plants

I’m Brian McCluskey, Chief Epidemiologist for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services.  I’ve been with APHIS for more than 20 years and served in many different capacities.

I decided to become a veterinarian during my junior year in college, as a way to combine my interests in science, medicine and dairy cows.  As soon as I graduated and went into practice working with dairy cows, I found my skills challenged right away!  In my first five calls for calving assistance, four of them involved uterine torsions.  Now, this is a rare condition with a twist in the uterus making it difficult for the calf to come out.  I was able to successfully handle the calls, but I was really questioning my career choice at the time.

Hi, I’m Dr. Shanna Siegel, a Veterinary Medical Officer with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).  I have been working for APHIS for the past 3 years on import and export matters here in Georgia.  After finishing vet school I worked as a small animal practitioner in a semi-rural practice while earning my Master’s of Public Health (MPH) degree. Upon completion of my MPH, I worked as a laboratory researcher. My current job allows me to follow my passion for helping both animals and people.

When I was young, I wanted to spend time with animals but my mother was allergic to them.  When I turned 12, I began volunteering at a local vet clinic.  I continued to work in clinics through college with the intention of going to vet school.  A specific class I took during my undergraduate years, entitled “People, Plagues and Parasites,” refocused my career ambitions on working with animal diseases and public health.

Every day, thousands of USDA employees fight on the agricultural frontline to keep our nation safe from the “bad bugs” that threaten our nation’s $500 billion agricultural industry.

The Professional Development Center (PDC) provides training, leadership and consultation to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) employees and others who work to protect the Nation’s agriculture and natural resources from plant pests and diseases.

Hello, I’m Dr. Jeffrey Nelson.  I’m a Veterinary Medical Officer with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).  I work in Ames, Iowa at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL).

Being a veterinarian runs in my family - my father is a veterinarian for USDA as well.  I heard his stories about the challenges of regulatory medicine and it sounded like a unique opportunity.  My goal in vet school was to end up working in regulatory medicine myself.

Hello, my name is Dr. Pauline Nol.  I’m a veterinary epidemiologist for USDA APHIS.  As a veterinarian and a researcher, I’ve worked in the wildlife health field since 1999, starting my career at the United States Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis.

I joined APHIS’s Wildlife/Livestock Disease Investigations Team in 2003.  Our job is to learn more about diseases that affect both livestock and wildlife populations, and to use this knowledge to provide guidance to our partners and other agencies that manage wildlife populations.  We’re also highly involved in using science to help find solutions for disease problems that occur when livestock and wildlife come together.

USDA’s Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC), a program with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), is in its tenth year of protecting American agriculture from invasive pests and diseases. Some of SITC’s efforts toward this goal include identifying and closing routes of illegal products originating in foreign countries and products from pest and disease quarantine areas of the U.S.

Hello, I’m Dr. Bill Huls, Facilities Manager with USDA APHIS’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB).  I have been with APHIS since 2002.  The CVB regulates the industry that manufacturers veterinary biological products including animal vaccines and diagnostic test kits.  I communicate with firms on a daily basis to help ensure they are maintaining compliance with federal regulations.   This includes managing documents and items that relate to those firms – things like policies and procedures used by the manufacturer to prepare their products, procedures for who enters and exits the facility, the organization and arrangement of the facilities they make their product in, etc.  I also conduct inspections of facilities that manufacture biological products.   The work performed by the CVB helps ensure both animal and human health is safeguarded.

I decided to become a veterinarian when I was 18 after spending time with a veterinary practitioner in my hometown.  Following completion of veterinary school I joined a small animal practice.  Eventually, I bought my own practice.  My practice years allowed me to have some pretty cool and challenging experiences.

For a bird watcher like me, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of spotting a rare or elusive bird—or watching any of our feathered friends in their natural habitats.  Whether you are a die-hard enthusiast or just take pleasure in seeing birds outside your window, you have a deep appreciation for the outdoors and wildlife.

My name is Thunder.  Not too many months ago, I was homeless and waiting for someone to take me home from the Houston Beagle Rescue in Houston, Texas.  Then, a nice lady from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Detector Dog Training Center (NDDTC) in Newnan, Georgia came to visit.  From that day on, my life changed.

Hello, I’m Dr. Barry Pittman, an Area Emergency Coordinator for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).  I cover the states of Kansas and Missouri, where I do liaison work with local, state and other federal representatives to help ensure we’re prepared to respond when disasters or outbreaks strike.  Some areas of my expertise are: developing animal response plans, providing training, building a veterinary reserve corps to response to disasters (like the Joplin, MO tornado), conducting vulnerability assessments, participating in exercises, and responding to incidents.

Becoming a veterinarian was something I decided I wanted to do at age twelve.  I loved our pediatrician (he made house calls) and at first I wanted to be a doctor… but the vet in town was much more laid back.  After time in the Air Force and Army, I went to vet school to fulfill my dream.