Dr. Nollens is currently a Senior Staff Veterinarian at SeaWorld San Diego who specializes in treating marine animals. Originally from Belgium, Dr. Nollens attended Ghent University to receive his DVM degree and since then has traveled and worked in New Zealand and the University of Florida where he earned his PhD. Click to read more about Dr. Nollens and his passion for ensuring the health and wellness of marine animals.
Q: What factors influenced your decision to pursue veterinary medicine as a career?
A: It was never a question. I always knew since I was a little boy. I was around animals, I was taking care of neighbor’s pets…I was always an animal person. For a while, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a farmer but when I heard about a profession of animal doctor, I never thought about it twice. Later on in high school, I learned that marine biology was a profession. At that point I was very torn. I wasn’t able to decide whether I wanted to become a marine biologist or a veterinarian. My parents told me to get a useful degree first and if I was still interested in the marine biology stuff I could pursue it afterwards. So I did, and after vet school I worked as a resident in marine mammal medicine in New Zealand and obtained a Master’s degree in marine biology. I worked there as a biologist and reef veterinarian for a while as well. Then I had an opportunity to come to the University of Florida for a PhD degree. I became faculty at the University of Florida until one of my big research partners told me there was an open position for staff veterinarian at Sea World in San Diego. And I’ve been there ever since.
Q: What did you like about attending the Veterinary School in Belgium and your experience at the University of Florida?
A: Vet school in Belgium was really exciting. Every day you learn all these things and for me it was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. It was the first step toward a childhood’s dream coming true. You receive professional training and learn how to improve animal health and wellness. In Florida, the classes I took for my PhD were the most interesting that I ever took because I was really honing in on all the things that I wanted to do while in vet school. It definitely took it to the next level and suddenly studying wasn’t a chore anymore and it became much more fun.
Q: What advice would you give to a student interested in pursuing a career in your specialty?
A: My specialty is marine animal medicine. It is a small field with somewhere around 100 veterinarians in North America that work in my field. Students who are interested need to get relevant experiences, volunteer work, go to conferences and seminar series. Start showing up, get to know people, because it is such a small field and that’s how opportunities are created: by showing up at the right time at the right place. Also, get an understanding of the different roles veterinarians play, especially in marine science. Also, when you submit your letter to vet school and you’re saying I want to become a vet, make it obvious that you know what it takes to be a veterinarian. Sometimes you can cater your choice of vet school to your interest. For example, the University of Florida has the only marine animal science program.
Q: What are you passionate about in terms of your specialty in wildlife medicine?
A: One of the things that I really like about working with the animals I work with is that all the people who work with these marine mammals have spent their professional and personal lives building toward working with these animals. So they are all incredibly passionate about it. I am continually amazed when an animal needs a night watch, even those coldest and awkward shifts from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM, there is no problem filling them up.
Q: What do you want the attendees to leave with after your presentation at the conference this October?
A: I’m hoping to highlight the different career paths people can take including clinical, research, academia and government in marine animal medicine. I’m going to focus on what students can do to help build and set themselves up for working with marine animals like trying out an exotic animal internship.
Don't miss the opportunity to meet Dr. Nollens in person at the conference on Saturday, October 10 at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm for his presentation on marine mammal medicine as well as at the Zoo/Aquatic/Exotic/Wildlife Meet Up at 5:00 pm!