One Health Symposium

 

Individuals from industry, government, and higher education converged on McNamara Alumni Center May 12 to network, discuss, and share ideas as part of the “One Health” annual meeting. Speakers and attendees came from across the globe and from varying backgrounds. Will Hueston, executive director of the Global Initiative for Food Systems Leadership, and Dan Gustafson of the Office for North America of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations provided keynote addresses. William Bazeyo, dean of the School of Public Health at Makerere University in Uganda, also gave commentary.

 

During the event, Jeff Bender, co-director of the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, facilitated a question-and-answer session between guests and a panel of experts that included Bill Hartmann, executive director for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health; Michelle Carstensen, wildlife health program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Todd McAloon, vice president of Cargill’s Global Food Safety and Quality division; and Diana Eitzman, product development manager for 3M’s Food Safety Department.

 

In addition, $10,000 seed grants were awarded to five projects presented at the meeting. Grant recipients included Farhiya Farah, for a synergistic approach to African food systems; Sandra Godden, associate professor, Veterinary Population Medicine Department, for her work on biosecurity practices among calf ranches; Stephen Streng, research fellow, for vegetative environmental buffers; Montserrat Torremorell, Leman chair, Veterinary Population Medicine Department, for the relationship between human and swine influenza; and Michelle Willette, assistant clinical professor, Raptor Center, for building an integrated data management system in wildlife health.

 

The conference hoped to inspire new collaborations around shared interests. To learn more, visit www.cvm.umn.edu/cahfs/.