Christopher A Whittier - DVM, PhD

Education

• PhD - North Carolina State, 2009
• DVM - Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 1997
• BA & BSc - Brown University, 1992

1. Garland-Lewis, G., Whittier, C., Murray, S., Trufan, S., Rabinowitz, P.M. 2017. Occupational Risks and Exposures Among Wildlife Health Professionals. EcoHealth.
2. Vlčková, K., Gomez, A., Petrželková, K.J., Whittier, C.A., Todd, A.F., Yeoman, C.J., Nelson, K.E., Wilson, B.A., Stumpf, R.M., Modrý, D., White, B.A., Leigh, S.R. 2016. Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla). Microbial Ecology.
3. Whittier, C.A., Milligan, L.A., Nutter, F.B., Cranfield, M.R., Power, M.L. 2011. Proximate composition of milk from free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Zoo Biology.
4. Whittier, C.A., Cranfield, M.R., Stoskopf, M.K. 2010. Real-time PCR detection of campylobacter spp. in freeranging mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei). Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
5. Milligan, L.A., Rapoport, S.I., Cranfield, M.R., Dittus, W., Glander, K.E., Oftedal, O.T., Power, M.L., Whittier, C.A., Bazinet, R.P. 2008. Fatty acid composition of wild anthropoid primate milks. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - B Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
6. Cranfield, M., Gaffikin, L., Minnis, R., Nutter, F., Rwego, I., Travis, D., Whittier, C. 2006. Clinical response decision tree for the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringeii) as a model for great apes. American Journal of Primatology.
7. Whittier, C., Nutter, F., Cranfield, M. 2005. Tourists welcome [3]. New Scientist.
8. Sherwood, C.C., Cranfield, M.R., Mehlman, P.T., Lilly, A.A., Garbe, J.A.L., Whittier, C.A., Nutter, F.B., Rein, T.R., Bruner, H.J., Holloway, R.L., Tang, C.Y., Naidich, T.P., Delman, B.N., Steklis, H.D., Erwin, J.M., Hof, P.R. 2004. Brain structure variation in great apes, with attention to the mountain gorilla (Gorilla Beringei Beringei). American Journal of Primatology.
9. Whittier, C.A., Horne, W., Slenning, B., Loomis, M., Stoskopf, M.K. 2004. Comparison of storage methods for reverse-transcriptase PCR amplification of rotavirus RNA from gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla) fecal samples. Journal of Virological Methods.
10. Ali, R., Cranfield, M., Gaffikin, L., Mudakikwa, T., Ngeruka, L., Whittier, C. 2004. Occupational health and gorilla conservation in Rwanda. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.
11. Da Silva, A.J., Cacciò, S., Williams, C., Won, K.Y., Nace, E.K., Whittier, C., Pieniazek, N.J., Eberhard, M.L. 2003. Molecular and morphologic characterization of a Cryptosporidium genotype identified in lemurs. Veterinary Parasitology.
12. Whittier, C.A., Dhar, A.K., Stem, C., Goodall, J., Alcivar-Warren, A. 1999. Comparison of DNA extraction methods for PCR amplification of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) DNA from primate fecal samples. Biotechnology Techniques.

General Research Interests

• I am broadly interested in issues of wildlife health with specific emphasis on human infectious disease threats to wildlife.

Selected Research Projects

• Health threats to wild gorillas in the Central African Republic- providing consulting and emergency vet services for WWF project with habituated wild western lowland gorillas.

• Smithsonian Wildlife Health Initiative- assisting with establishment of coordinated wildlife health program.

Research and Clinical Interests

• Wildlife medicine
• Conservation
• African apes
• Zoonoses
• Field diagnostics
• Epidemiology