Dr. Jenifer Chatfield – Infectious Disease Preventive Medicine

Dr. Jenifer Chatfield is the board-certified Staff Veterinarian at 4J Conservation Center.  She is a diplomate of both the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) and the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM).  Dr. Chatfield is a national thought-leader in infectious disease and conservation medicine.  She’s been a practice owner, a relief vet, worked in public health, serves as a member of the National Veterinary Response Team, and is a Medical Reserve Corps member.  She serves on the advisory boards for DVM360, PetVet Magazine, and VPNextGen and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine.  Along with her twin brother, Dr. Jason Chatfield, she co-hosts the incredibly popular podcast, “Chats with the Chatfields.”  The dynamic co-hosts were recognized for their show on PetLife Radio, “In other news…” when it became the #1 veterinary podcast and was the first veterinary show ever recognized by the People’s Choice Podcast Awards as a finalist in the Science and Medicine category.  In 2022, their current show was also similarly recognized as a finalist by the People’s Choice Podcast awards, making them the only veterinarians twice nominated! Dr. Jen and the entire Chatfield family were recently profiled by Pet Vet magazine.

 Lifelong learning is a passion of hers and led Dr. Chatfield to create a YouTube channel dedicated to helping animal lovers provide better care through improved communication with veterinary professionals.  Through her popular show, “Is this a thing? Veterinary translations for pet owners,” she teaches animal lovers all about preventive medicine, behavior challenges, infectious diseases, and more! Dr. Chatfield’s peer-reviewed publications range from pharmacokinetics to wild animal behavior to infectious disease and assisted reproduction in endangered species.  She is an instructor for FEMA/DHS courses and was a Regional Leader for the National Disaster Medicine System Team for several years.

Dr. Chatfield developed the "Veterinary Support to Zoological Animals in a Disaster" for the National Veterinary Response Team’s (NVRT) training curriculum.   She has chaired the Florida Veterinary Medical Association's (FVMA) One Health Committee and co-chaired FVMA's Disaster Response Committee.  Dr. Chatfield has a particular interest in infectious diseases and biosecurity and her work for the Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS) courses has been focused on topics such as foreign animal diseases, quarantine and isolation, and malicious introduction of pathogens.  Dr. Chatfield served on the curriculum redevelopment team for the nationally renowned DHS course, “Emergency Response to a Domestic Biological Incident.”  Her extensive experience in public health includes developing a jurisdiction’s plan for response to bioterrorism in a large metropolitan area.  She was an original founder of the Pasco Hernando Veterinary Medical Association (PHVMA) and served as its President since 2008.  Dr. Chatfield completed a Congressional Fellowship working in the US House of Representatives from 2016-2018.  Dr. Chatfield is one of the most popular speakers at the largest veterinary conferences and has been quoted in national magazines including Better Homes & Gardens.  She was selected as a Future Leader by the AVMA and has been awarded 2 Gold Stars for contributions to veterinary medicine by the FVMA.

Dr. Chatfield loves French bulldogs, Himalayan cats, the dirtiest of vodka martinis and basking on Caribbean beaches.