Dr. Agricola Odoi
“Veterinary Medicine, Epidemiology, and One Health: Applications in Mitigating Geographic Health Disparities”
Dr. Agricola Odoi is a Professor of Epidemiology, Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, and Director of the Comparative and Experimental Medicine graduate program at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee at Knoxville (USA). He earned his veterinary degree from Makerere University (Uganda), MSc in Epidemiology and Animal Health Economics from University of Nairobi (Kenya) and PhD in Epidemiology from University of Guelph (Canada). Before joining the University of Tennessee, Dr. Odoi taught epidemiology, public health and veterinary preventive medicine at Makerere University. He was a Public Health epidemiologist, a Health Information Analyst and an Information Management Analyst with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care in Ontario (Canada).
Dr Odoi’s research focuses on the application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Epidemiology in veterinary and public health research and practice. His work involves using GIS and spatial epidemiologic/statistical approaches to investigate/identify health disparities and the impact of place on health outcomes and access to health services so as to provide information to guide health planning, service provision, and policy decisions. These investigations have included studies of the epidemiology of prediabetes, diabetes, heart disease and stroke in humans. As a result of his contributions to this field, he was inducted a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and American College of Epidemiology. His research activities also extend to the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance as well as COVID-19 and is a member of the Coronavirus-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) team. He is a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society in recognition of his contribution to Veterinary Epidemiology and One Health. He chairs a grant review panel for the American Heart Association and serves as a reviewer for grant funding agencies in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.
Dr. Sherilee Harper
“Climate Change and One Health: Linking Local Research with International Decision-making“
Dr. Sherilee Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health, Kule Scholar, and an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and health equity in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research. Dr. Harper was a Lead Author on two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports; served on the Gender Task Group for the IPCC; was Lead Author on Health Canada’s 2022 Climate Change and Health Assessment; and Co-chaired the Government of Canada’s Health and Wellbeing Advisory Table for the National Adaptation Strategy.