Pitt Public Health recently welcomed two internationally recognized One Health leaders to campus to explore opportunities for collaboration across continents.
Baldev Gulati, PhD, director of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI) and Vivek Kapur, PhD, BVSc, of the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, visited the school to discuss how the three institutions could work together more closely. Their conversations centered on One Health—the idea that human, animal and environmental health are deeply connected, and that tackling major health challenges requires teams that span multiple fields.
The visit highlighted a natural alignment of strengths, says Suresh Kuchipudi, PhD, MVSc, MBA, professor and chair, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. ICAR-NIVEDI brings national-scale animal disease surveillance data to build predictive models that forecast risk and support early warning. Penn State contributes deep expertise in infectious disease dynamics and modeling. Pitt Public Health adds strengths in One Health education, translational research and preparedness for emerging and zoonotic threats.
These complementary strengths could support high-impact projects, such as improving tools to predict serious disease outbreaks and enhancing readiness for new health threats. The discussions also pointed to new opportunities for students: Pitt Public Health plans to partner with ICAR-NIVEDI, alongside Penn State, to create joint research and educational experiences that connect students across continents.
By the end of the visit, the group had begun outlining shared priorities and potential pilot efforts to lay the foundation for a sustained collaboration that advances One Health research, practice and training.
“Learning globally to protect communities locally is one of Pitt Public Health’s strengths,” adds School of Public Health Dean Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH. “Together, our collective assets in One Health are synergistic.”
-Clare Collins