Description of Clinical Expertise

Year-round clinical responsibilities providing or overseeing veterinary care for research animals of several species located on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Rodent and large animal veterinary care include the medical and surgical services for animals with both spontaneous and protocol-related diseases, consultation with laboratories about clinical health issues within their colony, monitoring of rodent colony health in conjunction with the quality assurance group, performing surgery in a research capacity on a for-fee basis, and training of the ULAR husbandry staff.
The veterinary regulatory role consists of protocol review, working with research groups to develop IACUC-approved protocols, working with the IACUC on clinical and compliance issues, and the development of SOPs and Guidelines for both ULAR and the IACUC. Responsible for training residents, as well as fourth-year veterinary or shadowing students, on the medical, surgical, and husbandry care of coverage species.

Description of Research Expertise

The study of long-term outcomes (safety/efficacy) of gene therapy administration in animal models of retinal, liver-directed, and neurologic diseases. This includes subretinal, intra-cisterna magna, intracerebral, and intravascular vector administration, with concurrent analysis of functional and gross/histopathologic patient outcomes.