Meet the AAHP Crew
Principal Investigators and other researchers working at Hatfield Marine Science Center have an uncommon resource on campus to keep their animals healthy and help promote and ensure the integrity of their data. The animal health professionals in HMSC’s Aquatic Animal Health Program (AAHP) have many decades of combined experience designing and building aquatic life support systems, caring for a wide range of fish and invertebrates, researching and preparing species-specific nutritional profiles, interpreting water chemistry test results, Life Support System (LSS) troubleshooting, and all the other facets of proactive and professional aquatic animal care.
Researchers working with aquatic animals understand very well that health problems, improper water chemistry, poor husbandry, underperforming or malfunctioning life support components and many other factors can lead to variations in their data. Proactive husbandry can anticipate and alleviate many of these potential problems before they affect animal health, project timelines, budget management and a myriad of other factors that researchers must consider. The AAHP can be a helpful resource via informal conversations, professional certifications, and all points in-between, simply email a member of the team if you have a question or need advice.
Dr. Timothy J. Miller-Morgan, DVM, CertAqV
Dr. Miller-Morgan is the Associate Attending Veterinarian for Aquatics at OSU and an Extension Veterinarian for Aquatic Animals with Oregon Sea Grant and the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Miller-Morgan directs the Aquatic Animal Health Program at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. He provides veterinary care and oversight of animal husbandry for animals used in research, education, and display. As an Extension veterinarian, he provides statewide education, outreach, and workforce development to aquatic animal industries in Oregon to facilitate stakeholder success in the husbandry, health, and welfare of captive aquatic animals.
Dr. Miller-Morgan has over 30 years of experience as a clinician in aquatic animal medicine, husbandry, and education. He is a Certified Aquatic Veterinarian with the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association and a Professional Fellow of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. He also serves on the executive and editorial boards of Ornamental Fish International and is an advisor to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
He is the co-creator of the Aquarium Science Program at Oregon Coast Community College in Newport, Oregon, a co-founder of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA) and former chair of the WAVMA Certified Aquatic Veterinarian Credentialling Committee, co-founder of the American Association of Fish Veterinarians, and former co-chair of the Aquatic Veterinary Medical Committee of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
He has consulted and taught extensively on fish and invertebrate health issues throughout North and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Some of his current work focuses on the development of industry best health practices, including prevention of bacterial disease and antibiotic resistance, mitigation of post shipment morbidity and mortality among wild-caught marine and freshwater aquarium fishes. Contact Dr. Tim.
Sid Stetson
Sid Stetson is the Aquatic Husbandry Lab Manager for the Aquatic Animal Health Program at Hatfield Marine Science Center. He became an aquarium hobbyist at the age of ten after being entranced by The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, which introduced the vibrant colors and animals of a world very different from the rolling plains of Western Illinois where he grew up. After many years of managing professional kitchens as a chef in Chicago, he decided to turn his avocation into a career by enrolling in the Aquarium Science Program at Oregon Coast Community College. He was offered a position on the AAHP team while working on his AQS degree, which became a permanent position after he graduated in 2012.
Two years after earning his Aquarium Science degree, Sid was asked to join the team at the AQS Program’s Teaching Aquarium, where he mentored students on the different aspects of aquatic animal husbandry and life support system maintenance and optimization. In 2019, he was asked to serve on the program’s faculty and taught AQS100 Introduction to Aquarium Science in addition to being a frequent guest lecturer for other courses.
Today, Sid oversees the husbandry team and the diverse collection of animals at HMSC. He and his team work closely with AQS students, as well as veterinarians and veterinary students from across the country, helping them gain working knowledge of aquatic animal health management, life support systems, water chemistry testing and analysis and the many other facets of aquatic animal health. He and the AAHP team provide technical support to researchers and their husbandry teams to help them gain a more thorough understanding of how proper animal husbandry protocols and life support system maintenance protect and promote animal health and data integrity. Contact Sid.
