One Health

    ONE HEALTH AT PENN IS ONE HEALTH IN ACTION

    A global leader in veterinary education, Penn Vet engages in interdisciplinary problem-solving to address issues of One Health: the inextricable connections among human, animal, plant, and environmental health and welfare. As defined by globally by the One Health Quadripartite, the One Health problem-solving framework has the power to address complex health challenges, such as zoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance, food security, and emergency preparedness, which are in many ways exacerbated by climate change.

    Penn Vet engages faculty and students across the campus in One Health research, education, clinical services, and community engagement.

    One Campus One Health
    Certificate

    One
    Health@
    PennTeam

    Penn
    Climate
    Insights

    A person in a lab.

    One Health@Penn
    Research

    Penn Vet campus

    One Health@Penn
    Education

    Two people looking at a turtle.

    One Health@Penn Clinical Connections

    Student Initiatives

    One Health Nexus Newsletter

    One Health at Penn is One Health in Action

    Penn Vet Faculty Problem-solving for One Health

    Gain insight into One Health’s approach to improving the efforts to solve global challenges through a video series created for One Health Day.

    Watch the Videos

    Education

    Penn Vet dual degree programs -​ open to VMD students​!

    ​Interested first and second year students in good standing may apply to these dual degree programs by submitting an application online in the fall semester. A second application may be required for some programs.​

    VMD/PhD​

    A separate program for students with research experience and interest in a research career. Students may apply to the VMD/PhD Program prior to entering vet school or during their first or second years.​

    If you have any questions about the programs above please contact onehealth@vet.upenn.edu for more information.

    One Health Graduate Electives

    Open to all Penn graduate and professional students.

    • VPTH 6500 One Health Study Design Seminar
    • VCSN 6570 One Health and Global Food Security
    • VPTH 6380 One Health and Climate
    • VCSP 6340 Emergency Preparedness and Response
    • VPTH 6320 Topics in One Health: An interdisciplinary seminar
    • VPTH 6390 Foundations of One Health

    One Campus, One Health Certificate Program

    Launching in the Fall of 2026, this new One Health Certificate program is a collaborative educational experience that can be applied to address complex problems at the intersection of human, animal, plant and environmental health.

    Learn More
    Apply Today

    Master in Animal Welfare and Behavior (AWB)​

    An online research Master’s designed for the working professional interested in enhancing their impact on Animal Welfare.​

    Research

    To support One Health interdisciplinary research, Penn Vet’s inaugural One Health in Action (OHiA) faculty team is developing multiple opportunities for investigators to share their work with each other and the public.

    • OHiA Seminar Series
    • OHiA Summer Journal Club
    • One Health Summer Research Fellowship for post-graduate students (in development)

    In addition to the One Health Summer Research Fellowship, the University’s Environmental Innovations Initiative is supporting the One Health@Penn Research Community (OHPRC), a group of University-wide faculty and students from diverse scholarly backgrounds committed to identifying One Health-related challenges and opportunities. The OHPRC is developing an initial portfolio of academic activities and programming, and student-led projects, that will explore the challenges raised by long-term shifts in weather patterns due to climate change.

    Person Walking With Cows

    One Health in Action Seminars, featuring visiting scholars once per semester

    Previous speakers include:

    • One Health Research/Work in Progress Seminar Series
    • Previous seminar recordings can be found here

    One Health Education

    Zoonotic & Neglected Diseases

    International One Health

    Food Security

    Antimicrobial Resistance

    Parasitology

    Wildlife Health

    • Draw Down the Lightning One Campus One Health Certificate Program
    • DDL Accessing Urban Nature Initiative
    • Shelter Medicine and Community Engagement
    • Wildlife Futures Program
    • FAIR Farms Gambia

    One Health in Action Team

    Jennifer A. Punt

    Jennifer A. Punt, VMD, PhD

    Professor of Immunology

    Additional Titles: Associate Dean for One Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

    A veterinarian and immunologist by training, Dr. Punt has spent most of her career integrating teaching and research in the lab and the classroom. Most recently she has pivoted to supporting interdisciplinary educational initiatives that integrate One Health principles, approaches and problem-solving frameworks. These include Penn Vet’s Animal Welfare and Behavior Master’s program and the One Campus, One Health Certificate Program. She is currently the Associate Dean of One Health, Professor of Immunology and Director of the One Health in Action office at Penn Vet.

    Ricardo Castillo

    Ricardo Castillo, DVM PhD MSPH

    Assistant Professor of Epidemiology

    Dr. Castillo is an epidemiologist at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Applying a One Health approach, Dr. Castillo has researched human cysticercosis in South America’s tropical coast, echinococcosis in the Andean mountains, and urban zoonoses such as dog-mediated rabies and urban Chagas disease.

