João Brandão - Chair

Natalie Antinoff

Victoria Bender

Dr. Victoria Bender is the currently president of the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians (AEMV) after serving on the board of directors and scientific committee for the past four years. She is a 2016 graduate of University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and earned her BS in Biology from Duke University. After earning her DVM, she returned to North Carolina to complete an internship in avian and exotic animal medicine. Dr. Bender now works in private practice with a caseload composed entirely of exotic mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and wildlife.

Dario D'Ovidio

Dario d’Ovidio is a Diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine (Small Mammals) and a European Board of Veterinary Specialisation European Veterinary Specialist in Small Mammal Medicine and Surgery. He is currently a referral veterinarian for exotic pets in Naples and a visiting Professor at the Universities of Naples, Bologna and Parma, Italy. His current research interest areas include exotic animal dermatology, anesthesia, parasitology, and zoonotic diseases.

Peter DiGeronimo

Peter M. DiGeronimo studied biology at Drew University prior to earning a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine and Certificate in Veterinary Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. After 5 years in small animal and exotics practice, he completed a Zoological Medicine Internship at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Zoo and Audubon Nature Institute and a master’s in Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh in 2016. Dr. DiGeronimo spent several years as a clinical instructor in the Exotic Companion Animal Medicine Service at the University of PA School of Veterinary Medicine before becoming the veterinarian for Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. He became a board-certified specialist in zoological medicine in 2020 and is currently an associate veterinarian at the Philadelphia Zoo. He continues to teach exotic animal medicine for undergraduate and veterinary students and to provide relief work at an exotics specialty hospital. He has co-authored over 40 publications on zoo, exotics, and wildlife medicine and is currently investigating the health and conservation of various species including sharks, snakes, and elephants.

Nicola Di Girolamo

Nicola Di Girolamo is an associate professor of Exotic Pet Medicine at Cornell University. Before moving to the United States, Nicola was employed as a veterinary specialist in Hong Kong and as a resident in Rome, Italy. He completed a PhD at the University of Bologna and a master of science in evidence-based healthcare at the University of Oxford. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Small Animal Practice and of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. Nicola is board-certified from the American College of Zoological Medicine, the European College of Zoological Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

Tom Donnelly

Thomas M. Donnelly is a board-certified laboratory animal medicine specialist, providing regulatory guidance, research advice, medical attention, and welfare supervision to researchers using animals in scientific investigation and testing. He is also a board-certified specialist in exotic companion mammals, seeing primary care and referred patients. His work links understanding animal diseases and their complexities with developing novel therapies for humans and animals. He works as a research professor at the French National Veterinary School of Alfort and holds an Adjunct Faculty appointment at Tufts Veterinary School in the Zoological Companion Animal Medicine service. He is a Veterinary Information Network (VIN) consultant and author of over two-hundred scientific and clinical publications.

Grayson Doss

Dr. Doss completed his DVM at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and a zoological medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee County Zoo, and the International Crane Foundation. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Zoological Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. His research interests include sedation, anesthesia, analgesia and imaging of zoological companion animals.

Claire Grosset

Claire Grosset is an associate professor in Zoological Medicine at the Université de Montréal, Canada. After a residency in Companion Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine at the University of California, Davis, she became a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2014. Her main research interests are about fish and reptile welfare and antinociception. Claire Grosset is an associate professor in Zoological Medicine at the Université de Montréal, Canada. After a residency in Companion Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine at the University of California, Davis, she became a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2014. Her main research interests are about fish and reptile welfare and antinociception.

Michelle Hawkins

Cathy Johnson-Delaney

Dr. Johnson-Delaney is a 1980 graduate of Washington State University and practiced avian and exotic animal medicine in the greater Seattle area. She was Exotic DVM 2003 and received the 2009 Oxbow Small Mammal Health Award. She is a past president of both the Association of Avian Veterinarians and the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians and is currently serving as Member at Large/Chair, Welfare, Ethics and Legislative Committees on the AEMV Board. Author of Ferret Medicine and Surgery, Exotic Companion Medicine Handbook for Veterinarians and lead author for the guinea pig and ferret modules for Vetstream/VetLexicon. She is Medical Moderator for the ExoticDVM Forum (online), Manuscript Scientific Proceedings Editor (AEMV), Assistant Editor J Exotic Pet Med and serves on the AVMA Scientific Review Board and the AALAS Education Resource Committee. Works with: NW Zoological Supply, Washington Ferret Rescue & Shelter, Oregon Tiger Sanctuary and the Pacific Primate Sanctuary.

