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CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, 3rd edition
We are extremely excited to announce the new edition of the CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine is scheduled for release on May 18th 2018 which coincides with the IAAAM Conference in Long Beach, CA.
Due to constraints on the number of pages each author could be allocated and the large amount of diagnostic imaging information available for publication it was necessary to divide the CRC Diagnostic Imaging chapter information. The book itself contains written explanations of imaging and the imaging approach to clinical cases and is written by veterinarians with extensive experience in diagnostic imaging of marine mammals. In addition the extremely valuable complimentary contributions by co-authors Drs. Kot and Costidis provide additional information with higher quality images than would have been possible in the written text. These complimentary contributions are extremely valuable to the marine mammal world and would not have been available without the hard work and dedication of Dr. Alex Costidis and Dr. Brian Kot in the study and the use of medical imaging in anatomical and physiological research, marine mammal medicine, and pathology.
Contributing Authors
Dr. Brian Kot
Brian Chin-wing Kot, Ph.D. is a registered diagnostic radiographer and veterinary imaging clinician, obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Radiography, and subsequently his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Diagnostic Ultrasound from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) in 2005 and 2010 respectively. He began his first veterinary imaging project on exotic animals in 2003, and has directed his focus on aquatic animal diagnostic imaging and comparative investigations of anatomy and physiology in mammalian since then. He traveled worldwide to different zoos and aquariums, under the capacity of visiting scientist/researcher, to perform radiological examinations and research projects on various aquatic and terrestrial animal species.
Brian is currently an adjunct Assistant Professor in HKPU and University of Hong Kong. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed research articles on areas like comparative vertebrate physiology and conservation biology. He had received two competitive research funding in July and September 2014 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, on the topic of reproductive biology of the Yangtze finless porpoise; and from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, on the topic of applicability of post-mortem CT and MRI in stranded finless porpoise, aiming to supplement conventional necropsy procedures for better insight into pathology and life history investigation of stranded cetaceans, which eventually may provide precise conservation measures to the cetaceans in the HK and China waters, in particular the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoises.
Dr. Alex Costidis
Alex was born in the U.S. but grew up in Greece where he developed a passion for the ocean. Alex moved to the U.S. for his undergraduate training where he pursued a career in marine biology. After graduating from Eckerd College with a bachelor’s in Marine Science, he worked at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Marine Mammal Pathobiology Lab, performing postmortem examinations, forensic evaluations, and rescues of Florida manatees and cetaceans. Under the mentorship of Sentiel “Butch” Rommel, Alex developed an enthusiasm for anatomy and functional morphology. Butch’s research legacy included fascinating investigations into the vascular structures of marine mammals, including the reproductive coolers of phocids and dolphins and the caudal vascular bundle of manatees. After discovering newer imaging modalities that could be combined with traditional anatomical techniques to visualize complex vascular structures, Alex pursued his Ph.D. at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. His dissertation research was focused on better understanding a very poorly studied topic, namely the venous morphology in the head and neck of manatees and dolphins. While completing his doctoral degree, Alex obtained a grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in order to extend his research into the realm of the cryptic, deep-diving beaked whales whose strandings have been associated with Navy sonar deployment. Alex used the ONR grant to fund research for a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina Wilmington with the help of Dr. Ann Pabst and Bill McLellan. Following completion of the grant and publication of two manuscripts on the vascular morphology of beaked whale heads, Alex started working as the Stranding Response Coordinator for the Virginia Aquarium Foundation. This has allowed Alex to continue his anatomical research while maintaining constant exposure to dissection and contributing to regional and national conservation efforts.