Dr. David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman
David Guzman, LV, MS, DECZM (Avian), DACZM, DECZM (Small Mammal) is a Professor of clinical zoological companion animal medicine and surgery at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis).
Dr. Guzman currently serves as chief of Companion Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery at UC Davis, providing care for companion birds, free-ranging birds of prey at the California Raptor Center as well as avian species from a small zoological collection.
Training & certification
David earned his Licenciado en Veterinaria in 2002 from the University of León, School of Veterinary Medicine in Spain. He completed two internships. First, in avian medicine at a private practice in the UK in 2002 and then in exotic animal medicine at Tufts University from 2004-2005. He then completed a residency in zoological medicine and earned a Master of Science degree in veterinary medical sciences from Louisiana State University in 2008.
Dr. Guzman became a Diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine in avian medicine in 2009 and a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2010. He also became a Diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine in small mammal medicine in 2015.
Experience
David Guzman served as a clinical instructor in zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin from 2008-2010, when he joined the faculty at UC Davis. Over the years, David moved up through the ranks at UC Davis from staff veterinarian to associate professor, becoming a professor in 2020. In 2023, he was named service chief and Messmer Family Presidential Chair in the Companion Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery Service. He is also a director of the Richard M. Schubot Parrot Wellness and Welfare Program at UC Davis.
Dr. Guzman also serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, and he is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine and Surgery.
Educator
Teaching responsibilities are an important part of David’s job. He provides daily supervision and clinical instruction of veterinary students as well as supervision, teaching and mentoring of residents. He has been the primary mentor for over 26 residents.
Researcher
Dr. Guzman’s research program in therapeutics has focused on providing meaningful solutions to clinical problems. He has been the principal investigator for studies evaluating a wide variety of analgesic agents. He has evaluated the efficacy of new opioids in both raptors and parrots, providing new options and changing the paradigm regarding the use of opioids for pain management in birds. He has also led studies evaluating hydromorphone, buprenorphine, butorphanol, tramadol, methadone, amantadine, grapiprant, maropitant, suzetrigine, cannabinoids, meloxicam, acetaminophen, as well as sustained-release formulations of NSAIDS and opioids, in various species, including Amazon parrots, American kestrels, cockatiels, red-tailed hawks and great-horned owls. He has also led investigations into the efficacy, duration of action and safety of deslorelin implants in psittacine birds; pimobendan to treat congestive heart failure in parrots; and the use of antimicrobial agents and anticonvulsants in avian patients.
Publications
Dr. Guzman has contributed several book chapters to textbooks on avian medicine and surgery, including a number on pain management in birds. He has also authored or co-authored over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals. These journal articles not only report research findings but also describe challenging clinical case reports in a wide range of avian species and systems, from the diagnosis and treatment of multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma in a hornbill, splenic small cell lymphoma with presumed secondary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in a penguin, proventriculitis caused by Candida glabrata in an Eclectus parrot, and mycotic keratitis in a duck.
Professional organizations
David has participated on the examination committees of both the American and European Colleges of Zoological Medicine for many years. He is also a member of the credentials committee of the European College of Zoological Medicine, and he has reviewed grants and conference proceedings for the Association of Avian Veterinarians since 2010.
Honors & awards
Throughout his career, David has received numerous honors, including the 2018 Donald W. Zantop Memorial Lecture Award for his presentation “Evaluation of the thermal antinociceptive effects and PK of hydromorphine in orange-winged Amazons”
Presentations
Dr. Guzman provides many continuing education lectures locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, many of them in Spanish for his colleagues in Latin America and Spain. He has also been a regular presenter at the annual conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians since 2009.
