Bridging the Zoo-UGA Gap

Few models exist in veterinary medicine where collaborators from so many different backgrounds have a platform through which to exchange ideas and provide services with the common goal of improving the health of an entire species. The Great Ape Heart Project (GAHP), and its host institution, Zoo Atlanta, have provided that platform for gorillas (as well as the other 3 great ape species), and we're very excited to work with them on this project.   

As a cardiology resident with a background in zoo and aquatic animal medicine and research, I'm excited to focus my residency research on great ape cardiology. I left my home state of Florida and specifically chose UGA for my residency training given their connection to the GAHP/Zoo Atlanta. Drs. Rapoport and Coleman provided only support and encouragement when asked during my interview if I would be able to focus my studies around the GAHP. I had been fortunate enough by that time to have met and worked with Marietta, Bobbi, Dr. Murphy and the rest of the Zoo Atlanta team. For what I had hoped to get out of a residency program, there could not have been a more ideal group of people to work alongside. My goal is simple: to help elucidate the causes (pathophysiology) of cardiac disease in the great apes from a clinical perspective in however big or small a role that may be. There are so many pieces to this puzzle given the large number of potential etiologies that have been proposed (genetic, nutritional, infectious, inflammatory, etc. causes). I'm ecstatic to be in a position to collaborate with so many brilliant professionals working collectively to put the puzzle pieces together in an effort to more effectively see the bigger picture. We have made huge strides in small animal cardiology (dog/cat) in the last few decades, and I believe zoo/aquatic animal cardiology is the next frontier. I can't wait to see what the what the next few years hold!