Clinically, I am most interested in exotic and wild animal ophthalmology and surgery. There are about 65,000 different known species of vertebrates on our shared planet, each of which sees our world a little differently. Developing improved clinical approaches and treatments accounting for species variation is important to continue progressing veterinary ophthalmology and medicine. Historically, my research program has explored the comparative eye through study of the visual ecology across species: that is, the study of how a given species sees and then how it uses its vision to interact with its environment. This type of work has broad applications into conservation biology as well as in the development of new biotechnology.
My current research program is primarily focused on collaborative medicine. Collaborative medicine occurs when two or more veterinary professionals work together two achieve the same goal of providing the best possible care for our collective patients and their families. In both veterinary and human medicine, collaboration is commonly underutilized, inefficient, misunderstood, and ineffective. By understanding the challenges we face as a profession that limit collaboration, we can develop ways to improve not only the care of our patients and clients, but also the mental health of veterinary professionals, and the education of our students and greater professional body for continued growth and improvement.