Bio

Dr. Harms directs the Marine Health Program at CMAST, and conducts clinically applied research on health and diseases of aquatic and non-domestic species in the course of delivering veterinary services and support at the NC Aquariums, the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, marine mammal and sea turtle stranding networks, area research aquaculture facilities, and our Morehead City/Beaufort area marine laboratories.

Zoological Medicine Residency

Dr. Harms leads the three-year Zoological Medicine Residency program. Learn more about the program and apply.

Professional Experience

• Private small animal practice in Alaska
• Internship in Zoo, Exotic and Wildlife Medicine, Kansas State University
• Residency in Zoological Medicine, North Carolina State University

CERTIFICATIONS

Diplomate, American College of Zoological Medicine

Area(s) of Expertise

Recent work includes identification of novel and emerging aquatic animal pathogens, meeting unique anesthetic challenges for in-water sensory biology research, assessing and mitigating physiologic impact of capture techniques for wildlife research, welfare concerns for stranded large whales, and pharmacokinetics in nondomestic species.

Publications

• Blood gas and lactate analysis in nesting loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles from southeastern Florida, USA , PLoS ONE (2026)
• Clinical management of a severe skull fracture in a loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta ) , Veterinary Record Case Reports (2026)
• Direct Hearing Measurements in a Small Mysticete Whale, The Common Minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) , (2026)
• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Turtles: Recent Insights and Research Needs , (2026)
• Underwater hearing sensitivity of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii ) , The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (2026)
• Histochemical indications for a chemically complex signal produced by the cervical gill slit gland of the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) , The Anatomical Record (2025)
• Meningeal Lymphatic and Glymphatic Structures in a Pelagic Delphinid (Delphinus delphis) , Animals (2025)
• Mycobacterium ulcerans ecovar infection in wild Kemp’s ridley Lepidochelys kempii and loggerhead Caretta caretta sea turtles , Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (2025)
• Temporary threshold shifts in the Eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) in response to narrowband underwater noise exposures , The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (2025)
• A call to rename Ziphius cavirostris the goose‐beaked whale: promoting inclusivity and diversity in marine mammalogy by re‐examining common names , Marine Mammal Science (2024)