Julie Levy 
Distinguished Professor | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
Julie Levy focuses on shelter animal wellness, feline infectious diseases, spay/neuter and humane cat population control alternatives.
Biography
Julie Levy and her colleagues' studies include the discovery of new diseases, treatments that are better and more cost-effective, faster and more accurate diagnosis, safer anesthesia and surgery, upscaling spay/neuter programs, improving pet adoption success and enhancing positive outcomes for the most vulnerable animals, such as cats with FeLV or FIP and dogs living through distemper outbreaks. Julie and her team's strategy is to identify emerging threats early, then put together study designs that discover the cause and solutions simultaneously. When needed, the team will bring in expert collaborators from across the country and tap into the energy of advanced trainees and veterinary students. The team's accelerated approach leads to solutions that are immediately practical, affordable and effective in the field where they are needed.
Areas of Expertise (9)
Animal Welfare
Feline Infectious Diseases
FeLV
FIP
FIV
High Quality High Volume Spay-Neuter
Humane Community Cat Management
Nonsurgical Contraception in Cats and Dogs
Shelter Medicine
Media Appearances (4)
Detroit animal shelter euthanizes for space, not W. Michigan
Wood TV 8 Grand Rapids, Michigan online
2022-12-16
If you’ve ever considered volunteering to foster shelter animals, there’s no better time. Shelters in Michigan and across the country are struggling with what one clinic director called an “unprecedented capacity crisis.”
Decrease in spay-neuter surgeries during pandemic may undermine pet welfare
UF Health online
2022-09-13
Progress made over decades to control overpopulation of dogs and cats through high-volume spay-neuter surgeries is at risk thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a team of UF researchers conclude in a new study.
UF vets: Trap-neuter-return best for cat management
The Gainesville Sun online
2019-09-06
They come out at night, heads peeking through bushes. Stray cats are so common in Alachua County, the city of Hawthorne recently held a meeting to figure out what to do about the felines believed to be digging up gardens, using mulch as a litter box and killing birds.
What did the cat drag in?
The Gainesville Sun online
2019-03-18
Anyone who has had cats that spend time outside has likely experienced it: coming home from work to find feathers at the front door. Or stepping onto the back patio and crunching a squirrel tail underfoot.
Articles (3)
Estimating the dog population, responsible pet ownership and intestinal parasitism in dogs in Quito, Ecuador
Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal HealthC. Jaime Grijalva, et. al
2022-12-05
In 2011, authorities of Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, approved an ordinance to promote public health and animal welfare through responsible pet ownership promotion. The population of dogs was not known, and the relationships between dog abundance, socioeconomic factors, prevalence of zoonotic gastrointestinal parasites and pet ownership responsibility had not been investigated.
Domestic cat embryos reveal unique transcriptomes of developing incisor, canine and premolar teeth.
Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution.Emily D. Woodruff, et. al
2022-07-11
Division of the dentition into morphologically distinct classes of teeth (incisors, canines, premolars and molars) and the acquisition of tribosphenic molars facilitated precise occlusion between the teeth early in mammal evolution. Despite the evolutionary and ecological importance of distinct classes of teeth with unique cusp, crest and basin morphologies, relatively little is known about the genetic basis for the development of different tooth classes within the embryo.
Feline heartworm in clinical settings in a high canine prevalence area.
Frontiers in veterinary scienceBruno Alberigi, et. al
2022-02-10
Heartworm (HTW) infection in cats is associated with persistent pulmonary pathology, even when clinical signs are absent. Treatment options for cats are limited once infected, making prevention an important topic for discussion with cat owners. In Brazil, tests to detect feline HTW infections are unavailable, likely leading to an underestimation of its impact on the wellbeing of cats.
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