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The Royal Agricultural Virtual Experience

One Health at The Royal

OHI – OVC

Banner announcing "One Health at the Royal Agricultural Virtual Experience University of Guelph One Health Virtual Pavilion November 10 - November 14 Panel: Plants, and Animals, and Humans, Oh My! What is One Health and what does it have to do with your future career? Featured panelists: Dr. Deb Stark, Dr. Heather Murphy, Dr. Travis Steffens & Dr. Samira Mubareka Moderated by: Dr. Jeff Wichtel November 11: 4:45PM-5:45PM EST Free registration at: royalfair.vfairs.com/en/registration" with image of person petting a Golden Retriever on a grassy hill and One Health Institute logo and QR code to access registration.

The Royal is going virtual! The Royal Agricultural Virtual Experience is a unique opportunity to experience the very best in Canadian agriculture and food from your laptop, tablet, smart phone or desktop. 

The Royal Agricultural Virtual Experience is free and open to everyone! Register here.

Virtual Pavilion

As a part of University of Guelph’s presence at the Royal, we will have our own One Health Virtual Pavilion showcasing One Health students, researchers, and education at the University of Guelph

Steps to access the One Health Virtual Pavilion:

  1. Complete your free registration for The Royal Agricultural Virtual Experience here.
  2. Login using the email address you used to register.
  3. Click on the University of Guelph “A Place to Grow” Exhibit.
  4. Click on the University of Guelph “Discover One Health” pavilion.
  5. You made it! Check out the “Documents” and “Videos” section to learn more about One Health at the University of Guelph.

Panel Discussion

We will also be offering a Panel Discussion – Plants, and Animals, and Humans, Oh My! What is One Health and what does it have to do with your future career? 

One Health recognizes that we can improve life by understanding that the health of animals, humans, and the environment depend on one another. It aims to create solutions that improve health in all three areas and not just one. These types of solutions require people across a variety of sectors and fields to work together.  

Find out how a medical doctor, an anthropologist, a veterinarian, and an engineer all found their different career pathways leading to One Health. Learn how they work to solve complex health problems in the various sectors in which they work or have worked. Discover the variety of fields where graduates with One Health knowledge are needed and how One Health skills can set you up for success in your future career. LINK

  • Watch the recording:

Featured Panelists:

Dr. Samira Mubareka

Headshot of Dr. Samira Mubareka in a laboratory.

Dr. Samira Mubareka is a microbiologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Her research focuses on bioaerosol viral disease transmission and spread by naturally-infected hosts as well as by patients with laboratory-confirmed illness. Her research also focuses on pathogen emergence and bioaerosol generation in livestock, specifically swine. Early during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Mubareka and her colleagues isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is now the principal source of the virus for research laboratories across Canada. She also serves on Canada’s COVID-19 Expert Panel as Chief Science Advisor, the Ontario Genomics’ Steering Committee for the Ontario COVID-19 Genomics Rapid Response Coalition, and the Implementation Committee of the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN) Viral Sequencing Project (Genome Canada). 

Dr. Travis Steffens

Photograph of Dr. Travis Steffens with a desert landscape in the background.

Dr. Travis Steffens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph. His research focuses on lemur-human interactions within shared environments, including how lemurs interact and respond to human-caused disturbances, and how humans are in turn impacted by conservation measures for lemurs and their habitat. He is also the Founder and Executive Director of Planet Madagascar. Planet Madagascar is a conservation, education, and community development not-for-profit organization that works closely with local communities to improve the lives of people who live in Madagascar and to conserve lemurs and their habitat.  

Dr. Deb Stark

Headshot of Dr. Deb Stark

Dr. Deb Stark serves on the University of Guelph Board of Governors as well as on the boards of Agriculture and Agrifood Canada’s Audit and Advisory Committee, Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute, Ontario Genomics, and the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association. She is the former Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), holding various senior leadership roles within OMAFRA and the Ministry of Environment (MOE), including serving as Ontario’s first Chief Veterinary Officer. 

Dr. Heather Murphy

Headshot of Dr. Heather Murphy

Dr. Heather Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph. With a background in engineering, her research focuses on water quality and distribution (both drinking and recreational water), water/wastewater treatment, risk assessment and studies in environmental health. Her research has taken her all over the world including Cambodia, Canada, Madagascar, Mali, and the United States. 

Moderated By:

Dr. Jeffrey Wichtel

Photograph of Dr. Jeff Wichtel in a room with a large painting on the wall in the background.

Dr. Jeff Wichtel has served as Dean of the OVC since 2015 and has extensive experience as a researcher, clinician and administrator. Prior to his appointment to the OVC, he served on faculty in the Department of Health Management at the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, where he also served as Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research.

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