Collaborative Specialization in One Health – Students & Alumni

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CSOH Current Students & Alumni

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Amilcar Bisekere, PhD Candidate (Fall, 2027)

“Mapping zoonotic diseases transmission landscape among lemurs, humans, and domestic animals in rural Madagascar.”

About my work: My research aims to use a One Health approach to identify and map the transmission pathways of dominant zoonotic pathogens (water-borne and fecal-borne) causing disease in people, domestic animals, and lemurs (endangered species) sharing the same environment in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar.

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Alexandria (Alex) Cosby, Master’s in Public Issues Anthropology (2023)

“They Like to ‘Move it Move it’ Between Species: The Shared Parasitic Landscape of Humans and Eulmur fulvus.”

About my work: My research investigated how humans and lemurs sharing a landscape influences the behaviour, habitat, and parasitic load of lemurs in a Malagasy forest community.

During my master’s, I published “Primate conservation: A public issue?“, which is a commentary about the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in primate conservation.  

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Carys Vyn, PhD Candidate (Fall, 2025)

“Environmental Risk Factors for Canine Leptospirosis.”

About my work: My research is focused on understanding risks associated with leptospirosis, a neglected and climate-sensitive zoonotic disease with significant impacts on both animal and human health. Using a One Health approach, I am exploring how social, environmental, and climatic factors influence current and future risk of canine leptospirosis in Canada.

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Juliet Germann, PhD Student (Summer, 2026)

“Exploring biosecurity knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Ontario sheep and goat producers.”

About my work: My research aims to explore the potential for disease spread on Ontario sheep and goat farms by identifying perceptions and barriers hindering the implementation of biosecurity measures. This study will be looked at from a One Health lens, exploring human, animal, and environmental factors that influence biosecurity use.

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Sydney DeWinter, PhD Candidate (Fall, 2025)

“Investigating the risk of introduction and establishment of Leishmania spp., and their vectors, associated with the importation of dogs from endemic regions, into Canada”

Program: Population Medicine (Epidemiology and One Health)

Advisor: Dr. Katie Clow

Funding: OVC Graduate Scholarship and Ontario Graduate Scholarship (AKC Canine Health Foundation Grant for my research)

About my work: My research focuses on both epidemiological and ecological aspects of Leishmania spp. and their sand fly vectors, both in the context of Canadian canine importation, and climate change. I hope to provide more information regarding the current state of canine leishmaniosis cases in Canada and inform future risk of this zoonotic disease.

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Manuel Perez Maldonado, PhD Student (2025)

“Investigating the role of the environment on antimicrobial resistance occurrence in Canadian settings.”

Program: Epidemiology

Advisor: Dr. Jane Parmley

Funding: The Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Bioaerosols project (Universite Laval)

About my work: I’m collecting and analyzing environmental antimicrobial resistance data with different One Health and modelling approaches.

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John Mallare, PhD Candidate (Summer, 2026)

“Paws for Thought: A Mixed Methods Approach to Investigating Climate Change and Companion Animal Zoonoses”

Program: Population Medicine (Epidemiology)

Advisor: Dr. Lauren Grant

Funding: Public Health Agency of Canada

About my work: Companion animals remain an underappreciated source of zoonoses, and the potential for zoonotic transmission is compounded by climate change. My work aims to describe climate-sensitive companion animal zoonoses with an emphasis on using advanced analytics to ascertain the risk of current and future climate trends on Lyme disease in Ontario, Canada.

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Kerry Schutten, Alumna (Summer, 2024)

“Plastic Pollution and Canadian Birds: Surveillance, Ecology, and Health Impacts.”

Program: Pathobiology

Advisors: Dr. Claire Jardine (Pathobiology), and Dr.  Jennifer Provencher with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Funding: OVC Graduate Scholarship, Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative as well as ECCC.

About my work: The central aim of my doctoral thesis was to use a One Health approach to address critical knowledge gaps surrounding our understanding of plastic pollution in Canada, with a focus on health impacts on birds and freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. 

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