On November 2, 1807, before a medical school class at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Benjamin Rush delivered a speech that ultimately inspired the creation of Penn Vet— the first veterinary school born from a medical school. In his prescient lecture, Rush pointed to the critical links between the health of people, animals, and the environment. More than two centuries later, Dean Joan Hendricks has continued to champion this cross-disciplinary approach, now termed “One Health,” as fundamental to Penn Vet’s mission. Hendricks is known to use the phrase “Always One Health, all ways,” suggesting Penn Vet’s legacy of One Health (always), as well as the multiple paths that One Health efforts can take (all ways). During her tenure as Dean, she has helped bridge the veterinary and non-veterinary professions while focusing on five major One Health areas—each with the power to benefit countless lives, both animal and human, as well as the planet itself.

Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses

Zoonotic diseases are caused by infections that are shared between animals and people. Scientists estimate that three out of every four new or emerging infectious diseases in people are spread from animals, according to the CDC.

“Veterinarians are often aware of serious infectious diseases before human health researchers,” Hendricks noted, pointing to examples such as West Nile virus, Ebola, and avian flu. Because of this, she added, veterinarians can work with MDs and play a key role in identifying and sharing information—which can help stem potential epidemics.

Hendricks has bolstered this sort of veterinary leadership by deepening the partnership between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. She was instrumental in creating the Pennsylvania One Health Task Force to bring together environmental, animal, and human health stakeholders, unified by the One Health vision.

“Agriculture is our number-one industry in Pennsylvania, with animal agriculture being the core. And I challenge you to find a food safety scandal,” she said. “Tuberculosis in dairy cattle is something emerging around the U.S., but it’s not a problem in Pennsylvania. We have a phenomenal public health-animal health interaction in Pennsylvania.”

“She’s planted this powerful seed [in the Pennsylvania government]. It’s a credit to her legacy,” said Russell C. Redding, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary. “She’s started a transformative conversation about how we approach animal health and human health systems in the Commonwealth. It’s good both for animal agriculture and for society.”

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding provided closing remarks at Zoobiquity Conference 6, which showcased collaborative studies between experts in veterinary and human medicine. Held in Philadelphia in 2016, the event was co-sponsored by Penn Vet, Penn Medicine, and the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association. Dean Hendricks is pictured at right.

Food Production

Penn Vet’s One Health efforts in Pennsylvania are contributing to animals’ well-being, productivity, and environmental impacts. And the lessons learned are valuable well beyond the Commonwealth. During Hendricks’ tenure, Penn Vet has spearheaded programs around the world as the global demand for animal protein continues to rise.

For instance, in 2016, Penn Vet’s Center for Animal Health and Productivity (CAHP) began to develop a dairy management training program in China; these programs now impact more than a million cows. In 2017, a similar program was developed to reach the massive Chinese swine industry through the work of Dr. Thomas Parsons, V'86, GR'89, Associate Professor of Swine Production Medicine and Director of the Penn Vet Swine Teaching and Research Center.

“It has been estimated that more food will need to be produced in the next 50 years than has been consumed over the entire history of mankind,” said Dr. David Galligan, V'81, Professor of Animal Health Economics and CAHP Section Chief, who is leading these projects.

“Improvements in milk yield per cow have not only dramatically enhanced the economic sustainability of dairy producers, but have also significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Penn Vet is helping to define how animal production systems can be an integrated part of a global, sustainable food system,” he added.

Dean Hendricks and Dr. Zhengxia Dou (center), Professor of Agricultural Systems at Penn Vet, traveled to China to help educate dairy farmers on improving cow nutrition, milk production, and environmental management.

Environment

The health of wildlife, and the importance of animal and environmental conservation, are also important parts of the One Health equation. To help address these issues, Dean Hendricks has served on the Philadelphia Zoo’s Board of Trustees, and has spent years strengthening the partnership between Penn Vet and Zoo staff. (See below.)

