Dr. Lily Parkinson is a Clinical Veterinarian at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, where she provides veterinary care for all Zoo animals, teaches the Zoo’s vet residents and students, and conducts clinical research. Her research focuses on blood compatibility, transfusions, and fluid therapy in zoo animals. This work expands the Zoo’s excellence and expertise as we care for the animals and aims to provide clinical insights for all zoo clinical professionals across the world. She hopes the knowledge obtained from her research can be applied to patients in both professional care and those treated in field situations.

Her dual board certification in zoo medicine as well as veterinary emergency and clinical care makes her the ideal veterinarian for critical patients. She did her training at Colorado State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Milwaukee County Zoo, the International Crane Foundation, and the University of Georgia. Since finishing training, she worked at the Minnesota Zoo prior to joining Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Her leadership in emergency animal care has also brought her to places such as Indonesia, where she helps train veterinarians working in orangutan rehabilitation.

Parkinson is also an editor for the Journal of Emergency and Critical Care, as well as a board member for the Turtle Conservation Group. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (DACVECC), a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine (DACZM), and she has a Certificate in Aquatic Veterinary Medicine (Cert Aq V).