Brian Horne, PhD

After completing his PhD at Ohio University on the developmental biology of Neotropical freshwater turtles in Meso-America, Dr. Horne was a postdoctoral fellow at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research investigating endangered freshwater turtles and tortoises in South and Southeast Asia. As a lifelong turtle biologist, Dr. Horne has conducted field research on six of the seven continents and has lived in Mexico and India. As a past co-chair of the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, he twice co-authored the report on the Top 25 Most Endangered Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises (2011 and 2018). He was also the editor for the book “Conservation of Asian Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles: Setting Priorities for Next Ten Years” in 2012. In addition, Dr. Horne has widely published on topics ranging from parasitology to endocrinology and has wildlife photographs appearing in numerous books, magazines, and on-line resources.  Dr. Horne currently serves as the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) coordinator for freshwater turtle and tortoise conservation and oversees their recovery projects for the world’s most endangered chelonians.