Dr. Thomas McKenna
Director
DVM, PhD, Univ. of California - Davis

Dr. McKenna joined the WVDL staff in March 2007. Prior to coming to Wisconsin Dr. McKenna spent 13 years at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York, where he conducted research on recombinant DNA vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease and worked in the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL), most recently as the Director of FADDL. Tom earned his DVM and PhD from the University of California – Davis. He also holds a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks, and a BS in Business and Economics from Lehigh University.

Dr. Peter Vanderloo
Associate Director
DVM, Iowa State Univ., 1975

Dr. Vanderloo has 23 years experience as a practicing veterinarian in a mixed-animal practice in southwest Wisconsin. His primary emphasis in practice was dairy cattle. While in practice, Dr. Vanderloo had the opportunity to be involved with organized veterinary medicine, including the AVMA and the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association which he served as President.. He is delighted to be providing service to the veterinarians and producers of Wisconsin at the WVDL.

Dr. Philip Bochsler
Section Head of Pathology
DVM, Washington State Univ., 1981
PhD, Cornell Univ., 1989
Diplomate, A.C.V.P

Dr. Bochsler joined the WVDL in July, 2001. After graduation from veterinary college he spent two and a half years in mixed animal practice in Washington and Oregon before entering a residency in pathology at Cornell. He subsequently worked at the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine in diagnostic pathology and teaching, and also performed research on the immunological responses of cattle to toxin from Gram-negative bacteria. Dr. Bochsler was an Associate Professor and the Director of Anatomic Pathology Service at that institution before moving to Madison and the WVDL. His interests and expertise span a large number of animal species and an array of diseases.

Dr. Okwumabua (Dr. Ogi to his friends) joined WVDL in August 2001 to lead our excellent Bacteriology section. He has worked and taught in the area of veterinary bacteriology for 20 years at several universities and as a scientist for Bayer Corporation. Most recently, he was Associate Professor of Microbiology and Assistant Director of Diagnostic Microbiology at Tuskegee University. He has personal interests in the spread of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens and the development of new microbiology assays and procedures.

A native of Madison, Dr. Kurth earned her BS and MS from the University of Wisconsin. She had 10 years of experience as a teacher and clinical microbiologist prior to pursuing a doctoral degree. Her two virology postdoctoral fellowships were done at the NIH and at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (Plum Island and Ames, Iowa, respectively). She has a total of 15 years of experience in virology and molecular biology. Her past and current interests include development of molecular diagnostics for viral antigens. She is delighted to be back in Wisconsin and to be part of the new WVDL.

Dr. Gibbons-Burgener joined the WVDL team in August 2001. She was a large animal private practitioner in SE Michigan for a year and a field veterinarian for the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture before returning to MSU to pursue graduate studies in epidemiology. Her research involved the study of antimicrobial residues in meat and milk. Dr. Gibbons-Burgener has a minor in adult education and enjoys teaching in almost any setting from the classroom to the farm.

Dr. Jones was hired in his present position in April of 1984. Prior to his work here, Dr. Jones worked for Jerome Foods. He has also worked for the Virginia Diagnostic Lab and practiced in Markesan, Wisconsin. Dr. Jones enjoys being outdoors in his spare time and this time of year can often be found walking through the woods with his Brittany Spaniels seeking ruffled grouse. He also enjoys gardening and constantly treats his fellow employees to his extra produce.

Dr. Carlson worked at the Wisconsin Animal Health Lab in Madison from June 1984 until April of 1990. He then transferred to the Barron Lab. Prior to joining the diagnostic lab he practiced in Elmwood, Wisconsin. He also practiced in Monson Massachusetts for one year after graduating from veterinary school. He also enjoys running, biking, gardening and traveling.

Dr. Donald Sockett
Veterinary Microbiologist
DVM, Univ. of Guelph, 1981
PhD, Univ. of Wisconsin, 1991
Diplomate, A.C.V.I.M.

Dr. Sockett joined the WADL in June 1995. He grew up on a dairy farm in Southern Ontario. He completed a clinical internship at the University of Minnesota and a residency program at Colorado State University. Both programs were in large animal medicine with an emphasis on food producing animals. He has worked as the ruminant species epidemiologist for four years in the Division of Animal Health (Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade & Consumer Protection) prior to coming to the laboratory and has a strong interest in infectious diseases. He has authored several scientific articles and has given presentations at regional, national and international veterinary meetings on a wide variety of different topics, particularly BVD, causes of bovine abortions, Johne’s disease and leptospirosis.

Dr. Ali Brower
Diagnostic Pathologist WVDL
Assistant Professor UW VMTH
DVM, The University of Tennessee 1996
Diplomate A.C.V.P.

Dr. Brower joined the WDVL in March of 2003 after a two year clinical instructorship in pathology at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine. She currently holds a concurrent teaching and research appointment in the department of pathobiological sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine. Ali did postdoctoral fellowships in Baltimore, MD at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and at the University of California, Davis, and practiced as a mixed animal veterinarian in Ashland, WI prior to moving to Madison. Her greatest academic and research interest is in the pathogenesis of neurologic disease.

Dr. Porter joined WVDL in October 2001. He has unique qualifications as a board certified pathologist and a member of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. In addition, Dr. Porter has worked in small animal diagnostic pathology and clinical pathology. Most recently, he was Director of Pathology Services at Indiana Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and before that, a diagnostician at the Purdue University Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Porter will spend the majority of his time at the Madison Lab, but will also work with our Barron Lab and on avian disease matters throughout Wisconsin. His interests include diseases of poultry, pet birds, and game birds.