Dr. Richard Bertz received his DVM degree from the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1976. He joined the USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services in Wisconsin in 1981. Dr. Bertz served as the State Scrapie Coordinator from 1995 until the Fall of 2001 when those responsibilities were turned over to Dr. James Donahue in the Wisconsin Area Office of Veterinary Services. He has worked with a number of scrapie infected flocks in Wisconsin in the last two decades. He is presently the Section VMO (Veterinary Medical Officer) for East-Central Wisconsin.
Dr. Donahue received his DVM degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1982. This degree was followed by a Masters in Public Health from Harvard in 1984 and a Ph.D. from John Hopkins in 1992. From 1992 to 2000, he was an Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Boston, MA. He joined Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA in 2000 and currently serves as the Area Epidemiologist for the Wisconsin Area office of USDA/APHIS/VS in Madison. Dr. Donahue serves as the USDA Scrapie Coordinator in Wisconsin.
He grew up in the small rural community of Mineral Point, Wisconsin where he raised purebred Hampshire sheep. He obtained his B.S. degree in Meat and Animal Science in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His graduate degrees were obtained from Oklahoma State University - the M.S. degree in Animal Science in 1975 and the Ph.D. degree in Animal Breeding and Genetics in 1977. He served as a member of the faculties of the Departments of Animal Science at Oregon State University (1977-81) and the University of Illinois (1981-91) before returning to Wisconsin in 1991.
His research has involved many areas in sheep breeding and management. He is engaged in a project to introgress the major gene for high ovulation rate of the Booroola Merino into a Rambouillet population. He was the first to show that the severe skeletal deformity of Suffolk sheep (Spider Syndrome) was due to a recessive autosomal allele. A breed evaluation study conducted in southern Illinois showed the merit of hair sheep breed crosses over prolific wool breed crosses for lamb production and economic returns in hot, humid environments. In more recent years, he has developed a research program in dairy sheep production that serves this growing industry in North America. He has published over 300 articles in both peer-reviewed scientific journals and popular sheep industry magazines. His former graduate students hold both academic and industry positions in the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. Thomas teaches undergraduate courses in Sheep Production and Principles of Animal Breeding. He also serves as the Sheep Specialist for the Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service. Dr. Thomas has an interest in international animal agriculture. He served for two years as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, has worked on projects in Bulgaria, Kenya, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan, and currently serves as the Scientific Liaison Officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Thomas is a familiar speaker at sheep industry symposia throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Dave Thomas
Department of Animal Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1675 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-4306
Fax: 608-262-5157
Email: dlthomas@facstaff.wisc.edu