    Stephen Cole

    Stephen D. Cole, VMD, DACVM

    Associate Professor of Clinical Microbiology (CE)

    Stephen Cole (he/him) is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists and his specialties include clinical bacteriology/mycology and antimicrobial therapy. He is the Director of Penn Vet’s Clinical […]

    Dr. Cole is a Veterinarian has a focus on advancing One Health approaches to infectious disease diagnosis and control. His contributions to the field have been recognized with numerous honors, including the ASM Peggy Cotter Early Career Award, multiple teaching awards, and designation as a One Health Scholar by the AAVMC.

    Julie C. Ellis

    Julie C. Ellis, PhD

    Adjunct Professor of Pathobiology

    Additional Titles: Associate Director of the One Health@Penn Research Community Senior Research Investigator, Pathobiology Julie C. Ellis, PhD is a wildlife ecologist whose career spans seabird research, wildlife disease response, […]

    Dr. Julie Ellis is a wildlife ecologist with over twenty years of experience in seabird research, conservation, wildlife disease response, and developing multidisciplinary collaborative programs that integrate science, policy, and public engagement.

    hillary nelson

    Hillary Nelson, PhD, MPH

    Associate Professor of Biochemistry

    Dr. Nelson is the Director of the Masters of Public Health at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally trained in biochemistry & biophysics, she retrained in public health, and later climate change. With this diverse background, she takes an interdisciplinary approach to public health, and sees One Health as the perfect framework through which to view public health.

    Sam Lien Nguyen

    Sam Lien Nguyen, MS, MSEd

    Climate Innovation Manager

    Sam Nguyen is an experienced nonprofit program manager specializing in international educational development, strategic planning, and partnerships. She is working to address global wicked problems through the intersection of health and education, with a focus on climate change. Sam manages Penn Climate Insights, a platform for sharing and accessing trusted climate knowledge.

    brianna parsons

    Brianna E. Parsons, VMD, MSEd

    One Health Program Manager

    Dr. Brianna Parsons is a veterinarian and educator with over a decade of global sustainable agriculture experience across the Gambia, USA, Botswana, Senegal and beyond. Her teaching on sustainable food systems, social entrepreneurship, and One Health across UPenn schools is grounded in her experiences co-creating FAIR Farms Gambia and other community-based food system initiatives.

    lauren powell

    Lauren Powell, PhD

    Assistant Professor of Animal Welfare and Behavior

    Dr. Lauren Powell is an Assistant Professor in Animal Welfare & Behavior and the Director of the Powell laboratory. She also serves as a faculty member for the Master of […]

    Dr. Powell’s research uses a One Health framework and community-partnered methods to understand how human-animal interactions affect both animal and human wellbeing. She is particularly interested in social determinants of health and the impacts of shared social inequities on companion animals and the people who care for them.

    Laurel E. Redding

    Laurel E. Redding, VMD, PhD, DACVPM

    Associate Professor of Epidemiology

    Laurel E. Redding, VMD, PhD, DACVPM, is a veterinary epidemiologist specializing in the epidemiology and transmission of microbes at the human-animal interface. Her research focuses on antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary […]

    Dr. Redding is a veterinary epidemiologist with board certification in preventive medicine. Using a One Health framework, she is particularly interested in understanding how the exchange of microbes – both good and bad ones! – between people and animals can impact health.

    Chelsea L. Reinhard

    Chelsea L. Reinhard, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)

    Associate Professor of Clinical Shelter Medicine (AC)

    Dr. Reinhard teaches shelter medicine and community engagement in elective coursework and clinical rotations, emphasizing public health and One Health concepts in educational programming. Dr. Reinhard is a graduate of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Iowa.

    Brittany Watson

    Brittany Watson, VMD, PhD, DACVPM

    Associate Professor of Shelter Animal Medicine and Community Engagement, (CE)

    Additional Titles: Director, Shelter Medicine and Community Engagement Dr. Watson is the Director of Shelter Medicine and Community Engagement and an Associate Professor in Shelter Medicine and Community Engagement (Clinician […]

    Dr. Brittany Watson is the Director of Shelter Medicine and Community Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Co-Head of the Behavior, Welfare, and Human-Animal Interaction Research Division.

    A Student Speaking With A Professor

    Student Initiatives

    Penn Vet and Penn Med students are also involved in highlighting, enhancing, and supporting One Health approaches and education.

    • One Health Club at Penn Vet
    • One Health Club at Perelman’s School of Medicine
    • One Health Research@Penn Storyboards

    One Health-Focused Centers

    A Person At A Computer