Bio: Lucy Hamilton Spelman, DVM, DACZM

Dr. Lucy H. Spelman is a veterinarian, educator, public speaker, media consultant, and author.  She grew up with a menagerie of animals on an old dairy farm in rural Connecticut. While in middle school, she looked forward to “old clothes Wednesday,” a day set aside by one of her teachers to explore the nature trails across the street. She earned a bachelor of arts in biology from Brown University, then her veterinary degree from the University of California at Davis, and completed her post-doctoral training at North Carolina State University. Board-certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine in 1994, Dr. Spelman’s work experience includes nearly ten years with the Smithsonian's National Zoo, half as a clinical veterinarian, and half as its director. She joined the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in October 2006 as its Africa-based regional manager. During the 2009-2010 academic year, Lucy was a visiting Assitant Professor at Brown University where she initially earned a B.A. in biology (1985.)  She taught for Dr. Ruth Colwill, a Professor in the Pscychology Department, who is a specialist on animal behavior and was on sabbatical.  Lucy taught a senior seminar on primate behavior the fall, and a first-year seminar on animal health in the spring.  This fall (2010), she will teach a course at the Rhode Island School of Design as part-time faculty. Her course is titled: Human-Anima Interactions: How One Species Impacts Another.

Lucy enjoys sharing her work with others through all forms of media. In addition to writing, she has been filmed at work with animals in more than a dozen cable television documentaries, and as served as a consultant for various media and education divisions of Discovery Communications, Inc. “We’re all in this together,” she says of today’s conservation challenges.  In 2008, along with co-editor Dr. Ted Mashima, she published “The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes," a collection of heart-warming stories written by zoo and wild animal vets about their patients.  In 2009, the book was published in paperback in the US in 2009, translated and published in Estonian, in Japanese, and in the UK under a different title, "The Hippo with Toothache."

Lucy is also a dynamic speaker with amazing stories to tell about taking care of animals in every imaginable setting, from our pets at home to those remaining in the vanishing wild.  She speaks candidly of lessons learned, including the importance of understanding how the health of one species impacts another.  These days, she keeps one eye on her patients and the other on the bigger picture of global health.  To schedule a speaking event, please contact Lucy directly at lucy@drlucyspelman.com.

Dr. Spelman’s clinical experience includes five years as staff veterinarian at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. She then became its first female director (2000)--the youngest person ever to hold this position, and the only female veterinarian among her zoo director colleagues. Six months into the job, she journeyed to China and returned with the now-famous giant panda pair, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Faced with a substantial backlog of building and exhibit repairs, she initiated a major revitalization program for the historic Zoo, focusing on bringing the science of animal care and conservation to the public. During her four-and-a-half year tenure as director, new exhibits at the National Zoo were designed as living laboratories, tailored to the needs of each species. She secured the Zoo’s first multimillion dollar corporate partnerships, quadrupled its federal funding for capital renewal, and spearheaded its first strategic plan in over a decade.

While serving as regional veterinary field manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, Dr. Spelman promoted a team-oriented one-health approach to gorilla medicine. The in-country field vets, who work in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, now meet regularly for rounds and training. Each has taken on greater responsibility for case management, including the rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned gorillas. Together with the project director and support staff, she has also helped establish new strategic partnerships designed to help MGVP, Inc. raise public awareness, support, and funds. She provided the content for the re-design of the project's new website, www.gorilladoctors.com, and started blogging.  Her blog drew thousands of online visitors each month on WildlifeDirect, Gorilla Doctors or on Discovery Channel's website, Gorillas in Peril.

Dr. Spelman has published two dozen scientific papers on various aspects of zoo and wild animal medicine (see below list.) She has been interviewed for national and international press coverage, and featured in various trade publications including People Magazine (2001); Cool Women, Hot Jobs, by Tina Schwager (Free Spirit Publishing, 2002); The Tiger Has A Toothache, by Patricia Lauber (National Geographic Children’s Books, 1999); I Want to Be a Veterinarian, by Stephanie Maze (Harcourt Paperbacks, 1999). She has been filmed working with animals cable television documentaries, including Animal Planet’s “Corwin’s Quest: Realm of the Yeti” (2006), “A Panda Is Born” (2005), “Meet the Pandas” (2001), and seven episodes of “Total Zoo” (2000); Discovery Channel’s “Kandula: An Elephant Story” (2003); Turner Broadcasting’s “Hidden Zoo” (1997).

In her words, “Our own health is connected to that of animals and the environment. The more we study these connections, the better we understand how to maintain or restore health to entire ecosystems. If we share this new knowledge in exciting ways, we can inspire others to care and take action. We’re all in this together.”

Scientific Publications

Book Chapters

line-height: 12pt"> Spelman, L.H., Janssen, D., Morris, P., Greenberg, M., Desheng, L., Mauroo, N. and Sutherland Smith, M. Medial Management of Captive Adult and Geriatric Giant Pandas (Ch 15). 2006. In: Wildt, D.E., Zhang, A., Zhang, H., Janssen, D.L., and Ellis, S (eds.). Giant Pandas: Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management, Cambridge University Press.

