Meet the Team
Dr. Matthew Allender
Lab Director
Dr. Allender is a zoo and wildlife veterinarian that graduated from the University of Illinois in 2004 with his DVM. He went on to complete a MS investigating the health and disease of box turtles and massasauga rattlesnakes prior to completing a residency in Zoological Medicince at the University of Tennessee and Knoxville Zoo. He then joined the faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois and jointly completed a PhD studying the Epidemiology of Ranavirus in free-ranging chelonians. He currently teaches, performs research, and provides clinical service for free-ranging and captive wildlife.
Dr. Krista Keller
Lab Co-Director for Zoological Companion Species
Dr. Keller is a veterinary specialist in the American College of Zoological Medicine with a passion for Zoological Companion Animals, or non-traditional species that are a part of a human family. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Keller teaches, performs research and provides clinical service for captive zoological patients. Her current research is exploring the epidemiology of cutaneous mycosis (Nannizziopsis spp.) in companion reptiles and elucidating prognostic indicators in captive wildlife.
Emilie Ospina
Research Associate
Emilie grew up in New York dreaming of turtles. Her mother recounts the young Emilie was “always into turtles” and her first word was “Tur-tle”, it was adorable, she says. While elementary and high school forced her to learn about non-turtle topics, her thoughts never strayed far from the shelled creatures. She then graduated from the University of Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences with an MS in a feathered reptile project. She never thought she was good enough to work with real turtles and settled for this feathered project. But since feathered reptiles are evolutionarily close to shelled reptiles, she was satisfied. That was until recently, when her desire to actually work with turtles was just too much to overcome. She joined the lab in the spring of 2018 and couldn’t be happier. She frequently dreams about turtles and now can realize these dreams by working with several species of turtles and the turtle doctor himself. She feels her life is now complete . . .
PostDocs and Graduate Students
Dr. Laura Adamovicz
Wildlife Epidemiology PostDoc Fellow
Dr. Adamovicz is a 2012 DVM graduate of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. She joined the lab in 2015 as a PhD Fellow, and completed her dissertation in 2018. Her project assessed the wellness of wildlife indicated by the health of eastern box turtles, ornate box turtles, and silvery salamanders. She also described a new species of ranavirus, and the first detection of an Amphibiocystidium sp. infecting silvery salamanders in Illinois.
Kelsey is a PhD Candidate in the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. Her research aims to identify drivers of disease in amphibian communities, to investigate novel methods of disease surveillance, and to quantify the susceptibility of two salamander species to ranavirus.
Dr. Ellen Haynes is a second year PhD student studying the epidemiology and treatment of Snake Fungal Disease. She earned her DVM from Cornell in 2013 and joined the lab in 2017.
Veterinary Residents
Dr. Tang is a 2014 DVM graduate from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She is completing an MS project on Peruvian pinnipeds.
Dr. Sheldon is conducting a MS project developing objective criteria for evaluating gait assessments in penguins with osteoarthritis and evaluating commonly used analgesic agents within that model.
Dr. Webb graduated in 2016 from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, MA. Current projects include: injectable anesthesia in squamates, pododermatitis in flamingos, and heart disease in guinea pigs.
Dr. Kane is a 2016 University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine graduate who concurrently received a Masters degree in Wildlife Epidemiology. Her MS degree investigated the epidemiology of herpesvirus in free ranging eastern box turtles. Her residency project involves evaluating different anesthetic gases in rattlesnakes and kidney function tests in chickens.
Veterinary Students
Jeremy joined the lab in 2015 as a combined DVM-PhD student. He completed his dissertation in 2018, which looked at the epidemiology and pathogenesis of ranavirus in free-ranging chelonians. He is currently completing his DVM.
Marta is a veterinary student in the class of 2019. She is involved in many projects in the lab, and published her work on disinfection strategies for Snake Fungal Disease in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases in 2016.
Megan loves snakes, so her research looks at snake fungal disease and educating the public on the importance and value of snakes.
Kirsten is working on a case study of a Blanding’s turtle presenting with a large oral lesion that has been diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma linked to an undescribed herpesvirus. Additionally, she is trying to identify baseline plasma protein levels in free-ranging Blanding’s turtles.
Ivana is interested in companion zoological species. She is currently working on a guinea pig temperature study as well as conducting research related to prognostic indicators for survival in eastern gray squirrels. She hopes to complete an exotics internship and residency post-graduation.
Megan was involved in numerous projects with the lab. She was focused on the geographical distribution of snake fungal disease. She is currently completing an externship.
John spent his first summer with the lab investigating pathogens in Blanding’s turtles and his second summer evaluating hematological assessment methods in eastern box turtles. He hopes to begin a career in zoo and wildlife medicine and research after completing his DVM.
Taylor’s project focuses on detecting the prevalence of herpesvirus in Alligator Snapping Turtles.
Bryce is working on a project that aims to see if snake sheds can be used to determine if a snake if positive for SFD.
Allison is pursuing her MS in Conservation Medicine, and is studying the epidemiology and population impacts of emerging wildlife disease. Her project focuses on qPCR inhibitors found in soil and reptilian skin, which may limit applications of current methods for snake fungal disease detection.
Samantha’s research looked at the detection and prevalence of Mycoplasma in alligator snapping turtles in Illinois.
Lauren’s research involves analyzing hematology and plasma biochemistries of the state-endangered Blanding’s turtle.
Caitlin is working on a project involving the disinfection of Nannizziopsis guarroi, a fungal disease of bearded dragons and other companion reptiles. She will compare nine common disinfectants to determine the best one to use.
Katherine’s projects assess plasma lactate levels and hematology in eastern box turtles. The first project focuses on the difference in plasma lactate levels based on capture duration, presence of aural abscesses, and detection of herpesvirus in the eastern box turtle. Her second project looks at individual intervals for eastern box turtle hematology. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in Conservation Medicine and research.
Brina is interested in ways to improve and further wildlife conservation! Her current project assesses hematology for Lake Eerie Water Snakes with Snake Fungal Disease.