Dr. Leslie Dierauf, a wildlife veterinarian and conservation biologist, has been selected as Director of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, WI.

“Leslie brings a wealth of experience both with wildlife health issues and with the use of science in decision making,” said USGS Eastern Regional Director Bonnie McGregor. “Research at the NWHC addresses a number of important wildlife and related human health concerns including West Nile Virus, Chronic Wasting Disease and Asian Avian Influenza. Leslie’s commitment to leadership and public service will be a valuable asset to the USGS and the NWHC.”

Prior to joining the USGS in Madison, Dr. Dierauf spent almost a decade at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she worked on the Endangered Species Program for the Southwest. She also conducted habitat conservation planning for threatened and endangered species, with a strong focus on partner and stewardship efforts with the private sector. Before joining the Fish and Wildlife Service, Dierauf was a Congressional Science Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a staff scientific advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

In 1998, Dierauf received the American Veterinary Medical Association’s National Animal Welfare Award. She serves on the Marine Ecosystem Health SeaDoc Society Advisory Board and the University of California, Davis, Wildlife Health Center Board. She is also a member of the National Science Foundation’s Disease Informatics Senior Coordinating Committee, the U.S. Animal Health Association’s Executive Committee, the Consortium for Conservation Medicine’s Executive Committee and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency’s Wildlife Health Committee.

More than two thirds of emerging human diseases have animal origins. Modern societal and environmental changes have increased the risks for the introduction and spread of diseases such as West Nile Virus. The NWHC provides sound science and technical support to promote science-based decisions affecting wildlife and ecosystem health and to detect, monitor and manage these potential risks to human health.

The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

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