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Health: from Humanity to Hippos

  • Skipper's Smokehouse 910 Skipper Rd. Tampa, FL, 33613 United States (map)

Health: from Humanity to Hippos

Are you ready for some Wednesday global health and wellness? Well, then you should join us at Skipper’s Smokehouse on April 24 with:

  • Dr. Dominique Keller, Senior Zoo Veterinarian at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

  • Dr. Thomas Unnasch, Department Chair & Distinguished University of South Florida Health Professor and Interim Chair of Environmental and Occupational Health

  • Dr. Derek Wildman, Professor in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida.

    Scroll down to read more about our fantastic speakers and their transformative science to be discussed.

    See you on Wednesday!

Buy tickets for Health: from Humanity to Hippos

Dr. Dominique Keller

How do you zoo? A day in the life of a zoo vet

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a zoo vet? Or what zoo vets do all day? If you’re curious about these things, this talk will walk you through a typical day at a large zoological institution.  I’ll show you how the vet team at Busch Gardens plans procedures and works on animals as diverse as tigers and kangaroos to local wildlife. You’ll see why there’s really no such thing as “typical” at the zoo!  

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Dr. Thomas Unnasch

Using Science to help eliminate river blindness

Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is an ancient scourge that is of the most important causes of socio-economic disruption in Africa. In the most afflicted areas it blinds 40% of the adult population. The international community has been working to eliminate this disease for over 40 years. I have devoted my life to developing new tools to help this elimination effort. I will provide an overview of this very important but little-known disease, discuss the challenges we face when trying to eliminate it.


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Dr. Derek Wildman

How has pregnancy evolved? 

What causes a pregnant woman to go into labor? How come elephant pregnancies are almost two years long while a mouse pregnancy last only three weeks? Can DNA tell scientists whether a woman is going to deliver a preterm infant? Can we inherit the biological effects from traumatic events our ancestors experienced? I will do my best to answer these and other big questions in pregnancy research.