The Aquatic, Amphibian, and Reptile Pathology faculty study veterinary anatomic pathology, virology, and molecular diagnostics, with a focus on diseases of wildlife. This area has a special emphasis on work with reptiles and amphibians, including sea turtles, tortoises, sea stars, and alligators.
Robert J Ossiboff DVM, PhD, DACVP
Nicole I Stacy
Current Projects
Reptilian Cell Lines
The Ossiboff lab studies reptilian cell lines. Tissue culture cell lines are an invaluable resource for infectious disease discovery and characterization and comparative biomedical research. While cell lines from domestic species are readily available, cell lines from exotic and wildlife species – and particularly reptiles – are greatly limited. One of the initiatives of our laboratory is to establish a broad panel of reptile cell lines for use from diverse hosts as a tool to improve reptile research.
Sea Stars
One of Dr. Stacy’s areas of research is sea stars. This research will advance our understanding of physiological stressor responses of sea stars to changing oceanic environmental conditions and promote the use of minimally invasively collected coelomic fluid for molecular techniques. The results of this work will not only provide insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms of stressor responses but also be applicable to understanding global challenges of an essential marine invertebrate species facing climate change, ultimately informing of ecological impacts and future conservation implications for sea star populations.
Courses Taught at UF
VEM 5161
General Pathology
Dr. Ossiboff teaches General Pathology, which focuses on basic reactions of cells and tissues to injury that underlie all disease processes and include cell injury and death, circulatory disturbances, inflammation and repair and disturbances of growth and neoplasia.
in the news
SeaWorld, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and University of Florida Establish Health Markers for Dolphins to Support the Health of the Species Around the World
Following SeaWorld's 2019 publication of a foundational study that created first-ever standards for assessing the health of killer whales, this same team of veterinarians from SeaWorld, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine has published a similar study about dolphin health in Veterinary Quarterly.