Podcast #37 – Dr. Nelva J. Bryant

Do you work in the animal health industry or veterinary profession? Have you ever wondered how people began their careers and how they got to where they are today? Hi everyone. I’m Stacey Purcell, the founder and CEO of the Vet Recruiter, the leading executive search and recruiting firm for the animal health industry and veterinary profession. I was the first recruiter to specialize in the animal health industry and veterinary profession in the United States and built the first search firm to serve this unique niche. For the past 25 plus years, I have built relationships with the industry’s top leaders and trailblazers. The people of Animal Health podcast highlights the incredible individuals I have connected with throughout my career. You will be able to learn more about their lives, careers, and contributions. With our wide range of expert guest, you will be sure to learn something new in every episode. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the episode.

Welcome to the People of Animal Health podcast. On today’s show, we are talking with Dr. Nelva Bryant Dr. Bryant has dedicated her career to the health and welfare of animals both domestically and internationally. As a retired lieutenant commander of the US Public Health Service, she has held significant roles at USDA, FDA, and CDC, focusing on infectious diseases, animal welfare, and veterinary public health. Currently, Dr. Bryant serves as the industry’s first in-house veterinarian at Delta Airlines, where she promotes safe and humane animal travel. She is a distinguished practitioner fellow at the National Academies of Practice, Veterinary Medicine, and a licensed veterinarian in Georgia and New York. Join us as we explore Dr. Bryant’s remarkable career and her contributions to veterinary medicine and animal transportation. Welcome onto the People of Animal Health podcast, and how are you, Nelva?

I’m doing great. Thank you so much, Stacy. Thank you for having me here today.

Well, I’m so excited to have you here. I know we’ve talked a number of times over the years and you have a fascinating career. But I’d like to start off at the very beginning of your career, but first of all, what was your life like growing up and where did you grow up?

I grew up in Newburgh, New York. It is a small… Well, actually not a small dog. Excuse me. I’m sorry, Stacy. My dogs are barking.

We’re in the animal health industry, I’m used to dogs barking.

I’m so sorry. I grew up in Newburgh, New York. It’s located about one hour north of New York City. If you’re not familiar with the area, it’s not far from West Point where the United States Military Academy is, but that’s my hometown, Newburgh, New York.

Well, can you start by telling us a bit about your background and what initially inspired you to pursue a career in veterinary medicine?

I am the youngest of three children. I’ve always loved animals as a child. My parents kind of sensed that with me, and I always had some pets. When we were able to have dogs, we had dogs. But for the most part I had hamsters, rabbits, and dogs as pets. From an age of say, around eight or nine years of age, I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian at that point. And my parents encouraged me to pursue this as much as possible. It was instilled in me that every generation should be push further than the generation prior to us, so that was instilled in my head. As a teenager, one of my mother’s customers in her beauty salon… My mother was a beautician and she has a salon, one of her customers was a spouse of a veterinarian in our town, and they arranged for me to shadow him at his hospital. And I watched my first surgery and from then on I was hooked. I definitely knew that’s the career path I wanted to go on.

I love that. Well, your career is quite unique spanning roles in the US public health, the USDA, FDA, and CDC. Can you share some highlights from your journey through these different organizations?

Yeah, definitely. It’s interesting, Stacy, I never really planned my career fully. When I applied to veterinary school, I thought I just wanted to be a small animal veterinarian. And just so many things changed and I was exposed to different aspects of the profession that it changed you could say, my direction. I love veterinary medicine. I love small animal medicine, but the opportunities that were before me were great. As a officer in the United States Public Health Service, I was able to serve my country and also work in multiple federal agencies and some of the highlights with USDA under the Food Safety Inspection Service, I learned in a sense what the federal government does to protect our food that we consume, say, poultry and meat. So well, I was supervising inspectors in these particular facilities, poultry or red meat plants. So I did that for a little while.

