Suzana Tkalcic

Dr. Suzana Tkalcic is a dually-appointed Associate Professor at Western University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor at San Diego State University's School of Public Health. Her primary appointment at Western University involves teaching pathology across DVM curricula and directing clinical rotations, while her SDSU affiliation focuses on environmental health aspects of zoonotic diseases. She earned her DVM from the University of Zagreb and PhD in Veterinary Pathology from the University of Georgia.

Her research spans three interconnected domains: marine mammal pathology (particularly California sea lion diseases), comparative One Health approaches to zoonotic infections, and pedagogical innovations in veterinary education. She maintains active collaborations with the Marine Mammal Care Center and Los Angeles Zoo, with field studies extending to Adriatic aquaculture systems.

Honors include four consecutive Chancellor's Research Awards (1991-1994), Phi Zeta Honor Society membership, the 2011 Ljudevit Jurak Award, and the 2017 Croatian Women of Influence Award for Science. She established the annual Dr. Suzana Tkalcic One Health Award for comparative medicine research.

Dr. Tkalcic has secured multiple grants including USDA funding for coronavirus resistance studies ($375,000) and NATO security proposals. She mentors doctoral candidates internationally and has advised 21+ veterinary students on research projects ranging from nasal mite prevalence to volcanic gastric ulcers in marine mammals.

She co-founded the Binational One Health Initiative along the California-Baja border and serves on the Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences. Her laboratory coordinates specimen analysis for multiple marine rehabilitation centers along the Pacific Coast.