Robert Poppenga
I received my DVM and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1978 and 1987, respectively. During my PhD studies I was also a staff veterinarian for the National Animal Poison Control Center (the center subsequently became the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center). Since receiving my PhD and residency training in veterinary toxicology, I have held faculty positions at Michigan State University, University of Pennsylvania and University of California at Davis (UCD) veterinary schools. I am currently a Full Professor, Emeritus, at UCD having been a veterinary toxicologist at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS) from 2004 to 2025. I also have an adjunct appointment in the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine.
I have nearly 35 years of experience in veterinary toxicology and food safety as a result of working in several veterinary diagnostic laboratories. I have routinely conducted forensic investigations into a variety of potential accidental and malicious animal poisonings involving numerous species, often involving an assessment of causation. I have supervised and directed state-of-the-art veterinary diagnostic toxicology sections with a broad array of analytical capabilities and diversity of case submissions.
I have taught professional, graduate and undergraduate students using a variety of teaching formats including case- and problem-based learning modalities. I have also trained residents in veterinary toxicology as part of my duties with CAHFS. As an Emeritus faculty member, I continue to serve on the Admissions and Graduate Student Advisory Committees of the Forensic Science Graduate Group and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee of the Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Group at UCD.
In my role as Toxicology Section Head at CAHFS, I supervised 11 FTE analytical chemists and staff with over 100 years of combined experience across all analytical systems. The Toxicology Section has a full array of analytical capabilities including LC/MS (and HRMS), GC/MS, ICP/MS, LC/ICP/MS, and ELISA analytical platforms. The Section has a unique capability to approach chemical contamination incidents from a variety of clinical and analytical perspectives. My research interests have included diagnostic veterinary toxicology, wildlife toxicology, and development of biomarkers for chemical exposure. I am an author/co-author on more than 160 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters.
I am active in several professional organizations including the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (Regional Executive Board Member, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Editorial Board, and member of the Committee on Toxicology and Environmental Issues), American Board of Veterinary Toxicology (Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, President, Examination Committee Chair, and Education Committee), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (Committee on Environmental Issues).