Meet Dr. Matt Allender Jr.

On June 26^th, Dr. Adamovicz and Sam joined the Lake County team for Blanding’s Bowl. Blanding’s Bowl is an annual get together between local turtle biologists and the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory

Dr. Matt Allender Jr. the Blanding’s turtle

to find as many turtles as possible within a week’s time. People are split up into teams and the team that accumulates the most points (based on turtle species, age, and when last seen) wins. This year the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory was put together on a team together and found an unnamed Blanding’s turtle head start (a turtle raised in captivity to increase its’ chances of survival). An unnamed Blanding’s turtles head start is worth many points and an opportunity for the finders to name their turtle. After a long discussion and debate, the team settled on Dr. Matt Allender Jr. in honor of our laboratory’s head PI/mentor. Meet Dr. Matt Allender Jr.! Isn’t he such a SCUTIE?

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About the Author: chicagolandaquaturtle23

Dr. Laura Adamovicz is co-director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory and lead principal investigator of the Walder Grant. Her project focuses on species health and pathogen load across turtle species in Chicago this summer. Sam Johnson is a first-year student who is interested in disease research and surveillance, wildlife medicine, and community medicine. She is assisting Dr. Adamovicz with collecting samples across Chicago this summer to assess health and pathogen load across turtle species.