Athens, Ga. – The pathology department at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine presents a seminar by Greg Bossart, V.M.D., Ph.D., the new Chief Veterinary Officer and Senior Vice President of Veterinary Services at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Bossart’s seminar, “Marine Mammals as Sentinel Species for Oceans and Human Health,” will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, in room H237 of the college. Bossart is an international expert in marine mammal medicine, particularly in immunology and pathology of marine mammals.
Bossart graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 with an undergraduate degree in biology and physical geography. He received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. From 1981-1985, he was a resident and NIH fellow in the Department of Pathology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. In 1995, he completed his Ph.D. in manatee and dolphin immunology at Florida International University.
Bossart has spent the last 29 years working in clinical domestic, marine mammal, fish and avian medicine and wildlife pathology on a national and international basis. He has written more than 100 publications focused primarily on the pathological basis of disease in wild animals.
He joined the Georgia Aquarium from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Inc. where he served as the research professor, chief marine mammal veterinarian and head of pathology. He has been a clinical veterinary consultant for Georgia Aquarium, Miami Seaquarium, Atlantis, as well as aquariums in Asia and Latin America. He also conducts manatee conservation outreach programs in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Belize and Guyana. Since 1981, he has been the Medical Director at the Falcon Batchelor Bird of Prey Center at the Miami Museum of Science.
Founded in 1946, the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine is dedicated to training future veterinarians, providing services to animal owners and veterinarians, and conducting research to improve the health of animals as well as people. The college has more than 145 faculty members and enrolls 96 students each fall out of the approximately 500 who apply. Through its hospital and diagnostic laboratories, the college benefits pets and their owners, food-producing animals and wildlife, as well as safeguarding public health through disease surveillance. Research conducted at the college improves the health and quality of life for companion animals and improves the productivity and health of poultry and livestock.
For more information on the pathology department at the College of Veterinary Medicine, see http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp.
For more information on the Georgia Aquarium partnership with the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, see http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/conservation/medicalFacilities.aspx.