Then I worked with the Food and Drug Administration with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, where we research food products and supplements that we consume. Then I worked with CDC. I had multiple roles there. I was with the animal resources branch where I set up the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory for research animals there. I had a wonderful experience where I did a TDY or a temporary duty assignment with the Rickettsia branch where I was on the… Let’s see, we were on a project, it was called the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Rodeo Project. It was a health project where we worked on an Indian reservation in Arizona. And the issue is the fact that the unchecked dog population on the reservation played an important role on the spread of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. So what we did it, we went to the reservation and set up a spay neuter clinic, and I helped supervise that whole process.

We had students from Virginia, Maryland, college of Veterinary Medicine and the graduate students from North Dakota State University to assist us. And we did an outstanding job. We targeted an area sector of the community and did a free spay neuter clinic for them. By the end of the setup, they would leave it by the end of the project, a good year later, only 1% of the dogs in that particular area had ticks where the other locations, 63% of the dogs had ticks. So we took a bite out of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in those locations. And also with the process prevented the transmission of basically a public health disease.

Wow. What did you learn from that experience?

It was just a wonderful experience, just honestly seeing a different culture, just seeing how people live on the Indian reservations. They lack animal ordinances, so something simple as the number of dogs you might have, or having them tethered and just leash laws or all those things, they don’t have those on the Indian reservations. And it just led to the over in a sense, the more dogs you had, the more ticks you had. And ticks don’t discriminate. Hey, if they can find a blood source on a person, they’ll do that. And unfortunately in that environment that’s what was happening. Children were dying because of this, so we did a great thing there going to help take a bite out of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in those locations.

Wow, that’s incredible. Well, as a retired LCDR in the US Public Health Service, what were some of your key responsibilities and accomplishments during your time there?

Well, being an officer in the public health services, really it’s an opportunity to serve your country. And also again, you’re working multiple federal agencies, but serving my country, I serve to assist with disaster relief and also some humanitarian assistance programs. The major disaster relief or response project that I was working on or was deployed for was the Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of that. Remember years ago when that happened, a lot of people were displaced and also their pets. We were deployed. And when I say it was a group of us in the public health service, fellow veterinarians. We went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to assist with the displaced pets during this aftermath. It was very rewarding. I was able to work with a team where we assisted with helping to reunite the pet owners and their pets during the aftermath.

Well, what drew you to veterinary pathology, and how did this specialty shape your approach to animal health and public health?

Yeah, during my second year of vet school we were all taking veterinary pathology, and I was introduced to my mentor, Dr. John M. King. Unfortunately, he’s passed a couple of years ago, but he was very strong influence on me in reference to veterinary pathology. I love learning about the diseases and also researching the cause of death in animals. It may sound awful, but it’s just fascinating to me. I’m also fascinated by zoonotic diseases because I don’t think people realize the significance behind them with your pet. We love pets, but we see a lot of folks humanize them but don’t realize they’re an animal, and there are particular diseases that we can get from them. So I just love studying zoonotic diseases. To me, to protect public health we need to have this knowledge of zoonotic diseases and their transmission. And what I’ve learned over the years is that many of the importation regulations or even transportation regulations are based upon protecting the transmission of these zoonotic diseases to people.

That makes sense. Well, can you tell us about your transition to working with Delta Air Lines as their first in-house veterinarian? What all does your role entail there?

Yeah. Well, in 2018, I retired from the public health service, and I left CDC and I was looking for the opportunities to combine… And since all my trainings, I know it’s a little bit unique and varied, but I was trying to find something that will combine it all. And I also wanted to continue with animal transportation because my final role with CDC was with the quarantine branch where I was a dog importation SME. So I was very familiar with dogs coming into the country, the regulations behind it. So I wanted to continue on that pathway. And there was an opportunity listed in LinkedIn, Delta was advertising for a veterinarian and I decided to pursue that role, and I got it. And I was very, very thankful for that opportunity. Now, what do I do for Delta? I always summarize it and say I was brought on staff to review and revise the policies for animal transportation. That’s a basic way of saying it, but it is really involved. But if you think about it as far as Delta, they transport more than just dogs and cats.

