By: Austin Weynand, MHS
Few approaches to infectious disease research have received more attention and growth this century than One Health, and on December 1st the UTMB symposium dedicated to the subject was a welcome enterprise for many. Sponsored by the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity
and UTMB’s Office of the Vice President of Research, the symposium hosted more than a dozen research and healthcare professionals who spoke on their globally-reaching work. The Symposium was attended by more than a hundred faculty, administrative
staff, post-docs and students, with some tuning in remotely as far away as Pakistan. There were even out-of-town and out-of-state audience members who traveled to Galveston to attend in person.
Following an introduction of the topic itself by Professor Gregory Gray and Vice President of Research Randall Urban,
eight members of UTMB faculty shared 5-min summaries of their research activities. The speakers included Professors Dennis Bente, Nikos Vasilakis,
Scott Weaver, Bill Ameredes,
Perenlei Enkbaatar,
Patty Aguilar, and Alfredo Torres, some of which have previously been interviewed for the One Health newsletter. Their presentations shed light on the breadth of research conducted from the island and
how varied One Health-centric approaches to disease detection and control can be.
During lunch the Galveston audience gathered in tables and wrestled with how UTMB and other collaborators might respond to calls for proposals to conduct large scale and complex One Health-oriented research.
Following lunch and an interdisciplinary-focused challenge undertaken by the attendees, the symposium hosted several more in-depth clinical presentations. These lectures adopted the style of internal medicine grand rounds. Professor Lucas Blanton kicked off the session with a discourse on Rickettsial diseases,
specifically murine typhus, which has had a footing on Galveston Island. Dr. Blanton completed his fellowship under Professor David Walker, a legend in the field who was in attendance on this day. Professor Matt Dacso spoke next on global health matters, and was followed by Professor Miguel Cabada, an expert on Fasciola hepatica who has invested decades of his research career working in Peru. Finally, Professor Susan McLellan, offered her boots-on-the-ground perspective in discussing differences in Ebola, Lassa fever, and other hemorrhagic
fever diseases along with zoonotic and human behavior drivers.
The symposium was wrapped up with free-ranging discussions about what more UTMB should do under the One Health. Numerous ideas were discussed including promoting UTMB and One Health through more public engagements, organizing larger conferences, promoting
One Health training, seeking training and large collaborative research grants.
By most every measure, this inaugural UTMB One Health Symposium was considered a tremendous success. Interdisciplinary teams at UTMB are already planning how to make next year’s event even grander.