Hernandez Lab Alumni

     Kerrie Anne Loyd   

Kerrie Anne’s dissertation research focused on the threat to suburban biodiversity posed by free-roaming domestic cats. Partnered with National Geographic Remote Imaging, she used point-of-view, animal-borne video cameras to monitor the outdoor activities of 60 owned, free-roaming cats in Athens, Georgia. She analyzed hunting and risk beh aviors (crossing roads, encountering predators, contact with other cats, etc.) to address questions related to predation of cats on native wildlife as well as about the type and frequency of cat risks. Dr. Hernandez and Kerrie Anne are interested in improving the welfare of both cats and wildlife and continue to work on educational materials using images and statistics from the the “KittyCams” project.
UGA & NGS Kitty Cams Project



Chrissy is from Vermont and graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science where she majored in Wildlife Biology. She just completed her Masters of Veterinary and Biomedical Science in August 2011.  Chrissy is interested in further pursuing both scientific research on infectious diseases of wildlife to obtain a PhD and clinical medicine training via a DVM. Her future career will reflect her passion for improving the well-being of wildlife. 

For her Master's research, Chrissy investigated antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolates from the family of bacteria Enterobactericeae. A few of the species included in this family are Escherichia, Salmonella, Klebsiella, and Citrobacter. These isolates were cultured from fecal samples collected from wild caught Tokay Geckos. Tokay geckos are frequently trapped in their native range, South East Asia, and transported international for use in the pet trade.

Shaun Boone completed his Master’s Degree in Fisheries Science in December 2011. He graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2003 earning a B.S. degree in Biology then completed his DVM at The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.  Shaun practiced veterinary medicine in a small animal hospital in south Georgia and his future research interests include fish medicine and aquaculture.

Viviana is currently pursuing her M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Management. She was born and grew up in Colombia and her life-long interest in animals led her to earn her DVM a the Universidad de La Salle. Viviana became interested in wildlife health and medicine while volunteering at zoos and NGOs. Her undergraduate research involved determining serological evidence of Leptospira interrogans in mammals housed at four Colombian zoos. The project contributed valuable information to the epizootiology of this disease in captive facilities. Viviana has also worked to improve protocols for raising amphibians in captivity and determining the prevalence of internal parasites in captive tree frogs, poison dart frogs and toads. Her graduate school goals involve gaining additional hands-on field experience with wildlife to ultimately contribute to the future conservation of rare and endangered species.