Quote
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
Institution
Saint Louis Zoo
Based in
United States , St. Louis
Languages
English
Spanish
Short Bio
Sharon serves as the Director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine (ICM) since its launch in September 2011. The ICM takes a holistic approach to wildlife conservation, public health and sustainable ecosystems. In addition to global health and conservation projects, Dr. Deem is training the next generation of One Health practitioners.
In 2018 and 2020, she delivered TEDx talks on One Health. She has published extensively on conservation and health topics with over 150 journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Deem also is the first author of the 2019 textbook “Introduction to One Health: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Planetary Health,” which has been used in the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) One Health semester course for the past 5 years.
Prior to the Saint Louis Zoo, Dr. Deem worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Smithsonian National Zoo with much of that time living and working in African and South American countries. Dr. Deem holds a DVM from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, a Ph.D. in veterinary sciences (epidemiology) from the University of Florida and after a three-year residency in zoo and wildlife medicine became board-certified in the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM). She served in an executive role for ACZM over eight years.
Dr. Deem is currently the president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (Nov. 1, 2023-Oct. 31, 2024). Sharon has a special fondness for elephants, sea turtles and jaguars.
In 2018 and 2020, she delivered TEDx talks on One Health. She has published extensively on conservation and health topics with over 150 journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Deem also is the first author of the 2019 textbook “Introduction to One Health: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Planetary Health,” which has been used in the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) One Health semester course for the past 5 years.
Prior to the Saint Louis Zoo, Dr. Deem worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Smithsonian National Zoo with much of that time living and working in African and South American countries. Dr. Deem holds a DVM from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, a Ph.D. in veterinary sciences (epidemiology) from the University of Florida and after a three-year residency in zoo and wildlife medicine became board-certified in the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM). She served in an executive role for ACZM over eight years.
Dr. Deem is currently the president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (Nov. 1, 2023-Oct. 31, 2024). Sharon has a special fondness for elephants, sea turtles and jaguars.
Other Expertise
One Health
Wildlife Veterinary Medicine
Biodiversity Conservation
Epidemiology
Endocrine Disruptors
Wildlife Disease