Ross University Unveils Research Building Dedicated to One Health

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) unveiled Tuesday a newly established on-campus research and pathology building dedicated to addressing pressing issues related to One Health. Research in the new facility will allow for an improved understanding of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, as well as improved protection of threatened and endangered species and ecosystems in St. Kitts, the Caribbean, and globally.

“The Caribbean is an exceptional region to experience the power and success of One Health approaches,” RUSVM Dean Sean Callanan, MVB, MRCVS, CertVR, PhD, DipECVP, FRCPath, said, “so having a One Health-focused research facility enhances our reputation in the region as well as offering quality experiences for our collaborators.”

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The research building represents a $10.5 million investment in the educational programs at RUSVM and features 13,000 square feet of research space that includes 8 laboratories.

According to Dr. Callanan, the university has a strong list of research areas that will be covered in the new building, including:

• Antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance
• Conservation medicine and ecosystem health
• Food safety
• Leptospirosis
• Molecular epidemiology of intestinal and respiratory viruses
• Physiology, pathobiology, immunobiology and molecular medicine as it relates to animals and humans
• Reproductive biology, infertility, and contraception
• Vector-borne viruses such as chikungunya, dengue and Zika

“The diseases we focus on have serious impacts on the economic growth, health and food security, and alleviation of poverty in tropical and resource-constrained countries,” Dr. Callanan said. “RUSVM is committed to a One Health, transdisciplinary approach to understanding and combating these diseases as it provides a collaborative, cross-sectoral, and multidisciplinary integrative mechanism to enable research aimed at sustainably reducing their burden.”

In addition to research facilities, the building has a dedicated viewing gallery to enhance student learning.

“The DVM program at RUSVM fosters an enquiring mind in our students,” Dr. Callanan said. “This is best done by exposing our students to problem-solving, and 1 avenue we do this through is research. Thus, the new building will provide them an excellent enabling environment for conducting studies aimed at addressing critical research gaps in the region.”