One Health Programs

One Health is the emerging concept that the study of population health requires an interdisciplinary approach. In order to understand the health of any population, one must consider the species it comes into direct, or indirect, contact with, as well as the environment in which it resides. The field of zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases is the most obvious example of the association between humans, animals and their environments. As a result of an increasing recognition of the importance of these relationships, One Health has come to represent an unified theoretical framework under which physicians, veterinarians, public health officials, epidemiologists, biomedical researchers, ecologists, water quality experts, and many others, collaborate to more fully understand the complex relationships that contribute to overall health and disease. 

One Health (sometimes called “One Medicine”) programs have been established at the CDC, WHO, and at several leading universities, including UC-Davis and UGA. Berry College has joined these institutions through the formation of a One Health Center with the goal of bringing together health-related disciplines within our academic schools and beyond for the promotion of continued research and a better understanding of the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health. Initiatives currently underway or planned include: 

• One Health Symposia featuring current and future leaders in the One Health field
• One Health Minor - Berry College is the first undergraduate institution offering a minor in One Health.
• Public awareness campaigns
• Information databases

The One Health Center is managed by Berry College faculty with expertise in the many fields that are relevant to the goals of One Health. The One Health Committee is:

Contact Us

Dr. Chris Hall
Director, One Health Program 
Department of Biology
Berry College 
Mount Berry, GA 30149 
706.290.2669