Frontiers in One Health - Fall Schedule
October 4, 2011
Valley Hall 1020
12:00 Noon
'Land-Use Change, Biodiversity Loss, and Disease Dynamics'
Dr. Richard Ostfeld and Dr. Christine Kreuder Johnson will jointly address the topic of land-use change and biodiversity loss, and discuss how subsequent changes in ecological community structure and composition may impact disease dynamics. Both speakers will draw on specific examples from their research, offering both veterinary and ecological perspectives, to demonstrate how this plays out in real-world scenarios.
READ the publication in Nature: Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious disease
Chris Kreuder Johnson DVM
Dr. Kreuder Johnson is an Assistant Professor, School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Her research activities have focused on marine animal population health, factors influencing survival, and causes of mortality, with a special focus on harmful algal blooms. Ongoing projects utilize a trans-disciplinary ecosystem-level approach to understanding processes promoting disease in sentinel marine species. Her most recent research seeks to bridge the gap between wildlife health and public health by creating a surveillance program for zoonotic diseases that are emerging at the wild animal-human interface.
Richard Ostfeld PhD
Dr. Ostfeld's research focuses on the interactions among organisms that influence: the risk of human exposure to vector-borne diseases; and the dynamics of terrestrial communities (e.g., tree regeneration, rodent and songbird populations, gypsy moths). Through his research, and a process that he refers to as the ‘dilution effect, Dr. Ostfeld has demonstrated the importance of biodiversity in protecting human health by reducing the risk of exposure to vector-borne pathogens that are harbored in wildlife communities.
**RSVP with THIS Link BEFORE Friday Sept 30**
October 25, 2011
Valley Hall 1020
12:00 Noon
'Health Effects of Climate Change at the Human-Animal-Interface'
Drs. Gwen Griffith and Woutrina Miller will emphasize the importance of trans-disciplinary collaborations in creating successful adaptation strategies to deal with the predicted impacts climate change will have on human-animal-environmental health and human livelihoods. In addressing climate change in this context, the speakers will cite examples drawn from their current work, describing community outreach initiatives that are in effect on both domestic and international scales. READ the publication in New England Journal of Medicine: Climate Change and Human Health
Gwen Griffith DVM MS
Dr. Griffith is a veterinarian turned conservationist, who applies her science and health training to promoting ecosystem health at the landscape level. She works with communities to help solve and adapt to a changing climate. She helps medical professionals recognize the health impacts of climate change and become part of the solution; and she enables the development community and homeowners to understand sustainable building, see the economic benefits, and take action to create sustainable and healthy homes and buildings. In her role as Director of Curriculum Development at CSU, Dr. Griffith provides in-depth education on the energy, water, climate connection with an emphasis on water efficiency and source water protection.
Woutrina Miller DVM MPVM PhD
Dr. Miller is a veterinarian and an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens in coastal ecosystems of California and at the human:animal:environment interface in Tanzania. As Education Coordinator for the One Health Center of Expertise of the UC Global Health Institute and as Capacity Building Coordinator for the USAID PREDICT Program, she works to promote collaborative One Health research and education locally and internationally.
