In the Office with Donna Kelly, DVM, MASCP, DACPV, DACVPM

Donna Kelly, DVM, MASCP, DACPV, DACVPM, shares her New Bolton Center office with the campus’s microbiology reference library. But beyond the stacks of books and journals, what catches the eye is a menagerie of quirky objects that reflect Kelly’s maximalist taste and
expertise in poultry and fish health.

“Basically, my office is a mess,” Kelly laughed. “But it’s a fun mess.”

Kelly began in poultry medicine as a resident at Penn Vet. From there, she advanced through leadership roles at the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network and Clemson University before returning to the School’s New Bolton Center campus several years ago.

Although her early work focused on birds, Kelly has since expanded her portfolio to fish pathology. “We like to joke in the industry that fish are the ‘chicken of the sea,’” she added. “Really, fish or poultry, it’s all population medicine—looking at how the environment and animal and human populations exist together.”

At Penn Vet, Kelly oversees the microbiology lab. Her work centers on disease surveillance and food safety, everything from advising on avian influenza to developing diagnostic protocols for aquaculture and conducting research on antimicrobial resistance that informs One Health strategies across veterinary and human medicine.

Board-certified in clinical microbiology and poultry medicine and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Kelly is also part of the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System (PADLS), a partnership among Penn Vet, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and Penn State. By delivering timely and accurate diagnoses, PADLS supports the agricultural community in controlling disease and reducing economic loss.

Outside the office, Kelly is involved with the Girl Scouts of the USA, Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts), and her church.

“I love what I do, and I like to have fun while I’m doing it,” she said. “The things in my office? They make me smile. Some days, that’s just what you need.”

Fish
From fieldwork to fungus

At Clemson, the mammalian pathologists handed me fish and said, ‘They’re yours.’ I explained my experience was in poultry. They said, ‘You’re halfway there — fish, like birds, have nucleated red blood cells.’ Since then, I’ve worked primarily with commercial finfish, but I’m starting to move from freshwater to marine fish — it’s all fascinating.

1. Usually, when fish have a secondary fungal infection, they develop cottony tufts that look a bit like this glaze.
2. The puzzle was a parting gift from my Clemson colleagues. I call it my unofficial fish pathology degree.
3. No backstory for the wooden rainbow trout and bass. I just like them.
4. My sister thought these fish were hideous; I think they’re extremely silly and bought them to annoy her — in a loving way, of course! The planter holds stress balls, which are great to have around.
5. Reframing your mindset is the best way to navigate almost anything. I use this lesson often,
   whether at work or with the Scouts, because mindset is everything.

Birds
Chickens, quail, and comic relief

I started collecting bird things when I was a resident. Many of the objects I now have were gifts, but when I travel to conferences, my avian pathology friends and I take some free time to scour thrift stores for bird-themed treasures.

6. When my son was in Boy Scouts, I completed the Wood Badge, an adult leadership training program. Bobwhite quails were my patrol. These little knickknack bobwhites and mug are
   a nod to that.
7. This pencil cup was an Easter planter filled with pens I’ve collected from decades of poultry conferences— the ’90s were a heyday for chicken freebies.
8. I’m a catechist and attend conferences for people who teach religious education. At one, I purchased this small wooden St. Brigid, patron saint of chicken farmers. It’s leaning against a
   ceramic egg cup my son made — he was so proud when to give it to me.
9. I had a calendar featuring these chicks doing yoga and then found these prints. They’re hysterical!