One Health Institute

05/30/2026

Accessible veterinary care is in action!

In late March, volunteers from the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine traveled to Covelo, California for another weekend of compassionate, community-centered veterinary care through the Covelo Clinic. Entirely volunteer-run, the clinic brings together veterinarians, veterinary students, ve...

05/20/2026

As highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) continues impacting wildlife globally, some of the world’s most endangered seabirds, including albatrosses and petrels, face growing risk.

Spearheaded by Latin America Program scientist Dr. Ralph Vanstreels, a new publication in Biodiversity Data Journal introduces the first openly accessible global database focused specifically on H5N1 outbreaks in these species.

Developed through the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), this resource helps researchers, governments, conservation teams, and other decision-makers around the world track and respond to the rapidly evolving impacts of H5N1 across remote marine ecosystems.

Image description: Two gray and brown birds looking at each other with a gray sky background.

05/15/2026

This , we’re highlighting how collaboration and innovation needed to help protect some of the world’s most vulnerable wildlife.

For years, researchers faced a difficult challenge with critically endangered right whales: how do we gather the movement and habitat data needed to protect them from threats like entanglement, vessel strikes, and climate-driven ecosystem change without compromising the wellbeing of the animals themselves?

Through a long-term international collaboration supported by NOAA and the U.S. Office of Naval Research, scientists and veterinarians worked to develop less invasive satellite tags designed specifically with whale welfare in mind. Our field veterinarian Dr. Marcela Uhart leads the animal health and welfare aspects of the project, helping ensure the highest standards of research ethics while advancing critical conservation science.

The resulting “blubber-only” tag design provides researchers with valuable movement and habitat-use data while reducing invasiveness compared to traditional approaches. Having already been successfully deployed with free-ranging southern right whales, these tags offer important tools for studying and protecting their endangered northern counterparts.

The data collected from these tags can help inform efforts to reduce human-caused threats and better protect endangered whale populations in a rapidly changing ocean. The impact of this work extends beyond a single species. By improving how wildlife research is conducted, these collaborations help shape safer, more ethical approaches that can benefit other marine mammals and endangered species around the world.

Image description: North Atlantic right whale breaching above the ocean surface.

05/11/2026

At this year’s Calvin Schwabe Lectureship, pioneering leader Dr. William B. Karesh reflected on the power of communication and shared purpose in building healthier futures for people, animals, and ecosystems alike.

Read the recap from an inspiring conversation between Drs. Karesh and moderator Dr. Marcela Uhart (the 2025 Calvin Schwabe Lectureship speaker!) at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine:

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine was honored to welcome Dr. William B.

05/08/2026

A new study published in the journal npj Viruses found that climate change could drive rodent-borne arenaviruses into parts of South America that have never previously faced these diseases, with potential to expose millions more people to future spillover risk.

Researchers from UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, including OHI's own Drs. Brian Bird and Marcy Uhart, collaborated to develop predictive models to better understand how these viruses may spread over the next 20-40 years.

This research highlights the importance of One Health approaches that recognize the deep connections between environmental change, wildlife, and human health.

Climate change is likely to drive rodent-borne arenaviruses into parts of South America that have never faced these diseases, putting new communities of people at risk, finds a study from the University of California, Davis. For the study, published in the journal npj Viruses, scientists incorporate...

05/05/2026

Last Friday, we gathered for the 2026 UC Davis One Health Institute Annual Meeting.

It was a wonderful day filled with ideas, collaboration, and a shared commitment to improving the health of people, animals, and the environments we all depend on. The energy in the room reflected what makes work so powerful: people from different fields coming together to solve problems that no one discipline can tackle alone.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, shared their work, and helped make this year’s meeting such a meaningful gathering. We’re excited to keep building on this momentum together!

Image descriptions:
1. Group of people standing and sitting in rows in a large, brightly lit room.
2. Smiling woman standing in front of a projected slide that says "OHI Annual Meeting, May 1, 2026"
3. Group of people seated in a large classroom watching a presentation
4. Man speaking into a microphone in front of a projected slide that says "UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine"
5. Man wearing glasses standing at a podium
6. Four people seated in a row on comfy chairs with one man speaking into a microphone
7. Classroom full of people watching a presentation on Amargosa vole conservation

04/29/2026

Have you listened to The Scientess Podcast yet? This new podcast from Dr. Karen Levy highlights the joy of science and the many paths women take to build meaningful careers in the field.

Episode 4 features Dr. Pat Conrad, whose career has shaped generations of scientists. After 33+ years, she retired as a distinguished professor of parasitology. In her career, she served as Associate Dean for Global Programs at UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine and Co-Director of UC Global Health Institute. Dr. Conrad has also been a longtime collaborator with the One Health Institute and a mentor to many, including our executive director, Dr. Woutrina Smith!

In this episode, she reflects on the path that led her to science, what has kept her inspired along the way, and why mentorship matters.

Tune in to hear her story and the impact one career in science can have across generations: www.scientess.org/ep-04-pat-conrad

Image description: A portrait of Dr. Pat Conrad outdoors, standing in front of a soft, natural background. She is wearing a green scarf and looking toward the camera.

04/27/2026

📣 Student funding opportunity: UC Nature & Sentinel Sites for Nature Summer Research Fellowship

Explore the connections between biodiversity, ecosystems, and human health through hands-on research across California. We've partnered with UC Nature and Sentinel Sites, this fellowship supports creative, data-driven projects that inform conservation and solutions.

- Use existing datasets or collect your own at 40+ UC field stations
- Up to $5,000 for stipend, supplies, and travel
- Open to students with a UC faculty mentor

Please submit a 2-page proposal that identifies the opportunity, research questions, analytical methods. The third page should have references as well as a budget breakdown table.

Send completed applications along with a UC faculty mentor support letter pdf to [email protected] by May 18, 2026.

More info at ohi.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/fellowships

Image description:
Flyer for a “Summer Research Opportunity” from UC Nature & Sentinel Sites for Nature. Highlights include up to $5,000 in funding, opportunities to use or collect data at 40+ UC field stations, and eligibility for students with a UC faculty mentor.

04/24/2026

Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao with their daughter, Kaitlyn.

04/13/2026

We’re proud to share that Dr. Woutrina Smith, Executive Director of the UC Davis One Health Institute, has been named a 2026 recipient of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Distinguished Leadership in Global Health Award.

Dr. Smith is the first veterinarian ever to receive this distinction, recognizing her leadership in advancing global health through a One Health approach that brings together human, animal, and environmental health.

For more: www.cugh.org/blog/announcing-cughs-2026-global-health-awardees