Conservation & Science Staff Bios
Yvonne Nadler, D.V.M., M.P.H.
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Veterinary Epidemiologist, Zoo Animal Health Network Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology |
Education
- M.P.H. – Epidemiology of West Nile Virus in Illinois, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health
- D.V.M. – University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine
- B.S. – University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine
- B.S. – Northern Illinois University, Biological Sciences
Areas of Expertise
- Surveillance system design and implementation
- Quantitative and qualitative risk analysis
- Zoonotic disease
- Employee health
About Yvonne Nadler:
Yvonne’s interest in wildlife began as a teenager when she worked as a wild-animal caretaker in a local amusement park. She briefly considered zoological medicine, but her love of all things with hooves focused her interest on companion and food animals, and she worked in that field for 20 years.
Her interest in epidemiology of infectious disease in private practice, especially those of zoonotic concern, led her back to the classroom for her Master’s of Public Health. Yvonne’s experience with running a small business has provided project-management perspective for the Zoo Animal Health Network (ZAHN), where she integrates epidemiologic principles into surveillance and education efforts on behalf of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). ZAHN projects have included developing surveillance and outbreak-management plans in zoological institutions for highly pathogenic avian influenza. These plans will serve as templates for other diseases of concern to zoos and the USDA.
When not working with avian influenza, Yvonne is managing the Zoological Best Practices Working Group for Disaster Preparedness and Contingency Planning. This project has resulted in the development of documents that can assist members of the managed-wildlife community in drafting their own unique contingency plans.
In Yvonne’s view, one of the hardest things about managing the type of projects ZAHN tackles is coordination and communication among all the stakeholders. “Finding time to get extremely busy people across four time zones all on the same conference call or task can be a bit challenging. But ultimately, collaboration is the key to successful outcomes.”
When not working, Yvonne and her family enjoy landscaping their small farm and camping in Utah.
Publications
E. Pultorak, Y. Nadler, D. Travis, A. Glaser, T. McNamara, SD. Mehta. 2011. Zoological Institution Participation in a West Nile Virus Surveillance System: Implications for Public Health. Public Health 125: 592-599.
Chosy, J., Travis, D., and Nadler, Y. 2009. Zoos as disease sentinels: Piloting an avian influenza surveillance system in zoological institutions. Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine, 3(1):184.
Gillespie, T.R., Lonsdorf, E.V., Canfield, E.P., Meyer, D.J., Nadler, Y., Raphael, J., Pusey, A.E., Pond, J., Pauley, J., Mlengeya, T., Travis, D.A. . Demographic and Ecological Affects on Patterns of Parasitism in Eastern Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 143: 534-544.
