Miaka Ogawa is an associate veterinarian at Kobe Animal Kingdom in Japan. She was born in Las Vegas and raised between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. After graduating with a degree in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley, she moved to Osaka, Japan where she worked as a cook and interpreter until being accepted into veterinary school at Osaka Prefecture University. As a vet student, she completed her graduation thesis in the Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, researching novel biomaterials for transplantation. After graduating in 2023, she was thrilled to accept her current role at Kobe Animal Kingdom. She is currently studying to obtain her certification in animal hospice and palliative care through the IAAHPC, and she has special interests in comparative oncology and animal welfare. In the future, she hopes to pursue residency training in zoological medicine and eventually become a diplomate of the ACZM. Her ultimate goal is to bring this knowledge back to Japan and help educate other veterinarians in order to improve the health and well-being of zoo animals worldwide.