David Kersey, PhD
Assistant Professor, Physiology
College of Veterinary Medicine
Ph.D. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 2009
David Kersey, Ph.D. is a native Southern Californian. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from George Mason University and conducted his dissertation research on the reproductive and adrenal physiology of the giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.
David Kersey has two career interests: animal conservation and education. With animal conservation he is interested in developing knowledge of reproductive and endocrine mechanisms that aid in species conservation and management. He began his career at the Smithsonian National Zoo in 2000, finding his passion for research studying reproductive and adrenal endocrinology in an array of endangered species. He parlayed that passion into a working on the giant panda captive breeding project in collaboration with US and Chinese institutes for his PhD dissertation work. An outgrowth of that work was not only enhanced knowledge about giant panda reproduction, but also practical tools to improve captive breeding and artificial insemination protocols. At WesternU, he continues his conservation focused research by studying the reproductive biology of other rare and endangered species while still being involved in giant panda reproductive studies. While at the Smithsonian he started to develop his passion for teaching through training modules for visiting students and scientists at the endocrine lab. This yen for teaching and small group learning experiences in grad school at George Mason University enabled a quick adaptation to teaching in the problem based curriculum at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences. He has served as course leader for Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Veterinary Basic Sciences courses taught in the first two years of the program, and one of the members of the physiology content expert team. In 2020 he became the Year 1 Director and helped manage an maintain the curriculum during and emerging from the pandemic.
My research interests are in affecting species conservation and management via enhanced knowledge of reproductive and endocrine mechanisms. No species exists without reproduction and in conservation this notion is foundationally valuable. Whether ex situ or in situ, knowledge of reproductive and endocrine mechanisms informs management decisions about resource use and breeding strategies to supplement the constellation of factors associated with species conservation. Primarily using noninvasively collected samples, we can study hormone patterns to give us a unique window into the active biology of individual animals and populations to identify patterns that expand basic science concepts of physiology and support evidence-based decisions. My career interest is in giant panda conservation, but i have also applied lessons learned to other species in need of conservation.
- Giant Panda Species Survival Plan, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, member, 2003 – 2010
- Endocrine Specialists Advisory Group, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, member, 2008 – current
- Society for the Study of Reproduction Associate Member, 2009 – current
- Smithsonian Research Associate (3 yr appointment), 2009 – 2012
- International Society of Wildlife Endocrinologists, member, 2010 – current
- Peer Learning Community, Artificial Intelligence: 2023-current
- Educational Technology Subcommittee: 2021-current
- Faculty search committees: Student Affairs Committee: 2016-2019, 2022 - current; Chair 2018-2019
- EcoHealth Research Interest Group: 2011-current
Selected Peer-reviewed publications
Brown, J. L., Kersey, D. C., Freeman, E. W., Wagener, T., 2010. Assessment of diurnal urinary cortisol excretion in Asian and African elephants using different endocrine methods. Zoo Biology. 29, 274-283.
Kersey, D. C., Wildt, D. E., Brown, J. L., Snyder, R. J., Huang, Y., Monfort, S. L., 2010. Endocrine milieu of periestrus in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) as determined by noninvasive hormone measures. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. 22, 901-912.
Kersey, D. C., Wildt, D. E., Brown, J. L., Snyder, R. J., Huang, Y., Monfort, S. L., 2010. Unique biphasic progestagen profile in parturient and non-parturient giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) as determined by faecal hormone monitoring. Reproduction. 140, 183-193.
Kersey, D. C., Wildt, D. E., Brown, J. L., Snyder, R. J., Huang, Y., Monfort, S. L., 2010. Gonadal and adrenal hormones change in parallel and seasonally in male giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Mammalogy, 91, 1496-1507.
Brown, J. L., Kersey, D. C., Walker, S. L., 2010. Assessment of luteinizing hormone and prolactin immunoactivity in Asian and African elephant urine using assays validated for serum. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 169, 138-143.
Charlton, B. D., Keating, J.L., Kersey, D. C., Rengui, L., Huang, Y., Swaisgood, R.R., 2011. Vocal cues to androgen levels in male giant pandas. Biology Letters, 7, 71-74.
Kersey, D. C., Wildt, D. E., Brown, J. L., Snyder, R. J., Huang, Y., Monfort, S. L., in press. Rising fecal glucocorticoid concentrations track reproductive activity in the female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). General and Comparative Endocrinology.
Willis E. L., Kersey D. C., Durrant B. S., Kouba A. J., in press. The acute phase protein ceruloplasmin as a non-invasive marker of pseudopregnancy, pregnancy, and pregnancy loss in the giant panda. PLoS One.
In his free time, Dr. Kersey enjoys fishing in the Sierra Nevada, building furniture, and taking his dogs (Iggy, DeeDee and Ollie) to enjoy the local mountains and beaches.