Dr. Birkel received her DVM degree from The Ohio State University in 2008. After graduation, she completed a small animal rotating internship in medicine and surgery at the Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Irvine California. She completed a residency in neurology and neurosurgery at the Animal Specialty Center in Yonkers, New York. Dr. Birkel became board certified in 2014. Dr. Birkel treats medical and surgical neurologic cases including seizures, immune diseases, Chiari malformations, tumors and neuromuscular disorders. Her interests include disc disease, cervical spondylomyelopathy (wobbler syndrome), and surgical removal of brain and spinal tumors.