When Dr. David Minich decided in undergrad that he wanted to pursue zoological veterinary medicine, he knew there was no looking back. “Full gas, no stop,” he said. Now, Minich is finishing up his third year as an Illinois Zoological and Aquatic Animal resident. The residency is a collaboration between Brookfield Zoo Chicago, University of Illinois, and Shedd Aquarium.
Minich’s commitment isn’t just admirable, though — it's necessary. The path to becoming a veterinary specialist in zoological medicine is long and extremely competitive. It begins with four years of college, followed by four years of veterinary school. In the fourth year, students complete about 20 weeks of rotations, where they gain hands-on experience at multiple facilities. After graduating, they typically do one or two one-year internships. Then comes a three-year residency, where veterinarians dive into specialty training with the ultimate goal of becoming board certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine.
While this might sound like a clear path forward, there are just over 25 approved zoological medicine residencies available globally. This year, there were only about eight to 12 residency spots available! Each time a residency position opens at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, the vet team receives over 80 competitive applications from which to select a single resident.
Thanks to director of Veterinary Education Programs and senior staff veterinarian Dr. Jen Langan, Brookfield Zoo Chicago offers both student rotations and two of the limited residencies to train the next generation of zoo, aquatic, and wildlife veterinarians. She helped launch and develop the first of such training programs in Illinois in 2005, when there were less than 16 such programs globally. This residency focused on zoo and aquatic specialization, with a second residency focused on wildlife medicine initiated later by director of Conservation Medicine and Science Dr. Matt Allender.
Langan’s efforts were further developed by her former students such as President & CEO Dr. Mike Adkesson and Allender. Believing that zoo veterinarians can play a crucial role in wildlife conservation, Adkesson helped to develop opportunities for veterinary residents to support the Zoo’s conservation programs in places like Punta San Juan, Peru and the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. With the addition of a Master’s degree program and funding for research projects, the program also develops veterinarians into effective researchers, driving forward knowledge on understudied wildlife species. In 2022, Allender pioneered the Wildlife Health Management Residency, a first-of-its-kind program focused specifically on urban and rural wildlife population health. The residency celebrated its very first graduate in the summer of 2025.
20 years after Langan first started working to address the need for zoological specialty veterinary training program opportunities, the result is an extremely rigorous and highly sought-after program built on a foundation of mentorship and care for one another.
This means that for veterinary students like Surina Birk, dreams start at Brookfield Zoo Chicago.
Student Rotations at the Animal Hospital
As a University of Illinois vet student on rotation at Brookfield Zoo Chicago for the month of June 2025, Birk jumped right into a busy summer. Even when faced with the challenging and unique cases within the animal hospital, she glowed with passion for the work, both caring for the animals and learning from her role models.
Birk’s unwavering pursuit of zoological medicine began at the Zoo with the King Conservation Leadership Academy. Thanks to her mom's suggestion that she apply, she spent her high school years with the program. “Every day that I stepped onto these grounds and got to wear the then-green polo, it just drove that passion,” she said. “This is what I want to do. I want to be in this world somehow.”
So when she arrived back on the grounds years later — this time in scrubs — her love for Brookfield Zoo Chicago was “reignited tenfold.” For a month, she worked alongside the veterinary staff, who challenged her to be constantly learning and evaluating. “You come into a clinical rotation thinking you’re not going to be helping much and you’re mostly observing. But here, they make sure you’re involved and hands on.”
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On Birk’s first day, she was already supporting an anesthesia procedure for an addax, running to grab the necessary supplies. Walking into an office, she would get pulled over to look at a CT scan of an animal — thanks to Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s advanced medical diagnostic imaging technology — and guided to see what was happening in the scan through careful questions. If Birk came to Senior Vice President of Animal Health, Welfare & Science Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai’s office with a question, he’d encourage her to go read up on a new question. “They’re challenging you to think more critically,” she said. “You’re building more confidence, but you’re also building comfort to speak out and say, I have a question, or I’m not sure, but I’ll look into it.”
Overall, this trusted relationship between teacher and student is what sustained Birk through rigorous work. Her favorite part of being a King Scholar was making connections, and in the animal hospital at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, those interpersonal skills were just as important. “The doctors are the ones that help cultivate that, making an environment that’s rich with learning, passion, understanding, and deep-rooted respect,” she said. “It feels like a family here. That's what makes this place amazing."
Birk will take the experience she gathered at Brookfield Zoo Chicago on to other rotations throughout her final year as a vet student. Eventually, after she graduates with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, she’ll pursue internships and competitive residencies.
Veterinary Residencies at Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Like Birk, resident Minich was once a vet student on rotation at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Coming back as a resident was a powerful moment for him. “It’s what you’ve been looking toward and the goal you’ve been looking at for so many years,” he said as he described putting on the scrubs with his name on them. “You’re in the resident office that you remember looking at as a student. It’s meaningful to move into that role and then also work with vet students that are a couple years behind me but hoping to be here as a resident one day as well.”
Illinois Zoological and Aquatic Animal residents spend their first year at University of Illinois’ Veterinary Teaching Hospital and then the second and third years split between Brookfield Zoo Chicago and Shedd Aquarium. This offers residents a uniquely well-rounded clinical experience, preparing them for a field where they will have to practice a wide variety of medicine on a wide variety of species. Unlike many other residencies, this clinical experience is supported by an extensive amount of research training, as well as a required thesis.
“We're kind of the ultimate generalist,” Minich said. The diversity and challenge of zoo medicine is part of what drew Minich to his path. “Yesterday I went from a reindeer to a llama to an elephant shrew to a penguin to a dolphin. You have to be constantly changing your mind on what you’re thinking about, what you're treating, and how to go about it.”
What stands out most to Minich about the residency, though, is the number of mentors ready to share their wisdom and expertise. Where other residency programs in the country may have two or three mentors, the Illinois Zoological and Aquatic Animal Residency has 14, many of whom have extensive experience beyond standard training in zoo medicine. Each of them brings unique opinions and perspectives to the work, creating an environment of creative problem solving and innovation.
"Not only is our program one of the most rigorous, but we take really good care of one another, and that includes our residents,” said Langan.
Veterinarians With a Lasting Impact
This cascading effect of passionate learners to experienced teachers empowers residents to become significant players in animal and wildlife care and conservation. As of 2025, about 25 residents have graduated from Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s residencies. In the American College of Zoological Medicine, there are fewer than 400 board-certified specialists in zoological medicine. “In some capacity we’ve helped train a substantial number of the zoo, wildlife, and aquatic animal veterinarians that are currently practicing in the field,” said Langan.
From our home grounds of the Forest Preserves of Cook County to zoos and aquariums across the country, the Zoo’s residents have gone on to take part in groundbreaking procedures and research, making a difference for animals around the world. Through clinical research, they’ve contributed to over 200 publications and presentations. They’ve helped establish protected ecosystems, developed research laboratories, and led veterinary teams and zoological medicine programs. And they’re just getting started making new discoveries. “We learn things from the animals in our care that we then relate back to the wild populations every day,” said Minich.
As doctors and students alike walk the halls of the Animal Hospital at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, they can reflect on their hard work and impact with a wall of photos and quotes from residents. Minich will soon join the wall, and Birk dreams of it in the coming years. But regardless of what they do next, both are well-equipped to become world-class, connected, and inspiring veterinarians.