KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

 

 

Croatian-American Joint One Health Panel UNIZD 2019

Keynote speakers from Western University of Health Sciences, California, USA:

 

 

“One Health agenda: Disease X”  by Tracey S. McNamara, DVM, Diplomate ACVP, Professor of Pathology at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, CA.  Dr. McNamara specializes in the recognition and understanding of the diseases of captive and free-ranging wildlife and is best known for her discovery of the West Nile virus in the USA, best described in the September 2000 GAO report “West Nile Virus – Lessons for Public Health Emergency Preparedness”.

 

“Novel and affordable antivenom on our doorstep” By John Tegzes, MA, VMD, Dipl. ABVT, Professor of Veterinary Clinical Toxicology. With previous expertise in clinical nursing, Dr. Tegzas is an avid advocate for One Health, especially in his current focus of novel, commercially available snake antivenom discovery. His academic interest include Clinical Toxicology, Interprofessional Education, and Problem-Based Learning.

 

 

 

“The Oral Microbiota in Health and Disease” by Elizabeth F Schilling DVM, Assistant Professor of Equine Practice and Dentistry with special interest in clinical aspects of comparative dentistry. Her clinical and academic interest include ambulatory equine practice, veterinary dentistry and emergency medicine, with special focus on periodontal disease as a common issue among people and various domestic animals where the translational research has found valuable biomedical data to address many similarities and differences this problem.

 

 

“Rethinking Biosecurity with a One Health Perspective: Design and Assessment” by Diane McClure, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACLAM, Associate Professor of Laboratory Animal Medicine with academic interest in comparative cardiovascular‑respiratory physiology (fluid balance and microcirculation); surgical and critical care of cardio-thoracic research models; comparative medicine (fish, rabbits, primates); animal welfare and well-being of captive animals, and  additional experience and training in behavioral medicine, disaster preparedness and social media.

 

 

 

“Ticks and their tricks” by Pedro P. Diniz, DVM PhD, Associate Professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine and Interim Director of Outcomes Assessment, with research interest in Bartonellosis as a disease of public health/one health concern.  Dr. Diniz has given numerous lectures in the USA and his native Brazil in the topic of veterinary cardiology as his clinical specialty, and about molecular methods in diagnostics of tick-borne diseases.

 

 

 

 

“Upper respiratory infections in mountain gorillas” Donna Shettko, DVM, MSN, FNP-C/PA-C, practices academic and clinical medicine. She is currently an associate professor at Western University of Health Sciences as a facilitator in the PBL curriculum. She is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (large animal). Clinically her main interest has been working with equine focusing on sports medicine yet she has continued to care for all large animals including bovine, ovine, porcine, camelids and goats. Clinical research has been with the development of simulation models concentrating on integrating the simulation models in veterinary student and resident education. She has worked both as a board certified Nurse Practitioner and board certified Physician Assistant. The combination of veterinary and human medicine has provided the opportunity to pursue her interest in Global Medicine/One World One Health. Projects in Global Medicine include participating in public health and preventative veterinary and medical training in a rural community in Honduras and implementing a preventative medicine student rotation; development and implementation of a surgical seminar using simulation models for the Mountain Gorilla veterinarians in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo; and participation in a trauma educational program for the physicians in Mozambique.

 

 “One Health: Why? What? Where? and How?” by Dr. Suzana Tkalcic, DVM, PhD is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology at Western University of Health Sciences, California since 2003, where she is involved in teaching and collaborative research involving marine mammals and birds, with special focus on ocean health and One Health. Dr. Tkalcic is an active proponent of interprofessional collaboration, Interprofessional Education, Problem Based Learning in medical education, and a speaker/presenter at many national and international conferences in the field of medical education, One Health, ocean health, comparative and marine mammal pathology. She is also the adjunct faculty for the School of Public Health, SDSU. She is recipient of the Dr. Ljudevit Jurak Award for Comparative Pathology by the Croatian Medical Academy, corresponding member of the Croatian Medical Academy, and the 2017. Croatian Women of Influence award recipient for Science and Technology.