NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2015 five pages KEYNOTE

14th International Symposium of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics
Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics: Planning Our Future
NEWSLETTER | JANUARY 2015 five pages
Dear ISVEE Delegates - Greetings from Merida, Yucatan, MEXICO, and
Happy 2015! In this issue, we present our keynote speakers.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Topic: One Health
Alfredo Dájer, President of the
Organizing Committee of ISVEE 14.
Jonna MAZET, DVM, MPVM, PhD, is a professor of
epidemiology and disease ecology and director of the One Health Institute in the
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine where she focuses on global health
problem solving, especially for emerging infectious disease and conservation
challenges. Dr. Mazet is active in international
One Health research programs, especially
disease transmission among wildlife, domestic
animals, and people and the ecological drivers
for disease emergence. Currently, she is the
Global Director of a $175 million viral emergence
early warning project, named PREDICT, that has
been developed with the US Agency for
International Development’s Emerging Pandemic
Threats Program. She has recently been elected
to the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine
in recognition of her successful and innovative
approach to emerging environmental and global
health threats.
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Topic: Climate Change
James HANSEN, BA, MSc, PhD, formerly
Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for
Space Studies, is an Adjunct Professor at
Columbia University’s Earth Institute,
where he directs a program in Climate
Science, Awareness and Solutions. He was
trained in physics and astronomy in the
space science program of Dr. James Van
Allen at the University of Iowa. His early
research on the clouds of Venus helped
identify their composition as sulfuric acid.
Since the late 1970s, he has focused his
research on Earth's climate, especially
human-made climate change. Dr. Hansen is
best known for his testimony on climate
change to congressional committees in the
1980s that helped raise broad awareness
of the global warming issue. He was
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995 and was designated by Time
Magazine in 2006 as one of the 100 most influential people on Earth. He has
received numerous awards including the Carl-Gustaf Rossby and Roger Revelle
Research Medals, the Sophie Prize and the Blue Planet Prize. Dr. Hansen is
recognized for speaking truth to power, for identifying ineffectual policies as
greenwash, and for outlining actions that the public must take to protect the
future of young people and other life on our planet.
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Topic: Epidemiology and Animal Health Economics
Jonathan RUSHTON PhD, MAgSci, MA
is an agricultural economist who
specialises in the economics of animal
health and livestock production and
food systems – interests that grew
from living and working on the family
dairy farm. He is involved in research
in the UK and Europe, and has
extensive international experience of
livestock production and the control
of animal diseases in South America,
Africa and Asia. During the global
avian influenza response he worked at
the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO). His
recent research focus has been on the
use of economics in understanding
the emergence of pathogens from food systems and the more general impacts of
disease at individual level and across society. This focus embraces the need for
One Health approaches in the search for solutions to society’s disease and wider
health problems. He is currently the professor in animal health economics at the
Royal Veterinary College, holds the Norbrook endowed chair on veterinary
business management, is a member of the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative
Research on Agriculture and Health and a non-executive member of the Animal
Health and Welfare Board for England.
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Topic: Epidemiology and National Veterinary Services (Team presentation by
Drs. Cristóbal Zepeda and Vitor Gonçalves).
Cristóbal ZEPEDA, MVZ, MSc, PhD is a
veterinary epidemiologist specializing in risk
analysis and international animal health
policy. He is the Veterinary Attaché for
USDA-APHIS in Mexico City. Previously, he
worked with the Animal Population Health
Institute at Colorado State University and
USDA’s Centers for Epidemiology and
Animal Health (CEAH), where he was
responsible for coordinating the activities of
CEAH as a World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) Collaborating Center. Through
his work with the OIE he contributed to the
development of several international
standards. During his career, Cristóbal has
visited more than 60 countries in all
continents training several hundred
veterinarians in epidemiological methods
applied to disease control programs. He has also participated in official review
teams to assess the animal health status and veterinary services in several
countries and contributed to bilateral negotiations on the application of sanitary
measures. He has extensive international experience having lived and worked in
Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Scotland, Central America and the United States. He is a
passionate photographer and mountain biker.
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Topic: Epidemiology and National Veterinary Services (Team presentation by
Drs. Cristóbal Zepeda and Vitor Gonçalves).
Vitor GONCALVES, DVM, PhD, is a
veterinary epidemiologist specialized
in planning of animal health public
policy. He worked in animal health
projects in Brazil, Africa and Europe.
He is currently an Associate Professor
at the University of Brasília, where he
coordinates the veterinary
epidemiology laboratory (EpiPlan)
and lectures on quantitative methods
as well as disease surveillance and
control. Over the last 15 years, he
has established longstanding
collaborations with public animal
health administrations in Brazil, both
for terrestrial and aquatic animals.
He has extensive experience in
bridging the gap between the national veterinary services and the role of
universities with regard to applied research and training in veterinary
epidemiology. His research interests are focused on methods for surveillance of
endemic and major trade diseases. He has collaborated regularly with the OIE,
participating in ad-hoc groups, notably on epidemiology and commodity-based
trade. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Preventive Veterinary Medicine.
Topic: Animal Welfare (Keynote Speaker: To Be Announced).
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