, Snell C
Analgesic effect of the mint terpenoid L-carvone in sheep
2023
Costa LRR, Swiderski C, Palm C, Aleman M
Preliminary evaluation of hepatitis A virus cell receptor 1/kidney injury molecule 1 in healthy horses treated with phenylbutazone
2021
Aleman MR, True A, Scalco R, Crowe CM, Costa LRR, Chigerwe M
Gentamicin-induced sensorineural auditory loss in healthy adult horses.
2020
Dieckmann HG, Costa LRR, Madigan JE
Current Operational Model for Veterinary Care in Large Animal Shelters During Disasters.
2020
Dieckmann HG, Costa LRR, Martínez-López B, Madigan JE
Disaster Medicine: Implementation of an animal health database in response to the 2018 California Camp Fire.