living fossil
 

Doctor Julia Felippe



Dr. Julia was born in Sao Paulo, Brasil. She grew up in the city, but spent much of her youth learning to ride horses and playing by the sea. She remembers going fishing with her grandpa in the ocean and taking hikes in the forest with her father.


Julia graduated in 1989 from the University Estadual Paulista – UNESP – Botucatu in Brasil with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and completed both a Residency and Doctor of Philosophy in equine internal medicine and immunology, respectively in the United States. Recognized as a world authority on immune disorders of the horse, she is now an Associate Professor of Large Animal Medicine at Cornell University, where she continues her studies on the immune function of the horse. Her laboratory discovered a rare condition of equids called Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID), the most common clinically relevant immune disorder of humans. Today she hopes her work with the horse will not only help her four-legged friends, but perhaps humans as well.


Dr. Julia feeding a friendly black rhinoceros at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida.
































Julia loves to go horseback riding with Lua (Portuguese for moon), work in the garden, and spend time with friends and family. With her husband, Dr. Robin, she has learned to rock climb, canoe the wilderness areas of Canada, fly falcons and hawks and explore the wild places of upstate New York. Julia and Robin have a beautiful little daughter, named Eleonora, whom we know will grow up to love horses and wild animals like her parents.