Dr. Meera Heller is a Professor of Clinical Livestock Medicine and Surgery at UC Davis. She received her DVM from UC Davis and completed an internship in large animal medicine and surgery at the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada. She returned to UC Davis for her residency in large animal internal medicine, followed by a PhD in Comparative Pathology. Her first faculty job was at the University of Missouri in their Food Animal Medicine Service. She then returned to UC Davis in 2014 to start her current position.
Her clinical interests are in medicine and surgery of ruminants and pigs, with a special focus on small ruminants. She uses acupuncture as part of her toolbox for her hospitalized patients, for medical and surgical problems. Her research has ranged from basic research into the innate immune response, to more clinical research such as pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies, diagnostic testing, transfusion medicine, and infectious/tick-borne diseases in small ruminants.
She has a small herd of goats of various breeds, including some retired blood donors and her daughter’s show goats. When she is not working, she enjoys hiking, running, knitting, and trying to make goat cheese!