Lena Detar

Before coming to Cornell, Dr. Lena DeTar completed a residency in Shelter Medicine at Oregon State University/Oregon Humane Society, a master’s in veterinary medicine/public health at UF and qualified as a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. Soon after moving to New York, she completed board certification in Shelter Medicine through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. Her interests include infectious disease management and prevention, population management and metrics, elective and non-elective surgery, humane husbandry and shelter design, and shelter medicine instruction.

As part of her work with Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University, she can be seen advising shelter leadership, veterinarians and staff during program consultations, teaching clinical-year students and interns medicine and surgery at Tompkins County SPCA, and lecturing in the veterinary school classroom and at conferences nationwide. She’s also involved in research projects investigating the epidemiology of infectious shelter disease, shelter medicine teaching, and HVHQ surgery.

Dr. DeTar has worked in and volunteered for humane organizations across the US and internationally, and appreciates the philosophical, financial and physical challenges faced by shelters everywhere as they try to promote animal welfare, public health and the human animal bond.