Current Senior Staff
Alexis Mackiewicz, DVM, DACLAM, is a Clinical/Research veterinarian within the Division of Comparative Medicine, where she oversees the clinical care of the nonhuman primate and finch colonies. Dr. Mackiewicz received her veterinary medical degree at Western University of Health Sciences and completed her residency in laboratory animal medicine with a focus in nonhuman primates during a combined program with the University of California, Davis and the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) in Davis, CA. After her residency, Dr. Mackiewicz remained at the CNPRC as a Senior Veterinarian who oversaw the geriatric macaque colony, titi monkey colony and indoor breeding colony. She has a wide range of experience providing clinical care and research support for nonhuman primates on various studies including infectious disease, neuroscience and behavior, reproductive and regenerative medicine, and respiratory disease. Her research interests include chronic disease management in aging populations, diabetes, and endometriosis.
Abby Needleman, DVM is a Clinical/Research veterinarian within the Division of Comparative Medicine. She oversees the clinical care of a wide variety of species including but not limited to treeshrews, hamsters, chickens, rabbits, pigs, and nonhuman primates. Dr. Needleman received her doctorate of veterinary medicine at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. She went on to complete an internship in large animal (livestock and equine) medicine and surgery at the University of Tennessee, followed by a medical and surgical internship in zoological companion species in private practice. Following post-doctoral training, Dr. Needleman continued to specialize her skills as an exotic species veterinarian in private practice providing routine and interventional care to privately owned exotic and zoological species. Dr. Needleman enjoys contributing surgical and clinical support to a variety of species. Her areas of interest include theriogenology, surgery, and comparative medicine.
Zeli Shen, MD, Research Scientist, studies helicobacter pathogenesis, characterizing virulence genes responsible for pathogenic potential in Helicobacter spp., and the epidemiology of helicobacter infections using molecular techniques. Her research focus is the isolation and characterization of new Helicobacter species and their phylogenetic analysis. She also employs the use of Helicobacter spp C57BL IL-10-/- mice as an animal model to investigate the mechanisms of helicobacter- induced inflammatory bowel disease.
