Research Veterinarian: Rachel Abbott
I typically start my day by doing the NY Times puzzles to warm up my brain as I eat my breakfast. Then I head over to my desk by the window or into my office on campus to solve puzzles associated with wildlife health. My training in veterinary medicine and epidemiology and my eye for detail allow me to do a variety of tasks.
One of my main duties is to help wildlife agencies use the CWD Data Warehouse, an online platform for chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance planning and data management. Today, I’m working on importing an agency’s dataset that contains more than 4,000 records with details about every deer that was sampled and tested for CWD during the last year. First, I look carefully at how the data is organized, determine what the different fields mean, and check for any obvious errors. Once I’m satisfied that I understand all the idiosyncrasies of the data, I tailor the script, written in Python code, to accurately import the data into the structure of the warehouse. I test the script with a small subset of data. If all goes well, the data should be imported into the warehouse. Unfortunately, this time I get a strange error message. It’s not an easy thing to fix, like a typo or a missing punctuation mark. Since I like puzzles, I spend some time trying to figure out how to fix the error with the help of Google. After struggling for a while, I decide to ‘phone a friend’ (my colleague, Nick Hollingshead) for advice and solutions. This error is a puzzle for him, too, and it is not a quick fix!
I move on to gathering published articles about brucellosis in wildlife to write a new fact sheet for the CWHL website. These disease fact sheets cover the basics (species, transmission, clinical signs, diagnosis, and prevention) about pathogens and toxins that affect wildlife. They educate and inform the public, DEC biologists, technicians, and wildlife professionals across the US. I enjoy writing fact sheets, because I always learn something new. It will take me a few days to read the articles I’ve collected, taking notes along the way. Then I’ll sort through the notes and draft a fact sheet. I need to be careful how I simplify the language to maintain accuracy without overgeneralizing disease processes. Once I have a draft, I send it to Jennifer Peaslee who transforms it into a beautiful fact sheet complete with appealing wildlife photos.
As I’m reading an article, I’m interrupted by a request from a colleague to edit documentation about statistical models in the Warehouse—another type of puzzle! My job is to translate the statistical language into something that will enable biologists to learn how to run the model and interpret the results for use in making CWD-related decisions. I use my epidemiology background to help me clarify and explain some of the technical sentences.
I finish the editing as my work day ends. I’ll spend the rest of my day weaving at my loom or sewing a spinnaker for our sailboat. Tomorrow, I’ll continue with the fact sheet and importing the data. Then it will be on to the next puzzle to solve in wildlife health!
