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One Health Seminar Series

One Health Seminar Series

The One Health seminar series showcases the depth and breadth of One Health research at the University of Guelph. These 50-minute talks feature a 30-minute presentation by U of G faculty, followed by an audience Q&A. Everyone is welcome, particularly graduate students and faculty.


Winter 2024

February 8, 2024 | 2:30-3:50 PM | Virtual Seminar*

“Community-centered conservation and One Health in action: the Jane Goodall Institute’s work”

Marie Meloche has worked with grassroots organizations, local and international NGOs in Canada and the Middle East before joining the JGI team in 2018. As the Programs Manager, she supports the implementation of community-centered conservation projects in Africa and Canada. She believes that the key to sustainable development is to build meaningful partnerships with communities and local actors, with women at the center of the locally-led development strategies.

*U of G faculty, staff, students are welcome to view this seminar live. Email onehealth@uoguelph.ca to request a teams link.



Past Seminars

Check out our past seminars, organized by semester, below. Many seminars are available to view on our YouTube channel.

WINTER 2024

In collaboration with the Guelph Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) and the Canada India Research Centre for Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), OHI is delighted to welcome Dr. Andrew Flachs

February 6, 2024 | 1:30-3:00 PM EST | Watch the seminar!

Andrew Flachs

Social Reproduction and One Health on the Farm: Feeding the World as if People Mattered

Associate Professor // Anthropology Faculty
Affiliated Faculty // Global Studies // SIS
College of Liberal Arts | Purdue University

Talk Summary: Although farms are living spaces that anchor diverse economies, the challenge of feeding the world is dominated by narrow questions of yield, efficiency, and cost-benefit analysis. Combining streams from world ecology, critical agrarian studies, and diverse economies thinkers, Flachs will discuss anthropological case studies from India, Bosnia, and the U.S. Midwest to ask how small-scale agriculture supports living communities in place: feeding the world as if people mattered. Central to this approach is viewing efficiency not as a function of yields, profits, or commodities produced but of reproducing the conditions for local health and wellbeing. The talk will center small-scale agriculture as an engine of social reproduction, the continual creation of communities of practice. This analysis both helps to re-value the rippling benefits of local farm systems and illuminate the profound damage of commercial plantations that emphasize commodity production.

Biography: Dr. Andrew Flachs researches food and agriculture systems, exploring genetically modified crops, heirloom seeds, and our own microbiomes. He is currently an associate professor of anthropology at Purdue University where his work among farmers in North America, the Balkans, and South India asks how we shape and are shaped by the worlds around us.  Andrew’s research has been supported by the National Geographic Society, the American Institute of Indian Studies, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the US department of education, while his writing on agricultural development has been featured in over three dozen peer-reviewed publications as well as public venues including Sapiens, Salon, and the National Geographic magazine.  Andrew’s work has been recognized by several international awards, including most recently as a finalist for the Society for Economic Anthropology Kate Browne Creativity in Research Award and the International Convention of Asia Scholars’ Book Prize. Outside of academia, he is an avid cook, parent, cyclist, and musician who has performed in New York City, St. Louis, Asheville, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

FALL 2023

November 15, 2023 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST

Joey Bernhardt

Towards a mechanistic understanding of global change: from cells to ecosystems and human well-being

Assistant Professor | Department of Integrative Biology
College of Biological Sciences | University of Guelph


October 4, 2023 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

Joshua August (Gus) Skorburg

Philosophical Perspectives on One Health

Assistant Professor | Department of Philosophy
Co-Academic Director | Centre for Advancing Responsible and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (CARE-AI)
Affiliate Faculty | One Health Institute
College of Arts | University of Guelph


October 18, 2023 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST

Leah Levac

Lived expertise and intervening on the consequences of resource extraction*

Associate Professor | Department of Political Science
Affiliate Faculty | One Health Institute
College of Social & Applied Human Sciences | University of Guelph

*Public recording of this talk is not available.


November 1, 2023 | 12:00-12:50 PM EST

Liane Miedema

Anthropogenic impacts on environmental systems*

Ph.D. Candidate | School of Environmental Sciences
Ontario Agricultural College | University of Guelph

Liane Miedema is a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph, researching landscape ecology, with a focus on the effects of land mosaics on forest communities, plant functional traits and human-environment interactions. She seeks to find new ways to uncover the connections between living things and their surroundings—both through her research as well as through art and other forms of interdisciplinary work. 

