Dr. Gerry Dorrestein

Dr. Gerry M. Dorrestein, DVM, PhD, DECZM, Dipl Vet Pathol

Dr. Gerry Dorrestein is a diplomate veterinary pathology and an honorary member of the ECZM (avian). He has over 45 years of experience in zoo animal, avian and exotic animal pathology, laboratory animals en laboratory diagnostics. He is skilled in the diagnostic pathology and cytology of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and a wide variety of exotic mammals.

Dr. Dorrestein graduated from Utrecht University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1975 and took an assistant position at the section of Special Animals of the Dept. of Pathology of that same faculty. In 1986 he received his Ph.D. at the Utrecht University with the thesis: “Studies on pharmacokinetics of some antimicrobial agents in homing pigeons (Columba livia).”

In 1990 he became the head of the Diagnostic Centre of the Section Diseases of Laboratory Animals, Special Animals and Wildlife, Dpt. of Veterinary Pathology in Utrecht where he worked till 2006 and was responsible for the diagnostic service, the research and teaching program. During this time he provided clinical consultation and laboratory services to zoo veterinarians, laboratory animal institutions and practitioners in the Netherlands and Europe. Dr. Dorrestein is a visiting professor at the Uludag University in Bursa Turkey and at the Clinic of Avian and Exotic Animals of the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, Czech Republic for teaching exotic and zoo animal medicine. Between 1995 and 2005 he was co-owner of a private referral clinic for Pet Avian and Exotic Animals. In 2006 he founded the NOIVBD (Dutch Research Institute for Birds and Exotic Animals) running a diagnostic pathology service and a research program involving Avian Bornavirus diagnostic tests.

Dr. Dorrestein was actively involved in the development of avian medicine with the Association of Avian Veterinarians (USA) and active in the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians. He has been involved in wildlife programs in the EU and Turkey, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Mauretania and Costa Rica. He was many years coordinator of the Oilspill Wildlife Response in The Netherlands and a member of the Pool of Expertise of Sea-Alarm Europe.

Dr. Dorrestein has authored or co-authored over 400 papers, 11 book chapters, each covering a wide range of avian and exotic animal disease conditions and co-edited 2 books about Avian Medicine. He has been presenting at many veterinary conferences, veterinary schools, and meetings in the European Union, the United States and around the world.