One Health Institute

08/07/2026

A new paper published in The Lancet Planetary Health presents a practical roadmap for strengthening wildlife health surveillance systems worldwide, recognizing that no single model works for every country. Instead, the framework emphasizes systems that are locally led and adapted to local contexts, institutions, resources, cultures, and priorities, while supported through regional and global collaboration. The goal is to build sustainable systems that protect wildlife and ecosystems, guide conservation action, provide early warning of emerging threats, and advance an inclusive One Health approach.

The UC Davis One Health Institute is proud to contribute to this global effort through Dr. Marcela Uhart, Director of our Latin America Programs, who is a co-author on the publication and a founding member of the Wildlife Health Intelligence Network (WHIN) Steering Committee. WHIN is a global community of practice working to help countries and communities build sustainable wildlife health surveillance systems tailored to their unique needs.

Congratulations to the international team of authors on this important contribution to strengthening wildlife health surveillance worldwide!

Read here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519626000598

07/23/2026

New research published in BMC Infectious Diseasessheds new light on factors associated with human exposure to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in south-central Tanzania.

Led by Drs. Cheryl Meehan and Brian Bird from the One Health Institute in collaboration with partners at Ifakara Health Institute and Sokoine University of Agriculture, the study examined how demographic, behavioral, and environmental factors influence prior exposure to this tick-borne zoonotic virus in pastoral communities.

The team found that CCHFV exposure was associated with household composition, livestock handling practices, and grazing behaviors, identifying modifiable risk factors that could help guide targeted public health interventions. The findings underscore the value of One Health approaches that integrate human, animal, and environmental health to better understand and reduce the risk of emerging zoonotic diseases.

Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-026-13919-x

07/10/2026

Forecasts of a potential strong El Niño event underscore the need for proactive planning as these climate conditions have historically been associated with Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks in East Africa, affecting animal health, human health, and livelihoods.

Drs. Ana Pérola Brandão and Brian Bird collaborated with researchers from Ifakara Health Institute, UC Davis One Health Institute, and Colorado State University to explore how a coordinated One Health approach to vaccination could strengthen prevention of RVF. Their work was recently published in CABI One Health.

The publication proposes a framework for integrating livestock and human vaccination strategies, highlighting how One Health collaboration across veterinary, public health, and environmental sectors could improve preparedness, maximize resources, and support more equitable disease prevention as human RVF vaccines become available.

This work also complements our DDvax project, funded by CEPI, which is advancing development of a human RVF vaccine, bringing us one step closer to the integrated vaccination strategies envisioned in this paper.

Full publication: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabionehealth.2026.0005

07/09/2026

A new study in Marine Mammal Science documents the remarkable journey of a southern right whale named Atenea, whose migration became the first recorded movement of a right whale from the Southwest Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean. The discovery offers new insight into how whale populations may be connected across ocean basins and could help shape future conservation efforts.

As new tracking technologies reveal previously unseen migration patterns, researchers are gaining critical information to support whale conservation, habitat protection, and population recovery in a changing ocean.

A recently published paper in Marine Mammal Science documented the migratory journey of a female southern right whale (SRW) named Atenea who undertook a unique journey. After she left Península Valdés with her calf she did something unexpected.

07/02/2026

Join us in welcoming Dr. Becky Gullberg to the One Health Institute team! She is a program manager supporting multidisciplinary research in our OHI Laboratory, focused on emerging infectious diseases, wildlife health, and zoonotic disease prevention.

Becky earned her PhD in Microbiology from Colorado State University and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University, where her research focused on virus-host interactions and mechanisms of viral pathogenesis. Her work has spanned high-consequence viral pathogens including SARS-CoV-2 and dengue viruses, integrating molecular virology, infectious disease biology, and One Health approaches to improve human, animal, and environmental health.

We're thrilled to have Becky join our team and look forward to the expertise and scientific leadership she'll bring as we continue advancing One Health research and innovation.

07/01/2026

Nearly two decades ago, researchers set out to better understand lead poisoning in wildlife. Today, that work has led to an important discovery about children's health.

The new study was led by Dr. Andrea Caselli of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina and Dr. Uhart, with key contributions from a multidisciplinary coauthor team. They found that children in rural northern Argentina who consumed wild game harvested with lead am******on had significantly higher blood lead levels than those who did not.

This work is a powerful example of how long-term One Health research can uncover hidden environmental health risks and generate science that benefits animals and people alike.

What began nearly 20 years ago as a collaborative effort led by Dr. Marcela Uhart, director of the Latin America Program at the UC Davis One Health Institute, to understand lead poisoning in wildlife has now expanded into an important new discovery about children’s health. The new study led by Dr....

06/30/2026

Dr. Michelle Hawkins has been a tremendous and dedicated leader at the California Raptor Center and the One Health Institute for many years. She has generously shared her clinical expertise, compassion, and mentorship with countless colleagues, students, and animal patients, leaving a lasting impact on all who have had the privilege to work alongside her.

On the eve of her retirement, we thank her deeply for her friendship and for the extraordinary contributions she has made to so many people and animals.

For more than two decades, Dr. Michelle Hawkins has helped shape the future of raptor medicine, wildlife rehabilitation, and conservation through her leadership at the California Raptor Center. From first discovering the Center as a UC Davis resident in 1998 to serving as medical director beginning....

06/25/2026

Participants in Rx One Health Field Institute this year continue to explore Ireland through the interconnected lenses of human, animal, plant, and environmental health. From sustainable food systems and biodiversity to marine ecosystems, water quality, conservation, risk communication, and disaster preparedness, each day of the course has offered new perspectives on today's complex health challenges.

Learning has extended far beyond just the classroom with visits to the Phoenix Park Biodiversity Centre, Dublin Zoo, the Marine Institute , Grattan Beach and Galway Atlantaquaria, and Lyons Farm. Along the way, participants have learned from experts across Dublin and Galway alongside visiting faculty from UC Davis, creating a collaborative exchange of One Health expertise across the Atlantic.

Now, as interdisciplinary capstone projects get underway, Rx One Health participants are bringing together the knowledge, perspectives, and partnerships they've built to develop solutions for real-world One Health challenges.

06/18/2026

The UC Davis Students for One Health and the One Health Institute are pleased to invite you to the 13th Annual One Health Symposium on Saturday, October 24, 2026.

This year's theme, Waves of Change, celebrates the ideas, collaborations, and innovations driving progress across the One Health landscape. Join us at UC Davis for a day of engaging discussions, inspiring speakers, and opportunities to connect with students, researchers, practitioners, and professionals working across the many disciplines that make up One Health.

Please see the attached flyer and mark your calendar. Additional event details to follow!

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email [email protected]

06/16/2026

Rx One Health in Ireland is officially underway!

This year’s cohort has arrived in Dublin, where 31 participants representing 19 countries and expertise spanning human health, animal health, environmental health, and the social sciences have come together for 2 weeks of immersive One Health training.

Hosted by our partners at University College Dublin, the course provides a unique opportunity for participants to learn alongside one another, exchange perspectives across disciplines and borders, and explore real-world approaches to complex health challenges that connect people, animals, and the environment.

We look forward to the connections, conversations, and collaborations that will emerge over the coming weeks as we work together to advance One Health for all.

Image descriptions: 1) Group of smiling Rx One Health participants standing on a curved staircase; 2) Two smiling women seated next to each other at a table; 3) Oxidized bronze outdoor sculpture of a man and woman dancing together; 4) Rx One Health participants standing around a table using and looking at multi-colored note cards on a large white sheet of paper.