Seminar description: Our society is inseparable from the environment, whether it’s the planetary level impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change or the local impact of Toronto’s urban expansion on forest biodiversity. This talk introduces three different scales of anthropogenic impacts on the environment and the implications of the increasingly complicated interface between human society and natural systems.  

*Public recording of this talk is not available.


WINTER 2023

February 8, 2023 | 1:00-1:50 PM EST | Watch the talk!

David Ma

Ongoing learnings from the Guelph Family Health Study and One Health Perspectives: Intersection between families, environment and animals

Professor | Human Health & Nutritional Sciences
College of Biological Science | University of Guelph

Summary: The Guelph Family Health Study is a longitudinal family cohort study launched in 2014 in the City of Guelph and surrounding communities. Our cohort study has grown to include over 300+ families and through community engaged research has helped us to learn about lifestyle factors that contribute to health. Also, it has grown to help us conduct One Health research at the intersection of families, environment and animals. Research findings focused on lifestyle factors, food waste and pet interactions will be highlighted.


March 29, 2023 | 1:30-2:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A portrait of Assistant Professor Quinn Webber

Quinn Webber

Caribou Conservation and One Health in Canada

Assistant Professor | Department of Integrative Biology
College of Biological Science | University of Guelph

Summary: Caribou are an iconic Canadian species, but their populations are in decline throughout Canada. Anthropogenic disturbance, environmental degradation, and climate change are among the most important drivers of declines. While caribou conservation and management practices in Canada are varied, taking a One Health approach to tackling complex conservation problems could help improve resiliency of caribou populations.


FALL 2022

September 21, 2022 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Professor

Paul Sibley

One Health Aspects of Harmful Algal Blooms

Professor | School of Environmental Sciences
Ontario Agricultural College | University of Guelph


October 5, 2022 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

Professional headshot of Dr. Katie Clow

Katie Clow

Ticks, Tick-borne Disease and One Health

Assistant Professor in One Health | Department of Population Medicine
Graduate Program Coordinator | Collaborative Specialization in One Health
Ontario Veterinary College | University of Guelph


October 19, 2022 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Professor Andrew MacDougall

Andrew MacDougall

One Health and Food Web Assembly

Professor | Department of Integrative Biology
College of Biological Science | University of Guelph


November 2, 2022 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Assistant Professor Diana Lewis

Diana Lewis

Developing an Indigenous-led Approach to Environmental Health Risk Assessment

Assistant Professor | Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences | University of Guelph


November 16, 2022 | 12:30-1:20 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of one of the Professors

Catherine Carstairs & Kathryn Hughes

Vaccine hesitancy/resistance in Canada from the early 1980s to the early 21st century

Professor | Department of History
College of Arts | University of Guelph

WINTER 2022

January 13, 2022 | 1-2 PM EST | Watch the talk!

Professional headshot of Dr. Sherri Cox, DVM, Ph.D. Student and Medical Director, National Wildlife Centre

Sherri Cox

The Role of Wildlife Rehabilitation in One Health

Assistant Professor | Integrative Biology | University of Guelph
Wildlife Veterinarian and Medical Director at National Wildlife Centre


January 27, 2022 | 1-2 PM EST | Watch the Talk!

A photograph of Dr. Lauren Grant taken outside with trees in the background.

Lauren Grant

One Health and Social Environments: Linking Non-health Data to Improve Health (and Why It Can be Difficult)

Assistant Professor | Department of Population Medicine
Ontario Veterinary College | University of Guelph


February 10, 2022 | 1-2 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot photograph of Dr. Maya Goldenberg.

Maya Goldenberg

Vaccine Hesitancy: Science, Publics & Democracy

Associate Professor | Department of Philosophy
College of Arts | University of Guelph


March 3, 2022 | 1-2 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A photograph of Dr. Lauren Van Patter outside with a hedge in the background.

Lauren Van Patter

One Health, Multispecies Justice, and the Human-Animal Bond

Kim and Stu Lang Professor in Community and Shelter Medicine | Department of Clinical Studies
Ontario Veterinary College | University of Guelph


March 24, 2022 | 1-2 PM EST | Watch the talk!

