Bio

Greg received his B.A. in biology from Gettysburg College in 1981, an M.S. in biology with a concentration in marine biology from Northeastern University in 1985, and a V.M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1988. He worked for a large wholesaler of ornamental fishes before joining the faculty at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1993, where he is Professor of Aquatic, Wildlife and Zoological Medicine and an Assistant Clinical Sciences Department Head. He is a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine and the European College of Zoological Medicine. In 2007 was named Exotic DVM of the Year by Exotic DVM Magazine. In 2012 he received the William Medway Award for Excellence in Teaching from the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine. In 2024 he received the ARAV/ZooMed RAVE Award for contributions to reptile and amphibian medicine.

Greg is an author on over 250 popular and scientific articles about invertebrates, fishes, amphibians and reptiles and speaks locally, nationally and internationally on these subjects. He’s also authored or co-authored 30-plus book chapters related to veterinary medicine of the above-mentioned taxonomic groups and edited or co-edited six veterinary textbooks: Self Assessment Colour Review of Ornamental Fish (Manson Publishing and ISU Press, 1998), Self Assessment Colour Review of Ornamental Fish & Aquatic Invertebrates (CRC Press, 2017), Rapid Review of Exotic Animal Medicine and Husbandry (Manson Publishing, 2008), the multiple award winning Invertebrate Medicine (Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2006; 2012; 2022), and The Aquarium Fish Medicine Handbook with Roy Yanong (CRC Press, 2024). Greg has made 29 trips to the Galápagos doing field work on a wide variety of species.

He and his wife Dr. Diane Deresienski live in North Carolina.

AFFILIATIONS

AAZV, IAAAM, ARAV, AVMA, WAVMA, AAFV, Veterinary Invertebrate Society, Honeybee Consortium, Dipl ECZM (ZHM)

CERTIFICATIONS

Dipl. ACZM & ECZM (Zoo Health Management)

Area(s) of Expertise

GLOBAL HEALTH, INFECTIOUS DISEASES, PHARMACOLOGY
Health assessment of wildlife with emphasis on North Carolina and Galápagos reptiles.

Publications

• Differences in PFAS exposure between Pacific pinnipeds: The Galapagos (Zalophus wollebaeki) and California (Zalophus californianus) sea lions , Marine Pollution Bulletin (2026)
• Euthanasia Methods in Invertebrates: A Critical Narrative Review of Methodological and Welfare Standards , Animals (2026)
• First morphological description of the Galápagos pink iguana ( Conolophus marthae ) hatchling: a critical step for its conservation , PeerJ (2026)
• Microplastic exposure and biological correlates in a key intertidal crab (Grapsus grapsus) from the Galápagos Islands , Marine Pollution Bulletin (2026)
• Pathogen screening in adult frozen feeder mice commonly reveals zoonotic rodent-adapted Cryptosporidium spp. , Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine (2026)
• Wild Freshwater Turtles as Bioindicators of Antimicrobial Resistance: An Exploratory Cross-sectional Study in Wake County, North Carolina , Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery (2026)
• Anatomical and histological analysis of an undescribed cervical skin fold structure in spotted turtles (Clemmys gutatta) , Scientific Reports (2025)
• CLINICAL OVERVIEW OF SNAKES PRESENTING TO A NORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE CLINIC: A 25-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW (1999–2023) , Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (2025)
• Changes in marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) heart rates suggest reduced metabolism during El Niño events , Journal of Zoology (2025)
• EVALUATION OF CARAPACIAL REPAIR TECHNIQUES FOR INJURED TURTLES PRESENTING TO A WILDLIFE CLINIC , Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (2025)

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