Krista Keller

Dr Krista Keller is board certified specialist in zoological medicine through the American College of Zoological Medicine with a passion for zoological companion animals. In her current role as Associate Clinical Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California, Davis she provides clinical support, teaches the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary specialists, and performs research focusing on reptile mycology.

Angela Lennox

Christopher Mans

Christoph Mans is a native of Germany and completed his studies in veterinary medicine at the University of Leipzig (Germany) and Berne (Switzerland). This was followed by an internship in Avian and Exotic Animal Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College (Canada) and employment in private practice in Hong Kong. He completed his residency in zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee County Zoo. He is currently a clinical professor of zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Julianne McCready

Dr. McCready earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her DVM from Tufts University. After graduation, she completed a small animal rotating internship at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey, followed by an avian and exotics specialty internship at Red Bank. Then, she completed an avian and exotics internship, followed by an American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) residency, at Ontario Veterinary College. She also treated zoological species during rotations at the Toronto Zoo. Her residency had a concurrent research component, and she completed a Doctor of Veterinary Science degree. Her research focused on pneumoperitoneum in guinea pigs to establish parameters for laparoscopic surgery in this species. Following her residency, she became Clinical Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University in the Zoological Medicine service, which treats zoological companion animals, wildlife, and zoological species. She became a diplomate of ACZM in 2023.

Cathy Meade

Cathy Meade received her Veterinary Technology diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2007. She has always had a passion for exotic companion mammals and keeping up to date on advancing medicine and technical skills. Soon after graduating, Cathy worked at a small animal/exotic practice, where she learned to perform cheek tooth trims under general anesthesia, and went on to teach her peers as well. This was just the start of her passion for learning, and sharing her acquired knowledge with others. Cathy is an active member of the AEMV, and serves on 2 AEMV committees: the AEMV Scientific Committee and the AEMV Technician Committee.

Hélène Rembeaux

Dr. Rembeaux completed an internship in zoological medicine at the Université de Montréal in Quebec, Canada. She currently works as a clinical teacher at the same institution and in private practice at the Bird and Exotic Animal department of the Laval Veterinary Center.

Miranda Sadar

Dr. Miranda Sadar is a graduate of the Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. After graduation, she completed a one-year clinical internship in zoological, zoological companion animal, and wildlife medicine at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After finishing a two-year fellowship at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, she completed a zoological residency with a focus on zoological companion animals at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Sadar was an Assistant Professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine for two years prior to moving back to Colorado State University, where she is an Associate Professor in the Avian, Exotic, and Zoological Medicine service. In 2016, she became a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine. Dr. Sadar’s research interests focus on minimally invasive modalities to decrease stress, both situational and painful stress, in non-traditional species.

Nico Schoemaker

Nico Schoemaker graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht 1994. He then followed an internship in Companion Animal Medicine and a residency in Avian Medicine and Surgery at Utrecht University, resulting in certification as an avian specialist in the Netherlands, Europe (Dip. ECAMS) and the USA (Dipl. ABVP –Avian). In 2003 he defended his PhD entitled: Hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets. Since 2009 he is a founder diplomate of the small mammal specialty of the ECZM, and is thereby a recognized European specialist. He is a past-president of the ECZM and is still employed at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Amanda Steignagel

Dr. Amanda Steinagel completed her ABVP:ECM residency at MedVet.  She is the exotics lead veterinarian and internship coordinator at Mount Laurel Animal Hospital.  She is a published author on a variety of exotic/zoological medicine topics.  She enjoys hiking, yoga, weightlifting, collecting records, brewery-hoping, and spending time with her pug, Elvis.

Molly Varga

Molly graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1992. After graduation she spent the next 4 years working in small animal and exotic medicine in Canada. These varied experiences included working in multicentre urban practice in Toronto and a small exotics practice in rural Ontario. Her case load included a lot of native wildlife such as raccoons, skunks and red-tailed hawks. After returning to the UK in 1996 she has worked in both London and the North West. Molly gained her Certificate in Zoological Medicine in 2001 and her Diploma in Zoological Medicine (Mammalian) in 2007.   Molly now heads the exciting new specialist exotic pets service at Rutlland House Referral Hospital in St Helens, Merseyside.