In this episode, you will meet Dr. Rita Santos, a veterinarian whose passion for wildlife has taken her across continents. From rehabilitating cottontail rabbits and hummingbirds in Minnesota to treating wildlife in the UK, Rita shares insights from her diverse experience in wildlife medicine. We discuss the fascinating differences between European and American rabbits, explore the challenges of wildlife rehabilitation across different countries, and learn about her research on blood parasites in Portuguese owls. The conversation culminates with Rita's current ambitious PhD project - studying the health of gorilla and chimpanzee populations in Angola's Mayombe forest, where she aims to bridge the gap between wildlife conservation and human health in one of Africa's most understudied regions. This episode offers a unique glimpse into the varied world of wildlife health and the exciting challenges that lie ahead in great ape conservation.

Links

Rita's LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/ritabarriosantos

Rita's Researchgate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rita-Santos-38

Rita's academic profile: https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/people/details/rita-santos/

We'd love to hear from you ... share your thoughts, feedback and ideas.

Our host Cat Vendl chats with Anastasiia Kovba about all things viral diseases of wildlife in Japan, to be more precise on the island of Hokkaido. Anastasiia is a PhD student, based at the University of Hokkaido in Sapporo.

Anastasiia grew up in the Ukraine and did her vet degree there. For her Master’s, she moved to Japan to study HIV. But since her passion has always been wildlife, she is now investigating viral diseases in wildlife.


Links
The link to Anastasiia’s most recent paper

Anastasiia’s LinkedIn profile

Anastasiia’s Research Gate profile

We'd love to hear from you ... share your thoughts, feedback and ideas.

Have you heard of the upcoming WDA2024 off-country conference from Dec 1-6?

In less than 2 months the annual international WDA conference is coming up. It will take place in Australia’s capital, Canberra, from Dec 1-6.

Australia! Sounds great, you might think. But that may not be in the budget right now. Fear not! We have you covered. This year’s conference will come in two ways: an on-country version, which will be in person on Australian soil, and an off-country part which will be held online. Both conferences will be interwoven, yet separate events.

Tired of online conferences? Longing for personal connection? Well, we got you covered there as well. The off-country country conference will be very different to everything you have experienced before. Think, coverage of the Olympics, replacing sports with science and personal stories in wildlife health. The participants won’t just share their research, they will also share their personal experiences along their career path. And you can be a part of it!

Our host Cat Vendl chats with the organizing committee of off-country WDA2024, a group of 7 early to mid-career wildlife health academics (including our host Cat) from 5 continents. Meet Sangjin, Fernando, Lucas, Marianthi, Berta, and Sarange and listen to their vision for WDA2024!

We'd love to hear from you ... share your thoughts, feedback and ideas.