Matthew Allender

About

Dr. Matthew C. Allender is a Clinical Associate Professor in Veterinary Clinical Medicine and the Director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois. He received his B.S. in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution in 2000 and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois in 2004. He also completed a M.S. in Veterinary Biosciences at Illinois in 2006, focusing on the epidemiology of disease in free-ranging reptiles. Dr. Allender was a veterinary resident in Zoological and Avian Medicine at the University of Tennessee and Knoxville Zoo from 2006 to 2009, and he joined the faculty at Illinois in 2009. In 2012, he earned his PhD in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, with a focus on the epidemiology of ranaviral diseases in free-ranging chelonians. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine since 2011. His research primarily describes infectious and non-infectious diseases of reptiles and amphibians, with a particular emphasis on Snake Fungal Disease and ranavirus in chelonians. Dr. Allender is actively involved in professional affiliations related to zoo, reptilian, amphibian, and aquatic animal veterinary medicine, and he has received multiple teaching awards for his contributions to veterinary education.

Research topics

• Biology
• Medicine
• Pathology
• Zoology
• Virology
• Microbiology
• Evolutionary biology
• Geography
• Veterinary medicine
• Genetics

Selected publications

• Shell Lesions Associated With <i>Emydomyces testavorans</i> Infection in Freshwater Aquatic Turtles

  Veterinary Pathology · 2021 · 44 citations

  infection. Further studies to prove causality are needed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Multi‐species outbreak of SARS‐CoV‐2 Delta variant in a zoological institution, with the detection in two new families of carnivores

  Transboundary and Emerging Diseases · 2022 · 40 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a worldwide distribution in humans and many other mammalian species. In late September 2021, 12 animals maintained by the Chicago Zoological Society's Brookfield Zoo were observed with variable clinical signs. The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in faeces and nasal swabs by qRT-PCR, including the first detection in animals from the families Procyonidae and Viverridae. Test positivity rate was 12.5% for 35 animals tested. A…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ophidiomycosis surveillance of snakes in Georgia, USA reveals new host species and taxonomic associations with disease

  Scientific Reports · 2020 · 33 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and threatens snake health worldwide. It has been documented throughout the eastern United States and severe cases have recently been reported in Georgia, USA. To evaluate disease distribution and prevalence in this state, 786 free-ranging snakes were examined for skin lesions consistent with ophidiomycosis and swabbed to detect O. ophiodiicola DNA using qPCR. Sampled snakes represented 34 species and 4 famil…

  DOI

• Emerging Infectious Diseases of Chelonians

  Veterinary Clinics of North America Exotic Animal Practice · 2020 · 21 citations

  DOI

• <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> in 3 Species of Turtles in the Upper Midwest, United States

  Emerging infectious diseases · 2021 · 13 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Coxiella burnetii, the causative bacterium of the zoonotic disease Q fever, has been documented in many different species. We describe documented turtles that were PCR positive for C. burnetii from multiple locations in Illinois and Wisconsin, USA. Assessing the conservation implications, reservoir potential, and zoonotic risk requires further research.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Laura Adamovicz

  Urbana University

  291 shared

• Jennifer N. Langan

  Chicago Zoological Society

  102 shared

• Samantha J. Sander

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  91 shared

• Michael J. Adkesson

  90 shared

• Ellen Bronson

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  85 shared

• Thomas B. Waltzek

  83 shared

• Allan P. Pessier

  Washington State University

  82 shared

• Lisa M. Mangus

  Johns Hopkins Medicine

  81 shared

Labs

• Wildlife Epidemiology LabPI

Education

• PhD, Veterinary Clinical Medicine

  University of Illinois System

  2012

• DVM, Veterinary Medicine

  University of Illinois System

  2004

• BS, Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution

  University of Illinois

  2000

Awards & honors

• Reptile and Amphibian Veterinary Excellence Award, Associati…
• Excellent Teacher Rating, University of Illinois, Center for…
• Dr. Erwin Small Teaching Excellence Award in Veterinary Medi…
• Elected by the CVM Class of 2013 as a Hooder for Commencemen…
• Elected by the CVM Class of 2014 as a Hooder for Commencemen…

Similar researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• Timothy Fanh-50
• Will Sanderh-26
• Wes Baumgartnerh-20