In 2024, Purdue University launched the One Health Initiative, providing a framework for highlighting the College of Veterinary Medicine's contributions to animal, human, and environmental health. Purdue President Mung Chiang said the initiative will accelerate, amplify, and elevate life and health sciences at Purdue. In the veterinary college, multiple studies address key One Health topics including comparative oncology, vaccine development, infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance.
The college has a longstanding record of accomplishment in comparative oncology. Today's comparative oncology team works closely with the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Michael Childress, the Evan and Sue Ann Werling Professor of Comparative Oncology, explains how therapies are used in pet dogs suffering from cancer in order to improve their lives and help them feel better. He adds, “…what we learn from those dogs helps us to use these therapies in a more effective way in human cancer patients, so that we can improve the outlook for them as well.” Dr. Childress focuses his research on developing new therapies and identifying novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers for canine lymphomas. Other comparative oncology team members investigate canine bladder cancer and develop tumor ablation devices for veterinary oncology.
Purdue's One Health emphasis also highlights the importance of research conducted by Dr. Suresh Mittal, distinguished professor of virology, who studies H5N1 avian influenza that naturally occurs in wildlife but can spread to the domestic poultry population and cattle, especially dairy cattle. He notes that, in 2022, avian influenza outbreaks in domestic poultry and backyard poultry resulted in the destruction of millions of birds because of the threat to human health. “Our next giant leap is going to be to develop a universal influenza vaccine, which will work in poultry and cattle for the betterment of human health,” Dr. Mittal said.
Dr. Wendy Beauvais, assistant professor of epidemiology and public health, pursues a different approach, finding ways to communicate to the general public about the control of infectious diseases, especially zoonotic diseases. “We're specifically working on a project with poultry owners trying to improve their preparedness and prevention and biosecurity to improve control of avian influenza,” Dr. Beauvais explains. “As part of this project, veterinary medicine students are helping to develop a game that will be used in 4-H settings across Indiana to try to convey to young people the importance of being prepared and preventing the spread of avian influenza.”
Dr. Michael Childress pursues new therapies and novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers for canine lymphomas.
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 2025; 10.2460/ajvr.25.02.0047
The college also has taken a lead role in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in part by hosting an annual conference at Purdue that brings together scholars from multiple disciplines across the Purdue campus to present their scholarship on the topic and deliberate about challenges and potential solutions. Now in its third year, the 2-day program explores key aspects of AMR through 3 thematic segments—determinants, dynamics, and deterrence.
With its record of One Health scholarship and the platform afforded by the university's new One Health Initiative, the stage is set for the college to elevate awareness of veterinary medicine's vital role in advancing animal, human, and environmental health.
