Shane graduated from the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005 after spending as much time as he could with their Turtle Rescue Team. After graduation, he became the first full-time veterinarian at Dickerson Park Zoo, where he worked for two years before joining the South Carolina Aquarium (SCA) as its first full-time veterinarian with the Sea Turtle Rescue Program. Over the next fourteen years, he built the sea turtle and veterinary medical program at SCA into an award-winning hospital equipped with CT, digital radiography, cryotherapy, ultrasound, and more.
Shane has been involved with the Turtle Survival Alliance since 2001, intermittently serving as the veterinarian for the Turtle Survival Center and spending several years conducting fieldwork in Belize with the Central American River Turtle.
For fourteen years, he also volunteered his darting and anesthetic skills at Charlestowne Landing, which houses a native mammal and avian collection. He completed three tours of duty during the BP Horizon oil spill, assisting with sea turtle response efforts, and continues to consult with colleagues on sea turtle projects around the globe. In 2021, he traveled to the United Arab Emirates to help open SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, and in 2023, he returned stateside to step into the role of Dr. Terry Norton at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center following Norton’s retirement.
Shane’s primary focus has always been ectothermic species, though otters, bald eagles, and bobcats seem to find their way to him as well. He is passionate about imaging—CT, contrast, endoscopy, interventional radiology, and ultrasound—and about advancing the science of fish and chelonian medicine. His work has included innovations such as blood patch repair of swim bladders and sea turtle lungs, myelograms, fish endoscopy, stem cell treatments, and biological scaffolds. He enjoys collaborating with his veterinary colleagues on projects like sand tiger shark spinal surgery, sea turtle surgeries, crocodilian health surveys, and responses to fish and reptile epizootics. And wherever he goes, he adds just a bit of mischief along the way.