Research

Walking among Elephants

This last summer, I had the pleasure of conducting a STAR project in Namibia studying stress-hormones of free-roaming African elephants.  I spent five weeks in Etosha National Park, Namibia performing my field work and one week at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research extracting and measuring the hormones in the laboratory. This was an amazing experience and a phenomenal way to spend my last summer in veterinary school!

• Marlene Belmar
• Cody Blumenshine
• Taylor Calloway
• Jaquelyn Lauletta
• Samantha Lawton
• Aaron Levin
• Sarah Tirrell

I always forget how much I feel at home in Africa. As I got off the plane in Kigali, Rwanda I was immediately surrounded by vegetation I hadn’t seen since I was a tiny tot chasing chameleons around our backyard in Madagascar. It had been 3 years since I had last set foot on African soil as a temporary resident, and 10 years since I had lived in sub-Saharan Africa as a permanent resident. The familiarities of my youth enveloped me.

I have always had a passion for wildlife and conservation. To experience a biodiversity hotspot like Kruger National Park in South Africa was always a dream of mine. With Africa in mind, I began to meet other students who had international research externships through the STAR program and the Office for Global Programs, and I began plotting the course of my summer. Through Dr. Conrad, I was put in touch with Dr. Amanda Berrian who is currently working on her PhD in the Mnisi community of South Africa.

This summer I was fortunate enough to work in Spain and Sardinia (a large Mediterranean island located off the southwest coast of Italy) for five weeks to research the risk factors associated with the persistence of African Swine Fever in the pig and wild boar population on the island of Sardinia. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a re-emerging and transboundary swine disease with devastating consequences for the pork industry.

Japan and Hong Kong are recognized among the top countries in the racing industry. It is my passion to work in the horseracing industry, so when I received the Zoetis Equine Scholarship, UC Davis residents and faculty helped me to get externships in Asia. During my three weeks in Japan, I toured their training centers, rehab facility, Thoroughbred farms, and fortunately arrived in time to attend the Nippon Derby! I was blown away by their facilities and the caliber of racehorses.