OSU INTERACT symposium brings attendees from all over the world
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Media Contact: Taylor Bacon | Communications Specialist | 405-744-6728 | taylor.bacon@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine hosted the Institute for Translational and Emerging Research in Advanced Comparative Therapy’s research symposium July 10-11 at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.
INTERACT embraces a One Health and One Medicine approach, aiming to speed up the implementation of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches used to address chronic diseases in human and veterinary medicine. Since its inception, INTERACT has remained committed to recruiting professionals from diverse disciplines to its platform.
The One Health initiative is focused on improving the lives of all species, human and animal, through the integration of human medicine, veterinary medicine and environmental science.
During the two-day event, more than 40 speakers from around the world presented on a variety of topics pertaining to One Health.
“We are grateful to our speakers and attendees for the thought-provoking and insightful conversation across the One Health sector,” said Dr. Carlos Risco, dean of OSU CVM. “We are committed to the One Health initiative and this symposium was a catalyst in furthering advancements in this area.”
In-person attendance reached nearly 150 participants with more virtual attendees online. Twenty-three countries were represented at the symposium.
“It was an honor to host such an esteemed group of researchers from all over the world,” said Dr. Ashish Ranjan, INTERACT director. “This symposium allowed us to showcase the cutting-edge research conducted by our university researchers and initiate collaboration with other internationally renowned investigators.”
Session topics included One Health lessons, vaccines and nanotechnology, emerging and re-emerging diseases, targeted therapeutics, bioinformatics and innovations in big data analysis, One Health current progress and future perspectives, and microbiomes in wellness and disease.
“The topics were informative and innovative,” Ranjan said. “I’m excited to see the collaborative scientific relationships that stem from this symposium.”
The symposium hosted the renowned Soulsby Lecture delivered by Dr. David Danson, president of comparative medicine and member of the academic board, the Royal Society of Medicine. The Soulsby Foundation aims to honor Lord Soulsby by fulfilling his wish of identifying candidates for Soulsby Fellowships who will promote and advance the principles of One Health internationally.
Students were also able to share their current research and receive feedback from both U.S. and international scholars. Thirty students presented posters throughout the symposium and five post-doctoral students presented their research on stage.
“The CVM will continue to collaborate with other colleges and departments to strengthen the INTERACT program,” Risco said. “I look forward to hosting more events that provide an avenue for the development of new collaborative research programs in the years to come.”