It’s not just a research effort, however. Hendricks has also helped to expose diverse groups of people to the Zoo’s awe-inspiring species, which she believes sparks compassion and awareness of the natural world. “The hope is that you can get a big urban population to care about having these animals survive somewhere that’s not a zoo, and to think about global care for habitats and environments,” she said.

Radiology technician My Inderelst and Dr. Raphael Vezina-Audette, Anesthesia Resident at Ryan Hospital, prepare an Aldabra tortoise from the Philadelphia Zoo for a CAT scan.

Human-Animal Bond

This sense of compassion extends to common domestic animals. Penn Vet’s Shelter Medicine Program, launched by Dean Hendricks in 2006, helps strengthen the human-animal bond by supporting owners as well as pets.

According to Dr. Brittany Watson, V’10, Director of Shelter Animal Medicine and Community Engagement at Penn Vet, “More and more, we’re not just providing medical care to those [animals that] need it, we’re also engaging with people and working with the community to try to increase welfare and prevent animals from ever entering the sheltering system in the first place.”

For instance, since 2013, Penn Vet has partnered with Pets for Life, an initiative of the Humane Society of the United States that provides free spay/neuter and wellness care for pets in underserved communities. As part of the shelter medicine rotation, Penn Vet students in their third or fourth year do neighborhood outreach with Pets for Life—checking on animals that have been neutered or vaccinated, addressing conditions like skin and ear disease, and sometimes simply striking up conversations with residents about their pets’ care. The idea is to keep pets in the homes they already have, enhancing quality of life for animals and owners. The Philadelphia location of Pets for Life has become a model of success and has since expanded to dozens of cities, concentrating on pet service deserts.

Dr. Brittany Watson (far right) helps Penn Vet students vaccinate a dog at Pets For Life on World Veterinary Day.

Translational Research

The health of pets and their owners is a two-way street, Hendricks added. By developing new and innovative therapies for animal patients, Penn Vet scientists are also helping speed the development of human treatments. That’s the principle that guides the new Penn Vet Cancer Center, which marked its official launch last fall. The Center integrates research and clinical care, enabling promising discoveries in the lab to rapidly find applications in the clinic.

“It’s good for both species,” said Dr. Nicola Mason, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathobiology at Penn Vet, who runs a translational research lab that focuses on harnessing a dog’s immune system to kill cancer. The approach—immunotherapy—is among the most promising new developments in cancer research in many decades. The results of Mason’s dog studies have paved the way for similar clinical trials in humans.

The Cancer Center builds upon Penn’s strong and varied expertise in cancer—helping unify, streamline, and accelerate progress across the campus. According to Dr. Ellen Puré, Director of the Penn Vet Cancer Center, “It’s about people collaborating, bringing truly complementary expertise and ideas to build a much more concerted effort to attack the problem.”

Dr. Nicola Mason poses with Denali, a ten-year-old Spinone Italiano enrolled in her osteosarcoma clinical trial.

The Future of One Health

Dean Hendricks has worked to advance the concept of One Health across Penn and beyond. She helped create the cross-disciplinary One Health Award and established a One Health communications group among Penn’s schools, to find commonalities and increase exposure of the One Health initiative.

One Health has been part of veterinary medicine since its very early days, but figuring out the best way to articulate the vision—and incorporate it more broadly into medicine and public health—is an ongoing goal.

“It’s almost rebranding veterinary medicine as having an impact on human and environmental health,” Hendricks said. “The public needs to understand vets’ important and multifaceted roles. One Health is a way to spark that conversation.”

As awareness of One Health continues to grow, Hendricks is widely recognized as a trailblazer.

“Dean Hendricks has been a national and international leader in One Health,” said Dr. Keith Martin, founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), who recently collaborated with Hendricks to organize the first One Health satellite session at CUGH’s annual international health conference.

