SCHEDULE

Friday:

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4:00 – 5:15 p.m. — Check-in

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5:15 p.m. — Opening Remarks and Announcements

 

5:30 p.m. — Dr. Lisa K. Nolan, Dean of the College of Vet Med, UGA

"One Health Vision for these disciplines into the future"

 

6:20 p.m. — Dr. Mark G. Ruder, SCWDS

"Be yourself: exploring how wildlife health projects can fit into the One Health framework"

 

Description: In recent years, the one health concept has been widely embraced and implemented by the scientific community across diverse disciplines. However, the core one health concept that animal, human, and environmental health are interdependent, has long been recognized by many organizations. Indeed, the one health concept is nothing new to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS). Founded in 1957 by state wildlife management agencies, SCWDS was established to investigate diseases of free-ranging wildlife. Today, we exist as a state-federal cooperative and provide wildlife health research and diagnostic support to wildlife management and agricultural agencies. In addition, our faculty, staff, and students are engaged in diverse wildlife health research projects around the world. For over 60 years, the objectives of SCWDS have kept us focused on providing sound science to aid in the management and conservation of free-ranging wildlife. This includes unraveling complex disease interrelationships between wildlife, domestic animals, humans, and the environment. Here, we will explore how some of these wildlife health projects can contribute to one health.

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7:30 – 9:00 p.m. — Panel Discussion/Socializing/Networking/Appetizers (Come ready with career related questions!)

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9:00 p.m. — Dinner on your own

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Saturday:

8:00 a.m. — Opening Remarks 

 

8:15 a.m. — Dr. Sharon Deem 

"One Health in the Age of the Anthropocene"

 

Description: In this talk I will cover the current conservation and public health challenges of the 21st Century. Using real world examples, we will look at the causes and consequences of these challenges. More importantly, we will consider how using a One Health approach will allow us to find the solutions so badly needed if we as a species, as well as any of the other amazing species with whom we share the planet, are to survive the Century.

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9:10 a.m. — Dr. Nicole Nemeth 

"Wildlife Mortality Investigations: Broad Views and Cool Cases"

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Description: This talk will cover an array of aspects of diagnostic pathology of wildlife, from important tools of the trade, to descriptions of a variety of real-life wildlife diagnostic cases. Discussion of applied aspects of diagnostic work, such as research and natural resource management, and service aspects will also be included.

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10:05 – 10:25 a.m. — Coffee Break

 

10:25 a.m. — Dr. Michele Miller

"Tuberculosis – One Health Approach to a (Re) Emerging Disease"

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11:20 a.m. — Dr. Sonia Hernandez

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12:15 – 1:15 p.m. — LUNCH 

 

1:15 p.m. — Dr. Nicole Gottdenker

"Association, correlation, causation, and understanding relationships between anthropogenic environmental change and wildlife disease emergence and transmission"

 

Description: In this workshop, we will discuss approaches to understanding and making inferences regarding relationships between anthropogenic environmental changes and wildlife diseases. 

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2:10 p.m. — Dr. Heather Barron 

"What Are You Drinking? Water Quality, A One Health Crisis"

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Description: The quantity and diversity of pollutants reaching freshwater systems has increased exponentially over the past few decades, affecting our surface and drinking water. These include not only biological contaminants, e.g. microorganisms responsible for water-borne diseases, but also endocrine disrupting chemicals, including heavy metals, fertilizers and pesticides. This lecture will explore the impact of this on wildlife and One Health.

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3:05 – 3:25 p.m. — Coffee Break

 

3:25 p.m. — Dr. Dave Stallknecht

“Out Flew Enza”  

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Description:  The natural history and epidemiology of type A influenza in a global ecosystem or how to build the next pandemic

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4:20 p.m. — Dr. Terry Norton

"THE GEORGIA SEA TURTLE CENTER, A MODEL FOR THE ONE HEALTH CONCEPT"

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Description: The traditional “One Health Initiative” concept is a movement to forge collaborations between human physicians, veterinarians, other medical professionals, other scientific-health and environmentally related disciplines.  The Jekyll Island Authority’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) has taken this a step further by also engaging educators, naturalists, school teachers and their students, politicians, undergraduate and graduate students, artists, historians, airline pilots, and the general public on wildlife and environmental health.  The ultimate goal is to maintain and re-establish a healthy ecosystem.  This can only be accomplished by engaging everyone in the concept of the “One Health Initiative”.  The presentation will discuss how the GSTC was started and how the research, education and rehabilitation are integrated and how this fits into the One Health umbrella. 

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5:15 – 5:25 p.m. — Closing Remarks and Announcements

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6:30 – 9:00 p.m. — Socializing, Dinner, Raffle and Other Activities (@Flinchum's Pheonix)

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Sunday(8:00 – 12:00):

Wetlabs and Seminars

1. Wildlife Techniques

 

The lecture portion of this wet lab will include a thorough review of what wildlife health professionals who are presented with critical wildlife patients need to know for emergency care. The practical component will allow the participants to put what they learned in lecture to the test by practicing the procedures below on native North American wildlife cadavers (birds, reptiles, and small mammals). NOTE: all of the animals used in this lab were admissions to a wildlife hospital that were humanely euthanized or died due to severe injuries/conditions that rendered them non-releasable.

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2. Chemical Immobilization

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This wet lab includes lecture and practical components, in which you will learn and practice techniques for chemical immobilization of wildlife. This includes learning about and practicing with various types of remote delivery systems, and making and cleaning darts. [No animals will be used in this lab].

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3. Wildlife Disease Investigation

 

In this workshop, we will cover the general principles of wildlife disease investigations from the epidemiological questions and methods that will help guide the investigation to the logistical on-the-ground work that will ensure any investigation has the best chance of success. We will use both didactic presentation and group participation to first understand the basic concept of wildlife disease investigation and then to be able to use this knowledge to perform investigations using real world examples. [No animals will be used in this workshop].

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4. Field Capture Methods

 

In this wet lab, you will learn about and practice multiple methods commonly used to capture free-ranging wildlife for conservation medicine, disease investigations, and wildlife health research. You will gain knowledge of and hands-on experience with techniques that include: setting up and properly placing wildlife nets and traps; opening/closing mist nets and safely extracting birds; and tracking wildlife via VHF telemetry. [No animals will be used in this lab].

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5. Wildlife Seminars

 

These will follow the format of Saturday seminars, and will feature additional researchers and professionals that address issues of wildlife health and disease.

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9:00 a.m. - Dr. Michael Yabsley

"A one health approach to studying the raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis), a zoonosis of raccoons and dogs"

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10:00 a.m. - Dr. Sonia Altizer

"Long-distance animal movements and infectious disease: insights from birds and butterflies and new frontiers"

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11:00 a.m. - Dr. Kristen Navara

“Measuring stress and immunity in wildlife: Challenges and options"

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