The Laboratory Bird (PDF)

Douglas K. Taylor has worked with a variety of avian species in varied settings since 1995. From 1995-2000, he worked in private practice, routinely managing avian medicine and surgery cases. From 2000-2002, he worked in the field of wildlife toxicology and used chickens to study polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and mercury toxicity. From 2002-2006, he was in training as a resident at the University of Michigan where pigeons, passerines, and chickens were in use. He is currently a faculty veterinarian at Emory University, where a substantial number of passerine species and, occasionally, chickens are housed. He became a diplomate in the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine in 2006.

Vanessa K. Lee has worked with avian species in both a research and clinical environment since 1999. From 1999-2000, she worked as a veterinary technical assistant at the University of Georgia Small Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital. From 2000-2001, she was an aviary farm manager for over 400 psittacine birds. From 2001-2004, she was a student research assistant working with pigeons and psittacines, and she worked as a wildlife treatment crew volunteer and supervisor. From 2005-2007, she was an associate veterinarian in private practice with a heavy avian caseload. She has held a faculty position at Emory University, during most of which she had clinical responsibilities for multiple passerine species. She became a diplomate in the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine in 2010.

Karen R. Strait has worked with avian species in a variety of settings since 2003. From 2003-2005, she was a wildlife treatment crew volunteer and also completed a six-week training at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, participating in field studies and diagnostic necropsies of various avian species. She has held a faculty position at Emory University, during which she provided clinical support for multiple passerine species an