Spelman, L.H. Medical Management of the Komodo Dragon (Ch 9). 2002. In: Murphy, J.B., Ciofi, C., La Panouse, C. and Walsh T. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Komodo Dragons, Smithsonian Institution Press.

Spelman, L.H. and Halverson, J. Sex Determination in the Komodo Dragon (Ch 4). 2002. In: Murphy, J.B., Ciofi, C., La Panouse, C. and Walsh T. (eds.). Biology and Conservation of Komodo Dragons, Smithsonian Institution Press.

Spelman, L.H. Otter Anesthesia. 1998. In: Fowler, M.E., and E.R. Miller (eds.). Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Current Therapy IV, W.B. Saunders.

Spelman, L.H. Vermin Control. 1998. In: Fowler, M.E., and E.R. Miller (eds.). Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Current Therapy IV, W.B. Saunders.

Journal Articles

Spelman, L.H. and D. McTurk. 2005. Hand rearing and rehabilitation of orphaned wild giant otters, Pteronura brasiliensis, on the Rupununi River, Guyana, South America. Zoo Biol (24):153-167.

Sanchez, C.R., S. M. Murray, R.J. Montali, R.J., L.H. Spelman. 2004. Diagnosis and treatment of presumptive Pyleonephritis in an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 35(3): 397-99.

Spelman, L. H. 2004. Reversible anesthesia of captive California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) with medetomidine, midazolam, butorphanol, and isoflurane. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 35(1):65-69.

Ollivet-Courois, F., A. Lecu, R. Yates, and L. H. Spelman. 2003. Treatment of a sole abscess in an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) using regional digital intravenous perfusion. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 34(3): 292-5.

Deem, S.L., L. H. Spelman, R. Yates, and R.J. Montali. 2000. Canine Distemper in Terrestrial Carnivores: A Review. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 31(4): 441-451.

Tocidlowski, M.E., L. H. Spelman, P. Sumner, M. K. Stoskopf. 2000. Hematology and Serum Biochemistry Parameters of North American River Otters (Lontra Canadensis). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 31(4): 484-490.

Sherrill, J., L. H. Spelman, C.L. Reidel, R. J. Montali. 2000. Common Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Mortality at the National Zoological Park: Implications for Clinical Management. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 31(4): 523-531.

Spelman, L.H., W.J. Jochem, P.W. Sumner, D.P. Redmond, M.K. Stoskopf. 1997. Post anesthetic monitoring of core body temperature using telemetry in North American river otters (Lutra canadensis). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 28(4): 413-417.

Spelman, L.H., P.W. Sumner, W.B. Karesh, M.K. Stoskopf. 1997. Tiletamine-zolazepam anesthesia in North American river otters (Lutra canadensis) and partial antagonism with flumazenil. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 28(4): 418-423.

Stoskopf, M.K., L.H. Spelman, W.J. Jochem, P.W. Sumner, D.P. Redmond and J.F. Levine. 1997. The impact of water temperature on core body temperature of North American river otters (Lutra canadensis). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 28(4): 413-417.

Beck, K., M.R. Loomis, G. Lewbart, L.H. Spelman, M. Papich. 1995. Preliminary comparison of plasma concentrations of gentamicin injected into the cranial and caudal limb musculature of the Eastern Box turtle. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 26(2); 265-268.

Spelman, L.H., Fleming, W. J., Davis, G.S, Stoskopf, M.K. 1995. Effect of exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone administration on plasma corticosterone concentrations in America black ducks (Anas rubripes). J Wild. Dis. 31(2): 136-41.

Spelman, L.H., P.W. Summner, J.F. Levine, M.K. Stoskopf. 1994. Anesthesia of North American river otters (Lutra canadensis) with medetomidine‑ketamine and reversal by atipamezole. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 25(2):214-223.

Spelman, L.H., L.H. Khoo, M.R. Loomis. 1994. Case report: adenocarcinoma of the mandibular salivary gland in a crested barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 25(3):455-460.

Appel, M.G., R.Y. Yates, G.L. Foley, J.J. Bernstein, S. Santinelli, L.H. Spelman, L.D. Miller, L.H. Arp, M. Anderson, M. Barr, S. Pearce‑Kelling, B.A. Summers. 1994. Canine distemper epizootic in lions, tigers, and leopards in North America. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 6:277-288.

Roe, S.C., L.H. Spelman, G. Spodnick, and M.R. Loomis. 1994. Partial carpal arthrodesis in a warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus). V.C.O.T. 7:183-186.

Spelman, L.H., .P.W. Summner, J.F. Levine, M.K. Stoskopf. 1993. Field anesthesia in the North American river otter (Lutra canadensis). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 24(1):19‑27.

Spelman, L.H., K.G. Osborn, M.P. Anderson. 1989. The pathogenesis of hemosiderosis in lemurs: the role of dietary iron, tannin, and ascorbic acid. J. Zoo Biol. 8:239‑251.

Spelman, L.H., Thompson, N.L., Fausto, N., Miller, K.R. 1986. A structural analysis of gap and tight junctions in the rat liver during a diet treatment that induces oval cell proliferation. Am J Pathol. 125(2): 379-92.