Dr. Tom Gidlewski recently retired from the USDA, Animal Plant Inspection Service after 35 years of service.  Most recently he was the Program Manager for the USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services, Wildlife Disease Program as well as the Attending Veterinarian for the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Prior to this position he served APHIS in various roles:  Senior Staff Veterinarian with the Chronic Wasting Disease Program; pathologist in the General Pathology and Pathology Investigations Section of the Pathobiology Laboratory at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa; Port Veterinarian at the Port of Sweetgrass, Montana; field Veterinary Medical Officer in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and Logan, Utah.  Dr. Gidlewski interned at the Caldwell Veterinary Teaching Center in Caldwell, Idaho.  He practiced in Miles City, Montana prior to joining USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services in 1987 through the Public Veterinary Practice Career (PVPC) Program.Dr. Gidlewski received his veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983.  He holds two master degrees – one in poultry nutrition from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1981) and one in veterinary pathology from Iowa State University (1996).  

Dr. Gidlewski’s research in domestic animal and wildlife diseases primarily includes avian influenza, brucellosis, foot and mouth disease, rabbit hemorrhagic disease, heartwater, tuberculosis, and chronic wasting disease.  He is also an instructor for APHIS foreign animal disease courses at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. Tom’s wife, Jane, is an early childhood educator.  Both of their daughters earned engineering degrees at Iowa State University.  As a new retiree, Tom enjoys raising a few sheep and geese, fishing for tuna, hunting, picking huckleberries, and perfecting the art of growing tomatoes.