Jaimie Hart
Jaimie Hart is a Senior Aquarist and Husbandry and Water Chemistry Specialist for the Aquatic Animal Health Program at Hatfield Marine Science Center. Originally from the Bay Area in California, Jaimie made her break from the Golden State after joining the United States Coast Guard in 2010 and was stationed at the Motor Lifeboat Station in Newport, Oregon. Not wanting to leave after her time in the service, she remained in Oregon and decided to enroll in the Aquarium Science Program at Oregon Coast Community College in 2017 to build on her many years of aquarium experience as a hobbyist.
In 2018, she was offered a temporary position as a lab technician for a silverside research lab at HMSC, where she developed and maintained excellent husbandry techniques for her research animals. These techniques included proper water quality testing protocols and documentation, as well as improving and implementing biosecurity and disinfection measures in the lab. She also developed successful spawning habitats that were safe for the broodstock, enhanced water quality, and promoted research data integrity.
While working on her Aquarium Science degree, Jaimie was hired as the Education Lab Aquarist at HMSC. After finishing her AQS degree, Jaimie was offered a full-time position with the AAHP, working with renowned aquatic veterinarian Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan. She currently serves as the Visitor Center Senior Aquarist, where she maintains a wide range of different animals and exhibits, designs and builds life support systems, promotes the health and welfare of aquatic animals through proper husbandry and implements medical treatments in the HMSC Hospital and Quarantine facility.
Jaimie also mentors the next generation of aquarists, researchers, veterinary students, and veterinarians. These students and professionals seek opportunities to work with the AAHP team, as they can receive the breadth and depth of hands-on technical instruction in aquatic animal health offered in few other places in the country. Since joining the AAHP team, Jaimie has earned her Aquatic Animal Life Support Operators (AALSO) Life Support Operator Levels I and II and Water Quality Technician Levels I and II professional certifications. Contact Jaimie.
Trevor Erdmann
Trevor Erdmann is a Senior Aquarist and Aquatic Life Support and Instrumentation Specialist with the Aquatic Animal Health Program at Hatfield Marine Science Center. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Trevor began working in public aquariums in 2003, when he was an aquarist intern at Living Planet Aquarium. This led to a position on their husbandry team when their first facility opened in 2004, where he continued to work as an aquarist until he left to attend the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau in 2005. After his first year in college, Trevor rejoined the team at Living Planet Aquarium to help them open a much larger facility. When he returned to college that fall, he began working and volunteering at the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery in Juneau, where he maintained a variety of aquatic exhibits.
In 2010, he graduated from UAS with a B.S. degree in Marine Biology. By 2012, he again joined the team at Living Planet as a full-time aquarist and began helping design and build the life support systems and components at a newer and even larger 135,000 ft2 facility. When the LSS systems were built and operational, Trevor began managing one of the galleries in this world-class facility. Seeking a new challenge in 2015, Trevor joined the Fish and Invertebrate team at Oregon Coast Aquarium, where he managed different galleries, including their changing exhibit gallery, where he designed and built the life support systems and components for their SeaPunk exhibit.
In 2017, he was invited to serve on the faculty of the Aquarium Science Program at Oregon Coast Community College. In addition to teaching AQS240 Life Support System Design and Installation, Trevor is also the Senior Life Support Technician for the program’s Teaching Aquarium. In 2020, he left Oregon Coast Aquarium to teach and mentor students in the AQS Program on a full-time basis, instructing students in a variety of core curriculum classes.
In 2021, Trevor was offered a position with the Aquatic Animal Health Program at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, where he currently serves as a Senior Aquarist and Aquatic Life Support and Instrumentation Specialist. This unique position is ideally suited for him, as it allows him to combine his loves of aquatic animal husbandry and teaching while mentoring the next generation of aquarists, researchers, veterinary students, and veterinarians. Since joining the AAHP, he has earned his Aquatic Animal Life Support Operators (AALSO) Life Support Operator Level 3 certification, a professional certification that few in the industry have attained. He currently chairs AALSO’s Education and Training Committee, along with serving on their Life Support Certification and Field Guide Committees, and on the AALSO Board of Directors. Contact Trevor.