Veterinarian Overview
Dr. Díaz is originally from Colombia but came to the United States nine years ago to pursue his dream of becoming an exotic/wildlife veterinarian. In Colombia he volunteered at two different zoological institutions and a rehabilitation center for wildlife. In the United States, he attended Florida Atlantic University for his undergraduate studies and worked with us for two years as a veterinary technician.Then he moved up to Gainesville to start veterinary school at the University of Florida. During the summer of his first year in veterinary school, he conducted a research project with a scholarship that he obtained from the Morris Animal Foundation which is only given to 25 students from veterinary schools around the United States. With the help of his mentor he developed a serology test to detect tuberculosis in captive Asian elephants. He went to the Merck Merial conference in July of 2008 and to the Morris Animal Foundation conference in May of 2009 to present the results of his project. At the latter conference, he was awarded third place in the wildlife category. Besides the prestige of earning an award and receiving much needed scholarship funds, these conferences were of great benefit to him additionally by introducing him to experts in the zoo medicine field and in building great contacts for his future professional career.
