Summer 2024

Dear Friends of the Cornell Yang Center for Wildlife Health,

We’d like to celebrate our Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2024 DVM graduates and wish them hearty congratulations! We encourage and support our students to pursue enriching experiences working on One Health issues around the world (and we routinely share their stories in this newsletter), and we look forward to seeing these latest graduates' accomplishments in the years to come.

As part of our commitment to training the next generation of wildlife conservation and One Health leaders - with an emphasis on applying sound science to influence real world policy and practice - we are thrilled to announce the launch of our K. Lisa Yang Wildlife Health Fellows Program, which will create more than a dozen postdoctoral fellowships over the next decade. Fellows will be part of a vibrant, collaborative, multidisciplinary, and inclusive community of faculty, staff, and students working towards improving the health and well-being of animals, people, and the environment that supports us all.

Please help us spread the word on what we hope and believe will be an amazing opportunity for our next generation of wildlife health / One Health leaders!

One Health: Understanding Threats to Wildlife and Human Health in Asia (video)

In this eCornell Keynote presentation, Cornell’s Dr. Martin Gilbert, Helen Lee, and Laura Bernert share their fieldwork experiences in Asia - from the river valleys of Nepal to the high mountains of Central Asia - and help illustrate how the health of wildlife and our own health and well-being are inextricably linked.

The Transformative Power of Art in Wildlife Conservation (video)

Cornell alumna Brett Blumenthal ’96, MBA ’04, gives an inspiring talk highlighting how artists, educators, scientists, supporters, and patrons can work together to make a difference for wildlife conservation.

One Health & Planetary Health with Prof. Steve Osofsky (video)

Johns Hopkins Science Diplomacy Coordinator and Cornell alumna Isabel Jimenez, DVM '21, speaks with Dr. Steve Osofsky about his career in conservation and how up-and-coming applied scientists can enhance their chances of translating their work into real change for good.

Protect Habitat to Prevent Pandemics

An international team led by Cornell's Dr. Raina Plowright has proposed a roadmap for how to prevent the next pandemic by conserving natural areas and promoting biodiversity.

Antarctica’s Penguins Could Be Devastated by Avian Influenza [Scientific American]

Cornell's Dr. Amandine Gamble and colleagues are monitoring the avian influenza situation in and around Antarctica closely.

A Frog in India Has a Mushroom Sprouting Out of It. Researchers Have Never Seen Anything Like It. [CNN]

When observing a hoard of golden-backed frogs in India, a group of naturalists noticed one animal had a tiny mushroom sprouting out of its side. Cornell's Dr. Alyssa Wetterau Kaganer weighs in on this discovery.

8 Ways to Protect Wildlife Near Your Home [Scientific American]

Conservation may seem like something that scientists do to protect species that many people only ever see in zoos, but conservation can happen everywhere. Cornell's Dr. Krysten Schuler describes different ways people can help.

Global Fisheries and Food Security

Cornell’s Dr. Kathryn Fiorella studies how changes in the environment affect the well-being, economic stability, and food security of communities, with a focus on global fisheries.

Inside the Clinic Hunting for the Next Pandemic in Pets [The Telegraph]

Researchers show that companion animals as well as peri-domestic wildlife can act as notable reservoirs for pathogens that may also affect human health.

The Bird Connection: Change and Decline in Our World - Pollution [Michigan Public Radio]

Cornell’s Dr. Krysten Schuler and David Dayan discuss how pollution in the environment - from lead to PFAS - affects wildlife, and how birds are threatened on multiple fronts.

Cornell Scientists Identify Bird Flu Infecting Dairy Cows

Cornell virology experts sequenced the bird flu virus that has affected cows in Texas, after work at Cornell and two other veterinary diagnostic labs found the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in cattle samples.

Faculty Profile: Dr. Amandine Gamble

Dr. Amandine Gamble, a disease ecologist and veterinarian, focuses on pathogen dynamics in wildlife and at the human-wildlife interface.

Faculty Profile: Dr. Jennifer Bloodgood

Wildlife veterinarian and biologist Dr. Jenny Bloodgood’s career journey is as inspiring as it is diverse—from wildlife pathology and toxicology to aquatic animal health and a passion for teaching.

Cornell Wildlife Health Lab’s A Day in the Life Series

A new monthly “A Day in the Life of…” series by the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab features snapshots of the daily lives of various wildlife health team members. Check-in for a new inside look each month this year! Features so far include Dr. Krysten Schuler, Wildlife Disease Ecologist; Melissa Fadden, Research Support Specialist; David Dayan, Research Technician; Dr. Gavin Hitchener, Wildlife Pathologist; and Dr. Brenda Hanley, Mathematical Modeler.

Student Blog: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Neotropical River Otter Conservation in Brazil

Student Blog: My Summer Immersion in Aquatic Medicine in Newport, Oregon

Student Blog: A “Wild” Time in Santa Barbara, California

Forecasting Savanna Elephant Movements on a Fenced and Drying Landscape with Dr. Maggie Swift (video)

Understanding and Managing Canine Distemper Virus as a Threat to Tiger Conservation with Dr. Martin Gilbert (video)

More in the News

Kenyan Fishers Face Increased Drowning Risk from Climate Change

Cornell Veterinary Student Publishes Findings on Cheetah Assisted Reproduction

A Disease That’s Killing Deer Is on the Rise in Louisiana

Leave Them Bats Alone! At Least, That’s What Scientists Suggest to Prevent Future Pandemics

New Paper: Sarcoptic Mange in Free-Ranging North American Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) in New York State

New Paper: Challenges and Possible Conservation Implications of Recolonizing Dholes (Cuon alpinus) in Nepal

New Paper: Predicting the Odds of Chronic Wasting Disease with Habitat Risk Software

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Please consider supporting the Cornell Yang Center for Wildlife Health by giving online or contacting Alison Smith at 607-254-6129 or ars1@cornell.edu. Thank you!