Hopkins Welcomed to CVM as Recipient of Alumni Fellows Award
Ridgeland, Mississippi native Dr. Camille Hopkins was honored and humbled when MSU CVM Dean Kent Hoblet called to inform her of her selection as the 2021 Alumni Fellow.
Dr. Hopkins has always been fascinated by nature and passionate about the wellbeing of wild animals. After completing a Girl Scout Wider Opportunity experience with the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, she was determined to become a wildlife veterinarian.
After graduating from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Dr. Hopkins earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University before returning to her home state to pursue a DVM from Mississippi State University. She completed her DVM in 2004 and then continued her studies – receiving a master’s in veterinary medical science from MSU in 2005 and a doctorate in disease ecology from Virginia Tech in 2014.
“MSU provided me with the foundational knowledge and problem-based learning tools to prepare for a diverse veterinary career caring for pets, military working dogs, zoo animals, and free-ranging wildlife,” Dr. Hopkins said.
As a student, Dr. Hopkins was awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health Graduate Research Fellowship in 2009. The award provided enhanced support for her study of forest disturbance and its ecological impacts on the La Crosse virus, a mosquito-borne disease that can cause seizures, coma, paralysis, and permanent brain damage in severe pediatric cases.
Dr. Hopkins interned in the Republic of South Africa and at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, gained clinical experience at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park and completed arboviral diagnostics and surveillance training at the Center for Disease Control’s Arboviral Diseases Branch. A veteran officer of the U.S. Army Reserves Veterinary Corps, she also cared for military working dogs during two overseas deployments.
After completing her graduate studies, she joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, Virginia, where she could apply her clinical and research experience as the wildlife disease coordinator in the Ecosystems Mission Area. In her current role, she oversees the national aquatic and terrestrial wildlife disease portfolio and represents USGS in interagency efforts to respond to wildlife diseases, including zoonotic diseases. She also participates in international discussions and meetings and contributes to Department of the Interior emergency management activities related to wildlife diseases.
“I also work with our communications and outreach staff to share our objective scientific results with our non-federal partners and the public,” she said.
Dr. Hopkins’s passion for her work, matched by an impressive resume, has propelled her successful career over the years. Beginning in individual animal wildlife medicine, she is now engaged in efforts with regional, national, and international implications. More importantly, because several diseases she studies can be transferred from wildlife to humans, her work has made significant contributions to the health and wellbeing of animals and humans alike.
One example is her recent work contributed to research on COVID-19 transmission in North American bats. Camille has also been involved in studies related to chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer, a top game animal for Mississippi.
“I coordinate our research activities across the nation to support our wildlife disease Congressional mandates like chronic wasting disease, avian influenza, white-nose syndrome and stony coral tissue loss disease as well as integrate our science with ongoing interagency efforts to address wildlife zoonoses, including vector-borne diseases and SARS-COV-2,” she said. “Related to that, I make funding recommendations for research priorities and participate in budget planning, budget execution, and strategic planning for our agency. As needed, I also participate in federal emergency response activities.“
When speaking to current MSU CVM students, Dr. Hopkins advised them to take the time to learn the diverse knowledge and develop skills to become a general veterinary practitioner. “You never know where your career may take you,” she noted. “You may plan to head down one veterinary track but doors may open for you to head down a different road. I would have never imagined that my career would include military working dog medicine and small animal emergency medicine in addition to wildlife medicine and One Health.”
Congratulations to our 2021 Alumni Fellow, Dr. Camille Harris Hopkins!
