The Speakers

Wolfgang Wüster is a Reader in Zoology (Herpetology) at Bangor University, North Wales, UK. His major research interests concern the origin and evolution of venom in snakes, and its role in the biology of the snakes, as well as the taxonomy, biogeography and ecology of snakes. He has published approximately 140 papers since obtaining his PhD from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1990.

Dr. Leslie Boyer, founder of the University of Arizona’s VIPER Institute, is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and a board-certified toxicologist. She has been named a “Local Legend” by the American Medical Women’s Association and the US National Library of Medicine and a “Hero of Rare Disease” by the US FDA, and she has won research awards from the Wilderness Medical Society, the Arizona Bioindustry Association, the American College of Medical Toxicology, and the Mexican Association of Directors of Applied Research and Technology. Antivenoms that she has helped to develop benefit humans and animals with venom injury in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.

Kristen Wiley has been at Kentucky Reptile Zoo since 1998. She is responsible for the daily husbandry of a wide variety of venomous snakes, as well as permitting, licensing, and antivenom importation for the zoo. Kristen has a master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University, where she studied the microhabitat use of timber rattlesnakes. Outside of the zoo, Kristen is an avid equestrian, and participates in the sport of eventing.

Bio and picture to come.

Ashley is an Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech and Affiliated Faculty with the Global Change Center. Her conservation social science research focuses on conservation behavior of wildlife recreationists, habitat conservation by private landowners, human disturbance of shorebirds and science application by managers. She earned her PhD in Natural Resources from Cornell; her Master of Science in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from Colorado State University, and her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science & Public Policy from Harvard University. She is the Principal Investigator on Virginia Tech’s collaborative wildlife viewing plan project with Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. She and her two children enjoy wildlife watching, hiking, herping, and other outdoor activities.

Brian currently serves as the Assistant Director of Outreach with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Prior to this position he served as the Recreation Program Manager where he was responsible for managing Virginia’s watchable wildlife program, public access opportunities for hunting and fishing, Virginia’s statewide Birding and Wildlife Trail, and outreach efforts to promote hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. Brian has an undergraduate degree from Liberty University in biology and a master’s from Murray State University in wildlife management.

Associate Professor Bryan G. Fry has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology, a B.A. in Scientific Philosophy, and a B.A. (minor) in Psychology. His work studies the evolutionary diversification of animal venoms, both from a theoretical perspective in how this contributes to the philosophical body of knowledge surrounding evolutionary biology, but also how these changes influence clinical effects and antivenom neutralisation, thereby contributing data essential for the evidence-based design of clinical management strategies. His laboratory studies not just snake venoms, but from a wide range of other animals spanning Komodo dragons to slow lorises to vampire bats. The lab even studies natural toxins from bacteria and viruses, such as how rabies virus causes paralysis by binding to the snake neurological target as does cobra venom (the alpha-1 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor). He has published over 175 scientific manuscripts, including in elite journals such as Nature. He has also published 2 books and contributed to nearly 30 book chapters. He has led expeditions to over 40 countries, including Antarctica (collecting polar venomous octopuses), leading to him being inducted into the elite professional adventurers society The Explorers Club.