Dr. Lais Costa is an Assistant Professor in Veterinary Medicine Extension and Rural Community Disaster Preparedness Specialist at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. She specializes in disaster response and large animal technical rescue, with experience ranging from Hurricane Katrina to California wildfires and Tevis Cup trail equine rescues. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in large animal internal medicine and of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in equine veterinary practice.
Dr. Costa’s research and outreach focus on mitigating the impacts of emergencies and disasters on the health and welfare of animal, including equids, livestock, companion species and captive wildlife, and building resilience in rural communities. Her program takes an All-Animals-All-Hazards Preparedness approach aimed to foster community resilience through strengthening preparedness against, readiness for and recovery from emergencies and disasters, including extreme weather events, man-made disasters, animal health emergencies and zoonotic disease outbreaks impacting rural and agricultural communities throughout California.
UC Davis International Animal Welfare Training Initiative: https://iawti.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/