Epidemiology Signature Program

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Epidemiology Signature Program

• Present
• Future

• Research
• Education
• Service

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What is Epidemiology?

• The study of the distribution and determinants of
  health-related states or events in specified
  populations, and the application of this study to
  control of health problems (Last, 2001)
• If you dont know the secret handshake, you can
  always use the password
• Descriptive and analytical are the primary
  adjectives

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So, what about all those other adjectives in
epidemiology?

• Veterinary versus human epidemiology
• The old epizootiology debate
• The other adjectives
• E.g., cancer, chronic diseases, environmental,
  nutritional, social, molecular, etc.
• These might well arise from the ongoing debate
  As a discipline is it a science, or
  method?
• Spanning from the basic building blocks
  (molecular and cellular) to the individual, herd,
  societal, ecological level

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How did we get here?
Pre-victorian Soho (London)
Outbreak investigation
A rather dour physician
Modern-day
groupies
Recurring handle disappearances
Restoration of the pump
Removal of the pump handle
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Present-day Research at CVM-TAMU

• Some brief examples of research efforts by many
  of the epidemiology faculty
• Not an exhaustive list!
• Representative of the breadth and depth of the
  areas of research
• Non-attributed

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Companion Animal Epidemiology

• Risk factors for clinically important diseases
• Data on pet ownership and pet health practices
• Information about free-roaming cats and their
  relationship to humans, other animals and the
  environment
• Data on methods to control free-roaming cat and
  dog populations

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Diagnostic Test Evaluation (Clinical and Field
Epidemiology)

• Work with Plum Island researchers on high
  consequence pathogen detection systems
• Johnes disease test evaluation under field
  conditions and in diagnostic laboratory settings
  (PCR, culture, serology)
• Identifying the causes of false-positive
  reactions to the serum ELISA test for MAP
• NIRS for paratuberculosis

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Environmental Epidemiology

• Effects of air emissions from petroleum industry
  on cattle health
• Effects of air emissions from aluminum and
  plastics industries on cattle health and oysters
  in Texas
• Landscape / land-use and climate change impacts
  on animal and human health

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Equine Epidemiology

• The equine epidemiology program focuses on the
  conduct of observational studies of horse
  populations.
• Several recent articles in AVMA journals
  regarding new syndromes have highlighted these
  efforts
• E.g., Reproduction failure in Kentucky mares

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Food Safety

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
• Swine organic versus traditional agriculture
• Integrated populations of humans and swine
• AMR management in feedlot cattle
• Moral economy of antimicrobial use
• Salmonella and other enteric bacteria
• Unique surveillance schemes

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Foreign Animal Diseases

• ICAB/FAZD Centers
• Vulnerability among feral swine
• Premise of premises
• Supporting the engine of an epidemiological
  model
• Modeling of transmission dynamics in extensive
  range conditions

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Other Infectious Diseases

• Infectious disease epidemiology
• Some current projects
• Simulation of outbreaks in Texas domestic and
  wild animal populations
• West Nile virus
• equine vectors forecasting systems
• Tuberculosis in Texas cattle
• Paratuberculosis control programs

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Production Animals

• Familial risk of infection with Mycobacterium
  avium ssp. paratuberculosis in Texas Longhorn
  cattle.
• Culling and production effects of MAP infection

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Spatial Epidemiology

• Disease risk (spatial processes)
• Salmonella spp. in dairy herds in Texas
• M. paratuberculosis in beef herds in Texas
• The role of pesticide dispersion within Texas
  watersheds in childhood cancers.

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Epidemiology Education

• Graduate
• Traditionally, epidemiology has been taught at
  the graduate level
• Professional
• VIBS 930 (public health, zoonoses, food safety,
  clinical epidemiology) to 3rd yr (now 2nd year)
• Planned electives with VLACS/VIBS faculty
• Undergraduate
• BIMS students

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Graduate Epidemiology Education

• Masters of Science in Epidemiology
• Oldest in Texas!!!
• Masters of Science (College-wide)
• Masters of Veterinary Public Health
• Example on following slides from new funding
• PhD (College-wide under development)
• Presently track in VIBS or VTPB

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Master of Veterinary Public Health

• Create a multi-disciplinary curriculum to fulfill
  the Department of Homeland Securitys objectives
  of prevention, detection, response and recovery
• Collaborate with the National Center for Foreign
  Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense
• Provide veterinarians necessary tools to obtain
  federal, state or industry employment in
  biodefense and public health

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Where are Veterinarians Needed?
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Facilities
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?
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Ongoing Developments in Epidemiology at CVM-TAMU

• One recent signature program hire (Ward
  infectious diseases modeling) and one newly
  confirmed hire (Budke epidemiology of zoonotic
  macroparasites) (biodefense and emerging
  infectious diseases)
• One open position signature program search
  ongoing in analytical epidemiology

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Ongoing Developments in Epidemiology at CVM-TAMU

• Education graduate student stipends and
  recruitment for DHS Center positions
• PhD in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences with
  Epidemiology track
• Electives for professional students and
  clinical/research faculty collaborations
• New graduate courses (spatial epidemiology,
  infectious diseases modeling, surveillance
  methods, etc.)
• Closer ties to SRPH regarding courses and
  research

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Ongoing Developments in Epidemiology at CVM-TAMU

• Research plans
• Multiple pilot projects underway
• Antimicrobial resistance management
• Increasing compliance with pre-harvest food
  safety programs
• Biomonitors for infectious diseases surveillance
• NIH R01 possibilities
• Involvement with new Center grants

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TO BRAG AS LUSTILY AS CHANTICLEER IN THE
MORNING, STANDING ON HIS ROOST Thoreau

• We are a very active and growing program
• developing a strong reputation for research
• establishing our graduate program to compete with
  other universities for domestic and international
  students
• Faculty are from multiple and varied training and
  backgrounds and departments
• Tracks to becoming an epidemiologist are varied
  an asset
• Rapidly being established as one of the foremost
  North American veterinary programs in
  epidemiology (and worldwide)
• Peer institutions
• UC Davis, Cornell, Minnesota
• Massey (NZ), Guelph (Canada), EU countries