“She is able to see the very big picture that is One Health in a way that is creative, dynamic, and inspiring,” Martin continued. “She is an innovator in looking at systems in an integrated way across disciplines. That is much needed as we move forward in addressing the challenges we face.

One Health and the Zoo

“My connection with the Philadelphia Zoo has been one of the most fulfilling and exciting parts of being Dean. The Zoo brings us close to awe-inspiring animals that we would never normally see in an urban setting. The Zoo is a way that people can connect with a panther, or an orangutan, or a baby gorilla, and start to wonder about where it came from and where its wild relatives are. If people aren’t fully aware of the wonder and the importance of these animals, they accidentally destroy habitats, and they don’t take care of the planet very well.” — Dean Joan Hendricks

“During the past 12 years, driven by Joan’s passion for One Health, we’ve collaborated on efforts to expose young people to animal and veterinary science. Our youth development program, ZooCREW, introduces area high school students to the front lines of veterinary medicine. This exposure helps kids understand more about the animals in their neighborhoods and beyond, and how animals, humans, and our planet are interconnected in so many ways. Joan’s knowledge and commitment to One Health and to our region’s youth has been an inspiration to all of us.” — Kimberly Lengel, Vice President for Conservation and Education, Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo's youth development program, ZooCREW, introduces area high school students to the front lines of veterinary medicine.

“Historically, much of our work with Penn Vet, benefiting from our proximity, has involved the clinical care of Zoo animals. During Joan’s tenure, we’ve strengthened and expanded our partnership with the School to advance cross-shared learnings. A longtime Zoo Board Member, Joan has been instrumental in helping the Zoo orient and mature our thinking around One Health. In her position at Penn Vet and as a deeply respected voice on the Zoo Board, her One Health efforts will prove to be influential and pioneering.” — Dr. Andrew Baker, Chief Operating Officer, Philadelphia Zoo

Philadelphia Zoo sought specialty care at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital for a lion showing blood in her urine.

Checking in with Penn Vet's First Commonwealth One Health Scholars

In 2015, Allyson Anderson and Amy Kraus received full-tuition scholarships to attend Penn Vet as the inaugural Commonwealth One Health Scholars. Three years later, they are about to enter their clinical year as food animal majors. Bellwether spoke with them about their interests and the impact that the scholarship has had on their lives.

ON THEIR INTEREST IN FOOD ANIMAL MEDICINE

ANDERSON: Agriculture has historically been a part of my family. I love that I can combine my passion for agriculture with veterinary medicine.

KRAUS: Joining my local 4-H club during grade school gave me an appreciation for agriculture. I knew that I wanted to be a dairy veterinarian when I started milking cows at my neighbor’s dairy farm.

ON CAREER GOALS

ANDERSON: I plan to be a large animal veterinarian in rural Pennsylvania. Thanks to this scholarship, I can return home to practice right out of school. It is great for me, but also great for the area. In the entire county, there is one part-time large animal veterinarian.

KRAUS: My goal is to work for a progressive dairy practice in Pennsylvania after graduation. This scholarship allowed me to spend my summers visiting dairies in the western United States and New Zealand. Learning from different management systems has broadened my perspective on the dairy industry.

ON THE IMPACT OF THE COMMONWEALTH ONE HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP

ANDERSON: When I found out I had received the scholarship, my dad tackled me into the snow. I had never dreamed such an opportunity existed. It has been an unbelievable blessing.

KRAUS: It gave me the opportunity to stay in Pennsylvania for vet school and build connections with bovine veterinarians and producers in my home state. With less school debt, my goal of eventually owning a dairy practice has become more attainable.

ON ONE HEALTH

ANDERSON: It sets the stage for communication between different sectors. We can learn so much from both human medicine and environmental science, and vice versa. The potential to achieve would be so high if we could get these fields collaborating and working towards common goals.

KRAUS: As a future veterinarian, I have a responsibility to keep cows healthy so they can produce high-quality milk for humans. Ensuring the safety of our food supply is a key aspect of One Health. And the work excites me!