UEP Fall Colloquium: Lisa Freeman on Human and Animal Health

Starting things off for UEP’s Fall Colloquium series was Lisa Freeman, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and nutrition PhD at the Friedman School. She presented the basis for her research and work with One Health, which aims to bring about changes in veterinary medicine in line with 19th century German physician Rudolf Virchow’s belief that: “Between animal and human and medicine, there is no dividing line—nor should there be. The object is different, but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine.

Freeman elaborated on the many components of One Health. Zoonotic infectious disease, transmittable between humans and animals, represents some of the most well known causes of death worldwide (rabies, ebola, salmonella, etc). According to Freeman, 20% of animals eating raw meat diets are exposed to salmonella, which can then be passed on to the dog’s owner.

There is also a focus on the effect of climate change on spread of animal borne disease. As temperatures rise, bacteria tend to proliferate while the natural range of disease-carrying animals can expand (e.g. deer ticks). Human health effects can even be felt as a result of increased arctic drilling and the subsequent effects on the surrounding wildlife.

The Cummings School puts on stress relief events for students around finals, with the next one scheduled for December 11 in Tisch Library from 4-6pm. Dogs will provide emotional support for stressed out students!

Colloquium takes place on Wednesdays from 12-1pm at the Crane Room in Paige Hall. The next colloquium will be October 16, featuring UEP’s Nathaniel Fink and Pat Kelsey discussing their experiences with cycling infrastructure in Copenhagen and Amsterdam. We hope to see you there.