I’m Niki DeValk — an independent surgical and interventional specialist with more than two decades of experience in veterinary medicine, anesthesia, and preclinical research. Through NiKara Preclinical, I integrate directly into your team and facility, providing surgical execution, anesthetic management, protocol development, and technical training that keep your studies on time, on protocol, and aligned with the highest standards of animal welfare and regulatory compliance.

My career spans high‑volume clinical environments, university veterinary medical centers, and the most technically demanding catheter lab and hybrid OR settings in preclinical research. I’ve supported procedures ranging from routine rodent survival surgeries to complex open‑heart, endovascular, neuromodulation, and other advanced interventional models across large animal species. That breadth — and the depth behind it — is what I bring to every engagement.

Alongside my surgical work, I’ve spent more than 20 years training in anesthesia. I’ve worked in specialty anesthesia departments in academia, training under boarded anesthesiologists and managing cases across companion animals, exotics, and zoo species. That foundation in species‑appropriate anesthetic management informs every procedure I support — and it’s the backbone of the VITALS Academy training modules I teach today.

I work directly with you. No layers, no handoffs, no uncertainty about who’s in your procedure room. Just focused, experienced support tailored to your study, your species, and your timeline.