Expanding the Global Reach of One Health
May 10, 2014
Kang Tu, Associate Dean, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, and Rob Atwill, Director, WIFSS
Michael Lairmore, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, Rob Atwill, director of the Western Institute for Food Security and Safety, and Bennie Osburn, director of WIFSS Outreach and Training, have signed a working agreement between the University of California, Davis, Western Institute for Food Safety and Security and Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU). The agreement is for the planning and establishment of a One Health Center to be located at NAU. Hongsheng Zhang, director of International Relations, and Kang Tu, associate dean, College of Food Science and Technology, signed on behalf of NAU.
The agreement brings together two universities, two cultures, and two foundations of expertise to create a collaborative One Health Center. NAU is pursuing strategies to position itself as one of the best agricultural universities in the world and is committed to being a hub for international academic exchange and cooperation. The objective of the center is to foster education and research projects in areas of food animal health, animal science, food science, food safety, nutrition, comparative pathology, nursing comparative medicine, crop production and quality, public health, environmental conservation, ecology and global studies.
The establishment of the center addresses the complex global issues of poverty, new and re-emerging zoonotic diseases, safe foods, a sustainable food supply, and the need for a safe and healthy environment for animals and people throughout the world. The goal is to have a fully functional center by May 2019 that consists of approximately fifty faculty and four hundred support staff and students with multidisciplinary backgrounds.