One Health@Penn: A thriving community of cross-disciplinary collaborations
Framed pictures of trees compete for space at one end of a desk, while on a computer screen at the other end, a pair of researchers appear on Zoom, presenting to several dozen virtual attendees from various corners of Penn’s campus. Behind the desk sits the meeting’s facilitator, Jenni Punt, associate dean for One Health at the School of Veterinary Medicine and a leader of the Environmental Innovations Initiative’s (EII) One Health@Penn research community. What unites them all for the next hour? An eagerness to delve into One Health—a framework for considering the myriad ways in which the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably linked.
By Xime Trujillo
Framed pictures of trees compete for space at one end of a desk, while on a computer screen at the other end, a pair of researchers appear on Zoom, presenting to several dozen virtual attendees from various corners of Penn’s campus. Behind the desk sits the meeting’s facilitator, Jenni Punt, associate dean for One Health at the School of Veterinary Medicine and a leader of the Environmental Innovations Initiative’s (EII) One Health@Penn research community. What unites them all for the next hour? An eagerness to delve into One Health—a framework for considering the myriad ways in which the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably linked.
An expanding footprint
The connections between human, animal, and environmental health are complex and threatened by climate disruptions, seen in contemporary examples such as the Covid pandemic, the spread of avian influenza, antibiotic and pesticide resistance, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. The One Health@Penn community, now in its second year of funding from EII, addresses these issues through a vibrant community of cross-disciplinary collaborations.
They’ve fostered this community through a monthly seminar series, Research in Progress/Work in Progress (RiP/WiP), in which a pair of faculty members each present on a given topic, highlighting transdisciplinary health connections by comparing and contrasting the two scholars’ research areas. Last year the seminars each had a thematic tie to climate change; this year, RiP/WiP sessions have explored issues including confidence in vaccines, food and water insecurity, One Health in the global context, and sustainable watershed management.
Punt facilitates these seminars together with research community co-leaders Julie Ellis, and EII faculty fellow, adjunct professor of pathology, and a wildlife ecologist with the Wildlife Futures Program at the School of Veterinary Medicine. Focusing on so-called “wicked” problems—complex, entrenched, and multi-faceted issues, the conversations stress the need for collaboration to find solutions. They showcase the remarkable work done by medical doctors, veterinarians, anthropologists, language professors, and policy experts. “Our footprint is expanding,” Punt says, “and I hope these discussions have ripple effects in other quarters, too.”
As Punt notes, “the beauty of One Health is its breadth.” The RiP/WiP sessions also show how One Health is borderless. In November of 2024, for example, Kristina Lyons of Penn’s Department of Anthropology and Brianna Parsons of Penn Vet spotlighted how local communities in South America and Africa embed the One Health paradigm into their work to foster health, prosperity, and peace. In January 2025, Simon Richter, professor of German in the School of Arts & Sciences, and Ellen Kohler, director of applied research and programs at the Water Center at Penn, shared their knowledge related to the implementation of sustainable watershed management strategies in the Netherlands and cities in the Northeastern United States, respectively. Both cited how partnering with social scientists reduces the risks of climate-related impacts by influencing policymaking and efficiently supporting community needs.
The RiP/WiP series is organized by the One Health in Action group (OHiA), co-directed by Punt, Ellis and Hillary Nelson, the third leader of the One Health@Penn research community, who is the director of the Master in Public Health at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) and who also holds Associate Professor positions in PSOM’s Departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics & Family Medicine and Community Health, as well as Penn Vet’s Department of Pathobiology. In addition to the RiP/WiP seminars, OHiA coordinates other opportunities for investigators to share their work through in-person seminars and a summer journal club, with plans to add a fellowship program, still in development.
Organized once a semester, OHiA seminars bring experts from outside Penn to campus to shed light on exemplary transformations of human relationships with the Earth and one another. Last year, Sherri Russell, Missouri state wildlife veterinarian, discussed the need for healthy landscapes to meet the growing population's basic needs in a seminar entitled "Implementing One Health in Missouri's Natural Resource Agency." In February, Julianne Meisner, University of Washington, discussed “Relational One Health: A more-than-biomedical framework for more than-human health” and her unique perspective from being the sole veterinarian in a public health-oriented department.
Harvesting collective efforts
Beyond fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, the One Health@Penn research community has inspired an evolution in education across Penn’s health schools. OHiA members Erick Gagne, assistant professor of wildlife disease ecology at Penn Vet, and Elizabeth Woodward, clinical associate professor at Penn Vet, joined forces with Nelson to design a new One Health and Climate Change course. After earning a Penn Certificate in Climate Change, Nelson and Woodward collaborated with Gagne on a curriculum rooted in the intersections between global warming, animals, agriculture, and public health. As a culminating class project, students in the course—hailing from both Penn Vet and the Master’s in Public Health Program—created a professional plan of action to address health impacts driven by climate change.
Other aspects of cross-disciplinary exchange have emerged due to the One Health@Penn research community. For instance, Punt spoke with students at the School of Dental Medicine about the relevance of biodiversity conservation to One Health as part of the dental students’ first-year core curriculum. Using the humble Allegheny woodrat from Pennsylvania as an example, she asked the students: “Why do you think the woodrat is relevant to your profession?” Woodrats face habitat loss and disease threats but play a crucial role in the ecosystem, Punt explained. “Woodrats bring detritus and organic materials into caves, which serve as microenvironments for invertebrates that help purify water. As a result, woodrats foster natural filtration systems, particularly for communities that rely on wells. This process helps prevent chemical contaminants from polluting drinking water and negatively affecting oral health.”
Strengthened collaborations with PSOM are yet another key outcome of the efforts of Punt and her colleagues to share best practices in One Health. Ellis will be discussing wildlife health and climate change with students in the Neuroscience Graduate Group, who are interested in the intersections between neuroscience, public health, and climate crises in cities. In addition, the OHiA group has expanded over the last year to include Ricardo Castillo, an assistant professor of epidemiology, and Farah Hussain, an associate professor of clinical medicine, EII faculty fellow and director of planetary health at PSOM. “Several EII faculty fellows are embedded in active One Health@Penn collaborations,” shares Ellis.
Student-led initiatives have also flourished from PSOM’s involvement. Last fall semester, Punt, Gagne, Ellis, and Hussain joined medical students to create a weekly in person seminar called Humans, Animals, and the Environment: One Health Seminar. Punt noted, "We assumed it would consist only of health students, but to our surprise, the seminar attracted participants from all the graduate schools." Next fall, this seminar course will be offered for credit at the School of Veterinary Medicine (VPTH 6320).
Inspired by the broad nature of the One Health approach, leaders of One Health@Penn are considering a thematic focus on animals for the seminar during the 2025-26 academic year. “Animals have emerged in many profound ways,” says Punt. “They appear in various disciplines, from Victorian novels to economics and philosophy.” A simple thought experiment—imagining life without animals—quickly highlights their vital role in providing food, companionship, and culture, Punt explains. “We want to invite people to reflect on animals, regardless of where they are on campus,” she says. “The goal is to reflect our dependent relationship with animals and explore the nuances of our connection with biodiversity.”