Wildlife veterinarian and director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the University of Illinois. Champaign Central and 5-time University of Illinois alum.
Joined July 2013
- Tweets 2,762
- Following 330
- Followers 573
- Likes 3,874
197 Photos and videos
Matt Allender retweeted
29 Dec 2025
Looking back on 2025, we are reminded that conservation is built through collaboration, dedication, and a shared responsibility to protect wildlife for generations to come. Every visit you make helps support that work!
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Matt Allender retweeted
28 Feb 2025
Dr. Jenkins sits down with Dr. Michael Dreslik from the Illinois Natural History Survey. Mike has led several long-term studies, including one focused on the #Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), one of the most threatened #rattlesnake species in the state. oriannesociety.org/snake-tal…
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Matt Allender retweeted
7 Feb 2025
Donald Trump is making a deliberate attempt to overwhelm the system, and to overwhelm you. It can be difficult to keep up. And that’s by design.
But we can keep up – and respond. Here’s what he’s doing, and what it means for you. Just the facts. 🧵⤵️
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Matt Allender retweeted
30 Dec 2024
Early discovery of a rare fungus in Illinois put the state in an unusual position to be a world leader in containing and treating it. trib.al/8KFCts6
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Matt Allender retweeted
5 Jul 2024
We are delighted to announce the Seibert Award winners from @SSAR2024!
Congratulations to these students who gave award-winning talks in the Ecology and Conservation categories at the SSAR standalone meeting last week! 🐸🎉
ALT Ecology: Jeffrey Coleman, University of Texas at Austin, “Nuance in the narrative: environmental compounds and foraging preferences unveiled in a brown poison frog considered diet-generalized and toxin-free” Honorable Mention to Tyler Hunt, Florida State University, “Visual field analysis reveals near-panoramic vision in narrow-snouted Crocodilians” Conservation: Callie Golba, Northern Illinois University, “Population viability analysis-based assessment of Blanding’s turtle conservation strategies” Honorable Mention to Maris Daleo, University of Urbana, Illinois, “Survival analysis of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) incorporating pathogen effects incentral Illinois”
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Matt Allender retweeted
17 Mar 2024
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Matt Allender retweeted
3 Mar 2024
Happy #WorldWildlifeDay! Here at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, we strive to connect communities to conservation all around the world. Learn more about our critical conservation work with Humboldt penguins in Peru and our role in the Punta San Juan program at brookfieldzoo.org/PuntaSanJu….
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Matt Allender retweeted
3 Mar 2024
This #WorldWildlifeDay, the number of assessed species on the IUCN Red List is 157,190, with over 44,000 threatened with #extinction.
Discover more about their status and what can be done ow.ly/JbCg50ErZY2
#WWD2024
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Matt Allender retweeted
2 Feb 2024
It's #WorldWetlandsDay! You can help protect wetlands & native species:
💧 Picking up litter and keeping trash out of our waterways
💦 Using phosphate-free detergent, which is friendlier for aquatic life
💧 Planting native species to preserve the natural balance of waterways!
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Matt Allender retweeted
20 Jan 2024
Forget elections, wars! "This spring, for the first time since 1803, two cicada groups known as Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood [~ a trillion cicadas], are set to appear at the same time, in what is known as a dual emergence." @aimee_ortiz @NYTScience nytimes.com/2024/01/19/scien…
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Matt Allender retweeted
The American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) recently held its annual meeting virtually. See the award winners here: bit.ly/48JG7Uw
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Matt Allender retweeted
5 Jan 2024
Our paper on #ranavirus in the humble three-toed box #turtle in Missouri is in print. Unfortunately, an emerging threat to turtles in our State.
Kennedy made the cover! meridian.allenpress.com/jwd/…
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Matt Allender retweeted
8 Dec 2023
New in ME!
Snake fungal disease (SFD) infects >40 🐍 species. Experimental transcriptomics by @SamarthPhD et al show SFD is likely systemic with chronic effects on hosts with 🥶❄️ temperature often resulting in severe responses.
link-> buff.ly/47Bp3A7
📸 @AnacondrewMason
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Matt Allender retweeted
4 Dec 2023
On this #WorldWildlifeConservationDay, we're thrilled to share about Brookfield Zoo's role in the Illinois Zoological and Wildlife Health Management Residency Program, along with @fpdcc and @VetMedIllinois! 🌎 🐢 Watch our full video to learn more: youtu.be/zlfjrqA5f8c
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Matt Allender retweeted
27 Nov 2023
Conclusion:
SFD may be a systemic disease where chronic fungal infections might lead to the most profound physiological changes. We report candidate genes and putatively functional loci that can help future studies to improve our understanding of SFD host–pathogen dynamics.
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Matt Allender retweeted
27 Nov 2023
Major results:
1. Although we found fungal activity to be localized on skin, most of the differential gene expression occurred in internal tissues.
2. Temp. played an important role as infected snakes maintained at the lower temp. had more severe clinical signs.
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Matt Allender retweeted
27 Nov 2023
We performed controlled infection in captive Prairie rattlesnakes with O. ophidiicola at two different temps: 20 and 26°C. We then compared liver, kidney, and skin transcriptomes to assess tissue-spe-cific genetic responses to O. ophidiicola infection. #RNASeq
Methods Overview:
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Matt Allender retweeted
27 Nov 2023
Infectious diseases are an increasing threat to global wildlife diversity; most infamous are chytrid in amphibians and white-nose syndrome in bats. Ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease; SFD) is an emerging fungal disease in wild and captive snakes.
Read: tinyurl.com/WhatisSFD
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Matt Allender retweeted
27 Nov 2023
The article is published #OpenAccess (thanks to @OhioState) and can be found here: doi.org/10.1111/mec.17210
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Matt Allender retweeted
21 Aug 2023
CALLING ALL EXOTICSCON ATTENDEES: Come visit our booth for the WEL diagnostic lab section!! Our VDL offers turtle and tortoise respiratory panels, ophidiomycosis, nannizziopsis, emydomyces, chytrid, and ranavirus testing, among others!#exoticscon
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