UC Davis experts: Animal behavior and health
UC Davis faculty members from a variety of disciplines are available to discuss issues related to animals. If you need information on a topic not listed, please contact Patricia Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu.
Animal behavior in companion animals
Veterinary behaviorist Melissa J. Bain focuses on wide-ranging behavioral issues in companion animals, including small animals and horses, other domesticated species, and animals in captivity. She consults with clients on veterinary treatment of separation anxiety in dogs, inappropriate elimination in cats and other clinical behavior issues. She also can address issues related to aggression in dogs, socialization of animals and appropriate training techniques. And she can discuss the natural behavioral traits in animals that suit them for training for search-and-rescue activities, personal service and other types of work. Contact: Melissa J. Bain, School of Veterinary Medicine and chief of Behavior Medicine Service, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital; (530) 752-1393 or (530) 530 7520-6226, mjbain@ucdavis.edu.
Infectious diseases transmitted between animals and people
Bruno B. Chomel,
professor of zoonoses at the School of Veterinary Medicine, can discuss
bacterial, viral or parasitic infections transmitted between animals and
people. His research focuses on Bartonella, the bacteria that causes cat
scratch disease, a common infection that may become serious in patients
with compromised immune systems. Bartonella chomelii was named to
recognize Chomel's discoveries in the field. Chomel has also conducted
studies of plague, hantavirus, rabies and other zoonoses present in
California. He is director of the WHO Collaborating Center for New and
Emerging Zoonoses.
Contact: Bruno B. Chomel, Veterinary Medicine, (530) 752-8112, bbchomel@ucdavis.edu.
Infectious diseases of small animals
The animal health research of Niels C. Pedersen focuses on infectious and immunologic diseases of dogs and cats. Specific areas of research include: infectious diseases of cats, vaccinations, antiviral drug therapy, canine and feline rheumatology, and small animal immunologic diseases/genetics of immunologic diseases. His discoveries about feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) have contributed to the development of animal models of human AIDS. Pedersen discovered several other infections of cats, including feline enteric corona virus (FECV), bacterial L-form abscesses, infectious myocarditis and several strains of feline calicivirus (FCV). He has also conducted noteworthy research in the pathology of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Contact: Niels C. Pedersen, School of Veterinary Medicine Department of Medicine and Epidemiology; director, Center for Companion Animal Health, (530) 752-7402, ncpedersen@ucdavis.edu. (Dr. Pedersen does not use voice mail or a pager; the general lab number is 752-2211.)
Media contacts:
- Patricia Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu
Last updated March 15, 2012