Everyone thinks there’s just pets, but we transport also zoo animal species for zoos. We do day old chicks. We do hatching eggs. We do also transport sometimes research animals. So there’s various regulations for the transportation of all these animals, and you need somebody who’s familiar with it to stay on top of it. So I basically stay on top of it, abreast of all these regulations to ensure compliance.

Well, I know that animal welfare during travel is a significant concern. So what are some of the key policies or initiatives you’ve implemented at Delta to ensure the safety and wellbeing of traveling pets and other animals?

Yeah, definitely. I work to ensure compliance with USDA’s animal welfare regulations, that is a prime thing that I do. Additionally, we want to also comply with the International Air Transport Association. They have live animals regulations. Again, staying on top of that and making sure we comply with that is extremely important. And the job itself, I helped to, again, review revised policies. I helped develop job aids, contingency plans in cases of emergencies, what we need to follow and other training materials for all of our agents. So our goals are to ensure the safety of all animals under our care.

Well, given your extensive experience with infectious and zoonotic diseases, how do you see the role of veterinarians evolving in the context of global health?

Well, I think we’re needed to safeguard animal health and public health. I believe our young, budding veterinarians to pursue opportunities in public health or one health. Outside of just saying, focusing on say small animals, large animals, but we need to be pursuing opportunities where we’re intertwining animal health and public health.

That makes sense. Well, you also work as a consultant and you share your knowledge at conferences and on webinars. What are some of the most pressing issues in veterinary medicine that you address in your talks?

Yeah. Well, because of my position and role, I have an inside view of animal transportation. And I’m able to see sometimes situations where maybe potentially a pet owner could have done something a little bit differently for a different outcome. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of times the airline gets the brunt of a lot of things as far as being a scapegoat of saying that they’re responsible for a situation to happen with an animal. But I think there’s a lack of education of preparing pets for air travel, and that’s what I try to promote during my webinars and presentations. Things I focused on is how to prepare pets for air travel, because again, that information is not shared. I also have given presentations on the pet travel regulations because a lot of people don’t understand, it actually is regulated. And then with fellow veterinarians, I’ve also focused on international pet travel regulations as well, because a lot of our fellow veterinarians are not keeping up with their USDA accreditation. They’re not familiar with the international regulations and what to do or how to find them. So I can give them presentations on that as well.

Do you have any statistics on how many pets travel via airlines per year?

I have data from… I’ll just say it this way, from 2016 to 2022… I don’t have data for 2023 as of yet, but during 2016 to 2022, I believe there was about 2.7 million pets were transported by cargo. I don’t know the numbers by in cabin, because in cabin there’s no regulatory body that’s requiring those numbers to be reported. But by cargo, there is a regulatory requirement for that. But again, 2.7 million during that timeframe from say about 15 US airlines. And I’ve got as far as if you want to know animal incidents and reports, i have data on that as well. But the numbers as far as people thinking that it’s the worst thing ever for pets to travel by cargo, well, out of that timeframe, again, 2.7 million animals being transported, there was 170 animal incidents. Any incident could be escape, injury or death.

So the numbers as folks think are really not as high as everyone suspects. But again, there’s a lot we could learn from that data. From the data we found that in those situations, say if there was a death, it is highly recommended, and I know we do, we make sure any [inaudible 00:16:06] is done on the animal to determine the cause of death. And a lot of those cases, these pets have an underlying medical condition. So again, a lot of information I love to share is that please make sure your pets are healthy and fit for travel prior to doing transport by cargo.

Yeah, that’s a great point. Well, as a member of several advisory boards and councils, what do you believe are the most critical areas for advancement in the veterinary field today?

I think we need to start expanding out of, say, the veterinary industry. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed this Stacy. It seems like there’s pet industries, there’s the veterinary industry, then there’s the airline industry. Everything is compartmentalized. I think we need to start expanding out into other industries that also either house animals, transport animals, or do services or need animals to perform their services. I always say my prime example is zoos. Zoos, it’s so common for us to think that a zoo will have a zoo animal veterinarian on staff. But I bet you years and years ago when zoos initially were established, I bet they didn’t have a veterinarian on staff, but they learned over time that we were needed in this environment. And the same as a research animal facility, they’re going to have a laboratory animal veterinarians there in that particular environment to serve those animals there. I think, and again, with the role that I’m playing with Delta, being in the airline industry, if any organization is or industries transporting animals, we need to be involved with that process.

