DGHI Recruiting Participants for New One Health Summer Training Program

One_Health_Program_Participants

Students in the One Health training program at the University of Florida, which Greg Gray founded, learning about molecular diagnostics

Published March 10, 2015, last updated on June 3, 2020 under Education News

This summer, the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) will launch a new One Health training program led by Greg Gray, a professor at DGHI, Duke’s Division of Infectious Diseases and the Nicholas School of the Environment. Applications are now being accepted for the program, which runs from May 14 to June 7 in Durham, North Carolina.

What Is One Health?

One Health is a public health framework that recognizes the connection between human, animal and environmental health. This strategy encourages the development and expansion of interdisciplinary, international communication in building a healthy ecosystem for humans, animals and the environment. Collaborative efforts can include industry and government bodies in addition to researchers and practitioners.

The Need for One Health Training

Emerging infectious diseases are increasingly recognized as global and regional issues with potentially serious impacts on human health, animal health, national economies and even national security. Professional organizations such as the World Bank and the Institute of Medicine are calling on governments, NGOs and academic researchers to adopt a One Health approach to tackling these diseases and associated problems. But because it’s an emerging model, relatively few university-based programs exist to prepare researchers and practitioners to approach their work from this perspective.

“We’re very pleased to be offering the One Health Training Program through the DGHI this summer, and we hope that a number of Duke students will take advantage of this novel training,” Gray said.  “The sharing of public health knowledge and experiences between scholars from developing countries and U.S. faculty and graduate students provides a rich learning environment.”  

About the Program

The goal of the One Health training program is to support U.S. government institutions in their mission to build capacity among partners in developing countries to address the complex problems related to emerging infectious diseases. 

This program is an adaptation of a One Health certificate program Gray instituted at the University of Florida, where he worked prior to coming to Duke. Gray noted that some past participants have said that the program was the most rewarding professional training they’d ever experienced.

Geared toward students and professionals in the U.S. and developing countries, this graduate-level program is designed to help participants develop One Health-oriented problem solving skills.

The 3.5-week, nine credit-hour curriculum consists of four intensive on-campus courses:

  • Introduction to the One Health Approach, taught by Gray
  • Public Health Laboratory Techniques, taught by Nancy Henshaw, section head of virology, serology and parasitology in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at Duke Medical Center and Ben Anderson, research and laboratory manager at Duke and One Health training program coordinator
  • Introduction to Entomology, Zoonotic Diseases and Food Safety, taught by Gray and Michael Reiskind, entomologist and assistant professor at North Carolina State University
  • Introduction to Environmental Health, taught by Khara Grieger, environmental scientist at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

Accepted students will complete online training courses in human subjects research, blood-borne pathogens and biological safety prior to the coursework in Durham.

Students who complete the One Health training program and are accepted into the Master of Science in Global Health degree program at Duke may be able to apply credits from the One Health program toward their degree.

Registration for the program is now open; the application deadline is May 1. To apply for the program, visit the program website.

Learn more:

We hope that a number of Duke students will take advantage of this novel training.

Greg Gray, global health professor