Headshot photograph of Dr. Brandon Gilroyed.

Brandon Gilroyed

Evaluating Livestock Mortality Management Techniques using a One Health Approach

Associate Professor | School of Environmental Sciences
Ontario Agricultural College | University of Guelph


March 31, 2022 | 1-2 PM EST | Watch the talk!

Headhot photograph of Dr. Hwan-Suk Chris Choi

Hwan-Suk Chris Choi

An Inconvenient Truth: The Darker Side of Tourism 

Interim Director and Professor | Department of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management
Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics | University of Guelph


FALL 2021

September 22, 2021 | 12-1 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Maureen Anderson holding a cat.

Maureen Anderson

One Health and Wild What? Pigs (Yes, Pigs)

DVM, DVSc, PhD, DACVIM
Lead Veterinarian
Animal Health and Welfare Veterinary Science Unit
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs


October 6, 2021 | 12-1 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Kari Dunfield.

Kari Dunfield

Exploring the Role of Soil Health in One Health

Professor and Canada Research Chair
Environmental Microbiology of Agro-Ecosystems
School of Environmental Sciences | University of Guelph


October 19, 2021 | 12-1 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Brian Husband.

Brian Husband

Crops, native ecosystems and food system sustainability – is this One Health?

Professor and Associate Dean (Academic) | Department of Integrative Biology
College of Biological Science | University of Guelph


November 3, 2021 | 12-1 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Chris Earley holding a bird in his right hand.

Chris Earley

Connecting to Nature: It’s good for you and the planet

Interpretive Biologist and Education Coordinator
The Arboretum | University of Guelph


November 16, 2021 | 12-1 PM EST | Watch the talk!

A headshot of Claire Jardine

Claire Jardine

Wildlife and One Health

Regional Director Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) ON/NU  
Associate Professor | Department of Pathobiology
Ontario Veterinary College | University of Guelph

WINTER 2021

January 29, 2021
Dr. Cate Dewey “Pigs, Poverty, and Epilepsy”
U of G, OVC, Population Medicine


February 12, 2021
Dr. Emily Denstedt  “Wildlife, Wild places, and Spillover: Insights from the field”
Wildlife Conservation Society in Laos


February 26, 2021
Dr. Kathryn Fair “Physical Distancing, School/Workplace Closure, & Covid 19 in 2020: how many lives did we save?” 
U of G, OAC, Environmental Sciences


March 11, 2021
Dr. Daniel Gillis “One Year, One Health”
U of G, School of Computer Sciences


March 26,2021
Dr. Lawrence Goodridge “Salmonella Syst-OMICS: Applying the One Health Approach for Improved Food Safety”
U of G, Dept. of Food Science

FALL 2020

September 2020
Dr. Theresa Bernardo & Dr. Deborah Stacey “The Global Burden of Animal Diseases: A New Addition to One Health Data Resources”
U of G, OVC, Population Medicine & U of G, CEPS, Computer Science


October 2020 
Dr. Gus Skorburg “Philosophical Perspectives on One Health”
U of G, COA, Philosophy


October 2020
Dr. Robert Hanner “The Role of DNA Barcoding and Environmental DNA-Based Biomonitoring in Support of a One Health Agenda”
U of G, CBS, Integrative Biology


November 2020
Dr. Jennifer Provencher “Plastic Pollution and Wildlife Health”
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division


November 2020 Dr. Graham Taylor  “How Experimental Psychology Can Help Explain Artificial Intelligence”
U of G, CEPS, Engineering

WINTER 2020

January 2020 
Dr. Hellen Amuguni “Building a pandemic ready global workforce”
Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine


February 2020
Dr. Travis Steffens “We Are in This Together: Bringing an Anthropological Perspective to One Health Research in Madagascar” 
U of G, CSAHS, Sociology and Anthropology

FALL 2019

November 2019
Dr. Francisco Olea-Popelka “One Health: Beyond Medicine”
Western University, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry


December 2019
Dr. Marc Habash “Application of the One Health Approach to Microbial Source Water Tracking”
U of G, OAC, School of Environmental Sciences

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