Dr. Karen Overall received her BA and MA degrees concomitantly from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. After a year spent at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama she was awarded her VMD from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1983. She completed a residency in Behavioural Medicine at Penn in 1989. Her PhD in Zoology was awarded by the University of Wisconsin - Madison for research focusing on mating systems and egg physiology of a protected lizard.

Dr. Overall has given hundreds of national and international presentations and short courses and is the author of numerous articles on behavioural medicine and lizard behavioural ecology. In addition to occasionally writing for the popular press, she has also been a regular columnist for both Canine and Feline Practice journals, the APDT Newsletter, and currently writes a bimonthly column for DVM Newsmagazine. Her best-selling textbook, Clinical Behavioural Medicine for Small Animals, was published by Mosby in 1997. Her next text, Handbook of Clinical Behavioural Medicine, is due out in late 2001 - early 2002. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviour (ACVB) and is certified by the Animal Behaviour Society (ABS) as an Applied Animal Behaviourist.

Dr. Overall has continuously run the Behaviour Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine since mid-1988. Her research interests focus on the development of animal models for human psychiatric illness, particularly those involving anxiety, panic, and aggression. She was awarded the 1993 Randy Award for excellence and creativity in research. Other interests include integration of conservation biology into veterinary medicine, international outreach, and participation in student-based community outreach initiatives.