The Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport drew praise after hosting a marine veterinary medicine workshop, according to a guest essay published by Mississippi Today.
Christine A. Curry, co-founder of the Marine Veterinary Medicine Team, or MARVET, wrote that the program has introduced veterinarians and students to aquatic medicine since 1999. Curry said MARVET emphasizes the ecosystem and the One Health model and typically holds two international workshops each year.
This summer’s session, hosted for a second consecutive year by the aquarium, brought together students and instructors from institutions including Cornell, the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Curry wrote. She said participants also represented organizations from Alabama, Iowa, Disney and Florida, and that students traveled from states including Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin, as well as from Brazil, Grenada and the United Kingdom.
Curry credited Alexa Delaune, the aquarium’s vice president of veterinary care, and her team for leading clinical lectures and hands-on labs. She said the group observed the release of two sea turtles that had been rehabilitated by the aquarium’s veterinary staff, and a courtesy photo showed students examining a penguin during the workshop.
Curry wrote that the aquarium is a vital asset to the Gulf Coast and that MARVET plans to return in 2027. Curry is a co-founder of MARVET and a trustee of the Institute for Global Health and Health Policy. Mississippi Today notes that guest essays reflect the authors’ views.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