So I think there’s opportunities for us to growth and expand it to other industries if they’re providing a service for animals.

Those are some great points that you made. Well, what advice would you give to young veterinarians or veterinary students who aspire to have a diverse and impactful career like yours?

I say think outside the box, pursue non-traditional roles. Be open to traveling for a position and be open to pursuing additional education such as the MPH or any other further education or training. Just be open to it. Don’t feel as though you’re just stuck in one thing. When I went to vet school, like I said, I thought I just wanted to be a small animal veterinarian, but I was exposed to different aspects and that just opened my eyes to it. So just think outside the box and be open to opportunities.

There’s so many different aspects, I think I mentioned before on the podcast. But I have found veterinarians working over the years at companies like Coca-Cola, Campbell Soup, outside of the veterinary profession. And like you with working for Delta. So there’s so many opportunities and possibilities out there for veterinarians. Well, Nelva, what has been the most surprising thing to you during your career in the veterinary profession,

Like you just said… Well, I’ve been a veterinarian for over 30 years now. I think that overall society has a limited view of our capabilities. And as you mentioned, there’s so many things we can do but sometimes we could be limited by certain industries based upon their views of us and limiting our capabilities where we can do so much and have so much value into an industry. So that’s one thing. I just am surprised, again, starting out as a budding veterinarian I have seen it change what I wish it would’ve by 30 years now in the profession, I would think that a lot of other industries would’ve realized our value and taken advantage of all that we have to offer. So that surprises me.

Well, being in the veterinary profession for 30 years. How have you seen the profession change over the 30 years that you’ve been involved?

Well, big, big change in past, I don’t know how many years social media has been out but that has been a big change for our profession. We now have through social media, in a sense, veterinarians now can develop their own brands and get their own followings and share information. And there’s a lot of great information being shared right now and through social media by my fellow veterinarians. So I think that’s one great thing that’s happened.

Well, what does your crystal ball say about the future of the veterinary profession?

I’m just hoping and praying that for the future, we’ll have plenty of opportunities for us to grow and expand into other industries that impact the safety and welfare of animals. That’s my hope.

That makes sense. Well, I like to ask our guest, is there a book that you’ve read that has made an impact on you during your life or throughout your career?

I hate to say it. I’m probably not the one that… Is kind of shameful. Honestly, I haven’t read many books that really have impacted me. I basically am more a very… I take a lot of advice from my family, my mother, I have strong relationships with that. I am more spiritual than anything, and I believe God leads our paths and everything we do. So I can’t say a book. I would just say I trust in God and just have been very spiritual in a lot of things that I do.

Oh, I love that. Well, Nelva, you have got the mic, what is one last thing you’d like to share with our listeners of the People of Animal Health podcast before you drop the mic today?

Thank you. I would just add on to something I mentioned briefly earlier. When you are traveling with pets, please, please, ensure they’re transported in a crate that complies with IATA, the International Air Transport, LAR, which is Live Animal Regulations. A lot of the so-called airline approved crates are not approved by the airlines. The airlines follow IATA, LAR, so be mindful of that. A crate in this standard actually is a lot stronger and sturdier than your so-called crates that are airline approved on the commercial market. I also recommend that they’re acclimated to confinement in that crate, so get them used to being there in that crate. And then, as I mentioned earlier, please make sure they’re medically fit for air travel. Have your veterinarian review their medical records and ensure they don’t have an underlying condition prior to travel. And that’s all I have for today. But thank you so much for this opportunity.

Well, thank you so much for that. Great advice to our listeners. And Nelva, thank you so much for being here. I enjoyed having you as my guest today on the People of Animal Health Podcast.

Thank you.