Laboratory for Equine Exercise Physiology

Staff

Our staff consists of a wide variety of people, although they all have one thing in common, which is that they love horses! We have full time and part-time employees, as well as volunteers. We also employ one or two veterinary students each summer.

Principal Investigators
Eric K. Birks, DVM, PhD.
Mary M. Durando, DVM, PhD, DACVIM

Donna Teleis	Donna came to work at our lab in 1994 with over 20 years of horse experience. Donna has a Bachelors Degree in Animal Science, and also completed the course requirements in a Veterinary Technician program. She divides her working hours between Treadmill and Laboratory duties. Donna has three cats. Her interests include biking, hiking, gardening and drawing and painting horses.
Anne Hess	Anne came to work in our lab in 1995, with 15 years of horse experience. She worked for many years as a nurse in human medicine. Anne is married and has a daughter. She also owns a horse and a dog. Anne works full time taking care of all of our research horses (and cats!) as if they were her very own.
Dolores Dreger	Dee works part-time, helping with the morning exercise in the treadmill. She came to work here in 1997, with a background in business and 20 years of horse experience. Dee is a retired Head Cashier from ACME Supermarkets. She has two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter. Dee also has a horse that she enjoys when she isn't helping us.. Besides her family and her horse, her interests include country dancing and traveling.
Marcia Laver	Marcy works part time a few mornings a week. She and her husband have a small farm where they raise Arabians. She also has a Belgian mare, a Scicilian Donkey other animals on the farm. She enjoys both riding and driving.
Jessica Knox	Jess joined our team in the fall of 2005. She works part time every morning, and goes to school evenings. She has been around horses all her life, and enjoys eventing and also galloping race horses.
Melissa Morrill	Melissa also joined us in the fall of 2005, and has also spent her life with horses. She works part time in the mornings, and has another job in the afternoon and evenings.

Students

	Olivia Schroeder worked with us the summer of 2006, as she was starting her third year as a veterinary student. We kept her busy with tape editing duties as well as trips to the racetrack to do BAL's.
	In the summer of 2005, Jennifer Mitchell (on the left) was headed into her third year as a veterinary student. Jen spent her summer with us in the lab, helping to develop methods for protein extraction. She also helped with the horses when we needed an extra hand.

In Our Memories
John Jester