About Us

Our Mission

Gibbon Health Initiative’s mission is to improve the health of endangered gibbons and build veterinary capacity in gibbon range states.

Our Team

Woman wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat sitting in tall grass outdoors.

Dr. Ida Masnur is a dedicated veterinarian at the Aspinall Foundation’s Javan Primate Rehabilitation Centre in Indonesia. A 1992 graduate of Institut Pertanian Bogor, she began her wildlife career at Taman Safari before joining the Aspinall team in 2015. In her current role, she manages health assessments, quarantine procedures, and ongoing veterinary care for rescued Javan gibbons—playing a key role in their rehabilitation and eventual release.

Ida Masnur, DVM

A veterinarian in a black mask and gloves performing a medical procedure on a dog lying on an examination table covered with blue padding, outside near trees.

Dr. Melody Bomon is a wildlife veterinarian based in Laos. She is working with the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (LCTW) and the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) to provide veterinary care to wildlife in need, survey wildlife disease and assist in conservation research through the WILDMED project. Being a strong advocate for collaboration, transparency and knowledge-sharing, she is active in projects such as the Gibbon Health Initiative, the Lao Wildlife Laboratory Network and the Wildlife Medicine Module (DVM course, NUoL).

Melody Bomon, DVM

A veterinarian performing a surgery on a dog lying on an operating table, wearing gloves and a face mask.

Founder and Director of the HURO Programme in India, Florian Magne—originating from France—established the country’s first Hoolock gibbon rescue and rehabilitation centre in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills in 2009 . Under his guidance, the Sonja Wildlife Rescue Centre has rescued, rehabilitated, and released dozens of endangered western hoolock gibbons, while also working on community education, conservation-linked schooling, and cultural revival initiatives in local villages.

Florian Magne

Woman with short hair and a blue headband carrying a gray backpack, standing in a lush green forest.

Dr. Susan Cheyne is a renowned behavioral ecologist and conservation scientist, based in the UK as a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and Co‑Director of the Borneo Nature Foundation. Since 1997, she has spearheaded in‑depth studies on gibbon ecology, reintroduction methods, and wildlife trade, and is a pivotal figure in drafting the IUCN’s Small Apes Guidelines. Her collaborative scientific efforts extend worldwide, influencing best practices in gibbon rescue and rehabilitation.

Susan Cheyne, PhD

Dr. Dawn Zimmerman

Dr. Zimmerman is Program Director for the Gibbon Health Initiative, appointed assistant professor adjunct (epidemiology) at Yale School of Public Health, and a Research Associate at Smithsonian Institution. Previous positions include Director of Wildlife Health for Smithsonian’s Global Health Program, Regional Veterinary Manager for Gorilla Doctors, and Senior Veterinarian at Memphis Zoo. Her field experience includes conservation medicine and capacity building in over 25 countries, with a focus on primate medicine and health at the human-wildlife interface.

Dawn Zimmerman, DVM, MS

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and light skin, smiling at the camera outdoors with blurred green foliage in the background.

Dr. Karen Payne is a zoo and wildlife veterinarian based in Western Australia affiliated with Perth Zoo and the Silvery Gibbon Project. She has over 20 years’ experience working with gibbons within Australia and abroad, and completed her Masters thesis investigating the Hepatitis B Virus in Javan Gibbons.  Alongside Susan Cheyne, she co-authored the "Proposed Guidelines for Gibbon Rehabilitation and Reintroduction" (2012), providing critical standards for in-situ rescue, quarantine, health screening, and release that encourage best practices.

Karen Payne, BVSc, MPhil

A woman with medium-length black hair, wearing a white T-shirt and a light beige Columbia jacket, smiling outdoors with a blurred natural background.

Dr. Jennifer Yu received her DVM from UC Davis and her MS in conservation medicine from Tufts. She is currently a PhD student in Epidemiology at UC Davis, for which she is studying elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). She has worked as a small animal general clinician, practiced in wildlife rehabilitation medicine, and has participated in international research and One Health projects. 

Jennifer Yu, DVM, MS

A woman with blonde hair smiling outdoors in front of green leafy trees, wearing a light pink button-up shirt and a necklace.

Dasha Maghooli supports the Gibbon Health Initiative by overseeing project operations, grants, and financial management. She holds an MA in Sociology from California State University and an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. With a professional background in healthcare administration and university teaching in Southeast Asia, Dasha brings a multidisciplinary perspective to conservation work.

Dasha Maghooli, MA, EdM

Our Network

Circular logo for Sonja Wildlife Rescue Unit featuring a person hanging from a rope in black and beige colors, with text around the circle reading 'Sonja Wildlife Rescue Unit' and 'A Huro Programme Initiating'.
Logo featuring two stylized chimpanzee faces with the words "Voicing Their Silence" beneath.
Logo for Javan Gibbon Center featuring a stylized gibbon in mid-air above the letters JGC, with the full name underneath.
Logo of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission featuring a white heron standing on a turtle with a fish in its beak, surrounded by green trees and grass, with the acronym 'ACCB' in large white letters at the bottom.
Black poster featuring white outline illustrations of two small primates hanging from a branch. To the right, text reads 'IUCN PRIMATES SECTION ON SMALL APES'.
Logo of the Creative Conservation Alliance with a green leaf inside a green outline of an oval and the organization's name in green text.
Logo with three animals: a wolf, a dog, and a snake, above the red text "Jaringan Satwa Indonesia" in a circular emblem.
Logo for Twycross Zoo, a conservation charity, with the zoo's name in bold white letters on a dark green background and a black background.
Logo of Leipzig Zoo with a lion's face and the text 'ZOO LEIPZIG' and 'On nature's trail'. Next to it, a black panther with white markings, with the text 'ENDANGERED PRIMATE RESCUE CENTER EPC'.
Logo for Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife featuring a panther and a monitor lizard, with Lao and English text.
Logo for the 36th Special Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly on environmental conservation and sustainability.
Illustration of a gibbon hanging from a tree branch with green bamboo leaves, along with text that reads 'Gibbon Species Survival Plan'.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of our private donors and the Arcus Foundation.

Logo of the Arcus Foundation with the word 'arcus' in large green letters and 'FOUNDATION' in smaller black letters underneath.