One Health Cluster
One Health Cluster
Bridging Human, Animal, and Environmental Health
Cluster Overview
This cluster is built on the One Health principle that recognizes and emphasizes the inextricable interconnectedness and interdependence of animal, human, and ecosystem health. The Integrative One Health Research cluster aims to holistically address global health challenges through cutting edge research, training and outreach. This cluster brings together faculty working on a wide range of impactful topics and with diverse research interests including zoonoses, antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance, environmental health among others.
This cluster also supports:
- Collaborative projects across CMSRU, CSM, SOM, Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities.
- Student (professional and graduate) engagement and mentoring.
- Guest speakers, journal clubs, and pilot grant brainstorming.
Core Research Themes
- Animal models and translational research including clinical medicine needs for interrelationships among health professions.
- Food protection including food security, food safety, food defense, and food production ethics.
- Host–pathogen interactions at the One Health interface.
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and Antimicrobial use (AMU).
- Zoonoses including emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, environmental health, and public policy.
- Improved diagnostics and vaccines for prevention and control of zoonoses, enabling global health security.
- Comparative and chronic disease research (e.g., cancer, diabetes, neurodegeneration, microbiome).
- Methodologies like omics, imaging, and cross-species data platforms.
Meet the Team
Cluster lead
John E. Ekakoro, BVM, MVMF, PGDip, PhD, DACVPM, MACE
Expertise: Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Public Health, Food Safety, Public Policy.
[Publications] | [Contact]
Mohadeseh Abouhosseini Tabari, DVM, PhD
Expertise: Veterinary Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, Drug Delivery Systems, Novel Therapeutics
[Publications] | [Contact]
Chandrashekhar (Chandru) Charavaryamath, BVSc, MVSc, PhD
Expertise: Respiratory and Neuroinflammation, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Animal Models
[Publications] | [Contact]
Rao Dukkipati, BVSc, MVSc, PhD
Expertise: Immunology, Vaccines, Diagnostics, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Breeding
[Publications] | [Contact]
Kallesh Jayappa, DVM, PhD, DABT, DABVT
Expertise: Comparative Oncology, Cancer Therapy Development, Nanomedicine, and Toxicology.
[Publications] | [Contact]
Pratap Kafle, DVM, PhD, DACVM
Expertise: Host-Parasite Interactions, Wildlife Parasitology, Diagnostics, Ecological Modeling
[Publications] | [Contact]
Kaitlyn Krebs, DVM, MBA, DABVP (Canine/Feline)
Expertise: Preventive Medicine, Honeybee Medicine
[Contact]
Pam Lough, MLS, PhD
Dr. Lough specializes in interoperability of data from different sources. Her research has facilitated automated reporting on healthcare quality indicators. She works to improve consistency and availability of metadata, which AI uses to generate content, and emphasizes the importance of high-quality metadata for successful predictive analytics. She has collaborated with Kent County Council’s (UK) Department of Public Health to improve interoperability of administrative data used to predict public health needs.
Expertise: Data Management, Interoperability, Public Health.
[Publications] | [Contact]
Neil S. Mittelman, DVM, DACVIM (LAIM, Neurology)
Expertise: Neurology, Internal Medicine.
[Publications] | [Contact]
Nora Jean Nealon, DVM, PhD
Expertise: Microbial Bioinformatics, Bacteriology, Gastroenterology, Probiotics, Antimicrobial Resistance
[Publications] | [Contact]
Kirsten White, DVM
Expertise: Shelter Medicine; High-Quality, High-Volume Spay/Neuter; Veterinary Community Engagement; One Health; Veterinary Forensics
[Contact]
Trainees and Collaborators
Viet Linh, DVM, PhD (Postdoctoral fellow, Kafle Lab)
Featured Research Projects
Patterns of Disease Occurrence
Lead: Dr. Ekakoro
Leveraging Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Data to Identify Patterns of Occurrence of Endemic Diseases of One Health Importance.
Food Safety
Lead: Dr. Ekakoro
Synthesizing evidence of the association between Salmonella enterica harborage in cattle at various life stages and Salmonella enterica burden at harvest.
Lead: Dr. Nealon
Comparison of Antimicrobial-Resistant Salmonella enterica in Fresh-Frozen Versus Freeze-Dried Raw Food Products for Dogs.
Environmental Health
Lead: Dr. Kafle
Establishment of a Mass Spectrometry Assay for PFAS Analysis in Biological Fluids and Its Application in Assessing PFAS Exposure in Free-Roaming Cats.
Facilities and Resources
The One Health cluster leverages state-of-the-art wet and dry lab resources, and modern statistical and computational tools to enhance discovery in animal, human, and environmental health.Current Opportunities
Summer Research Experience: Open to veterinary, graduate, and undergraduate students interested in AI applications in diagnostics, molecular bioinformatics, and disease modeling.
Open Positions: Contact faculty for details on available One Health projects.
Contact
For inquiries about research, training, or partnerships, please contact Dr. John E. Ekakoro.
