Susan Knowles
Susan Knowles is a Wildlife Veterinary Pathologist at the National Wildlife Health Center.
She earned a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and completed a residency in veterinary pathology and earned a Doctorate in Veterinary Pathology from the University of Georgia. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. She joined the Center in 2013 and her interests include wildlife, aquatic, invertebrate and toxicologic pathology, and pathogen discovery. Before joining the Center, she gained a variety of experience in and around her native Maryland, performing research on shortnose sturgeon, serving as a Veterinary Officer in the United States Public Health Service stationed at the National Institutes of Health, and working as a Natural Resources Biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources where she was a member of the Fish and Wildlife Health Program and served as the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Coordinator for the state.
Professional Experience
2013 – Present Wildlife Veterinary Pathologist, U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI
2006 – 2013 Resident of Anatomic and Aquatic Pathology and Graduate Assistant, Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2003 – 2003 Veterinary Officer, Junior COSTEP, United States Public Health Service, Rockville, MD stationed at NIH, Diagnostic and Research Services Branch, Veterinary Pathology, Bethesda, MD
1996 – 2002 Natural Resources Biologist, Maryland Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Coordinator, Fish and Wildlife Health Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Cooperative Oxford Laboratory, Oxford, MD
1995 – 1996 Histology Technician, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Cooperative Oxford Laboratory, Oxford, MD
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Veterinary Pathology, University of Georgia, 2013
D.V.M., Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, 2006
B.S. Biology, Bucknell University, 1995
Affiliations and Memberships*
Diplomate American College of Veterinary Pathologists
Science and Products
Occurrence of Chlamydia sp in apparently healthy birds associated with a mortality event caused by chlamydiosis: Data
Dataset: Mortality trends in the Washington population of northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) during 20022015
Natural infections with Pigeon Paramyxovirus-1: Pathologic changes in Eurasian collared-doves (Streptopelia decaocto) and rock pigeons (Columba livia) in the USA: Data
Mussel mass mortality and the microbiome: Evidence for shifts in the bacterial microbiome of a declining freshwater bivalve
Pathology of Lagovirus europaeus GI.2/RHDV2/b (rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2) in native North American lagomorphs
Domoic acid and saxitoxin in seabirds in the United States between 2007 and 2018
Investigation of algal toxins in a multispecies seabird die-off in the Bering and Chukchi seas
Environmental contamination and unusual snake mortality in an urban national wildlife refuge
Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2
Mass mortality in freshwater mussels (Actinonaias pectorosa) in the Clinch River, USA, linked to a novel densovirus
Canine distemper virus in the sea otter population (Enhydra lutris) in Washington State, USA
Leptospirosis in Northern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from Washington
Mortality of Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) and other alcids during an unusual mortality event in the eastern Bering Sea
Pathology in practice: Knemidocoptiasis in a pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator)
Detection of Bisgaard taxon 40 in Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) with pneumonia and septicemia from a mortality event in Washington, USA
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Occurrence of Chlamydia sp in apparently healthy birds associated with a mortality event caused by chlamydiosis: Data
Dataset: Mortality trends in the Washington population of northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) during 20022015
Natural infections with Pigeon Paramyxovirus-1: Pathologic changes in Eurasian collared-doves (Streptopelia decaocto) and rock pigeons (Columba livia) in the USA: Data
Mussel mass mortality and the microbiome: Evidence for shifts in the bacterial microbiome of a declining freshwater bivalve
Pathology of Lagovirus europaeus GI.2/RHDV2/b (rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2) in native North American lagomorphs
Domoic acid and saxitoxin in seabirds in the United States between 2007 and 2018
Investigation of algal toxins in a multispecies seabird die-off in the Bering and Chukchi seas
Environmental contamination and unusual snake mortality in an urban national wildlife refuge
Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2
Mass mortality in freshwater mussels (Actinonaias pectorosa) in the Clinch River, USA, linked to a novel densovirus
Canine distemper virus in the sea otter population (Enhydra lutris) in Washington State, USA
Leptospirosis in Northern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from Washington
Mortality of Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) and other alcids during an unusual mortality event in the eastern Bering Sea
Pathology in practice: Knemidocoptiasis in a pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator)
Detection of Bisgaard taxon 40 in Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) with pneumonia and septicemia from a mortality event in Washington, USA
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government