2024 MEGAVERTEBRATES ANESTHESIA WORKSHOP

Dr Buss currently works as a Veterinary Senior Manager for South African National Parks (SANParks) and is based in Kruger National Park (KNP). His duties include managing the Veterinary Unit, providing veterinary clinical support of SANParks conservation objectives, and facilitating veterinary research within KNP.

Dr Buss received his Veterinary Science degree from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 1985 and commenced his veterinary career working in a mixed practice (companion and production animals) in Australia for two years. He subsequently spent three years working as a locum in various practices in the south of England. In 1991, Dr Buss moved to South Africa and studied for a Master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine, specializing in wildlife. From 1993 to 1998, he worked at the National Zoo, Pretoria, initially as a veterinarian and later as General Curator. He joined the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort, and lectured in pharmacology and anaesthesiology. 2002 saw the realization of Dr Buss’s lifelong ambition to work in wildlife conservation with his appointment as a veterinarian in the Kruger National Park. Dr Buss was recently awarded a PhD which investigated the physiological effects of immobilization in white rhinoceros. He is currently involved in research projects investigating the pharmacophysiology of immobilizing drugs in multiple species, and KNP ecosystem diseases including Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus and Bovine Tuberculosis.

Prof. Michele Miller, DVM, MS, MPH, PhD, Diplm. ECZM (ZHM)

Dr. Miller received her MS and PhD in Immunology, and DVM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Masters’ in Public Health (MPH) at the University of Florida-Gainesville.  She is also a diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine.  She did her post-doctoral training at San Diego Zoo, then went onto work at several zoos in the U.S. (Los Angeles Zoo, Busch Gardens, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Palm Beach Zoo), including being a Veterinary Manager at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  She moved to South Africa in 2013 and is currently the NRF South African Research Chair in Animal TB at Stellenbosch University, although she is based full-time in Kruger National Park.

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Dr. Miller is actively involved in wildlife research, particularly focusing on TB and other zoonotic diseases at human-animal-environment interfaces, using a One Health approach.  She is past president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, current veterinary advisor for hippopotamus and rhinoceros for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the U.S., Chair of the Wildlife TB Study Group in South Africa and VALIDATE member.  She consults with veterinarians at zoos and private facilities around the world.

DVM, Deputy Vice President, Veterinary Healthcare, Mandai Wildlife Group

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Dr. Mathew has 25 years of experience as a zoo and wildlife veterinarian practicing in Malaysia and Singapore. Has had the opportunity to work with wild animals both under human care and in the wild. As a zoo vet, the work mainly entailed preventive healthcare medicine, curated medical programmes and day-to-day cases with all taxonomic groups. As a wildlife vet, the work primarily encompassed captive breeding programmes for release in designated conservation centers and human wildlife conflict mitigation involving rescue and translocation in Malaysia.

Main areas of interest have always been reproductive biology and physical and chemical restraint, particularly field immobilization techniques in large mammals.