Southwest One Health Symposium Advances Collaborative Solutions to Global Health Challenges
The 2026 Southwest One Health Symposium brought together researchers, students, and community partners for two days of dialogue focused on collaborative solutions to complex health challenges in Arizona and beyond.
The 2026 Southwest One Health Symposium brought together researchers, students, and community partners for two days of dialogue focused on collaborative solutions to complex regional and global health challenges. The Symposium, held on February 13–14, 2026, was hosted by TGen North, the University of Arizona’s One Health Research Initiative, and the Ending Pandemics Academy within the Global Health Institute at the UA’s Zuckerman College of Public Health. By bringing together a range of expertise and experience, the event highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research to protect human, animal, and environmental health.
The symposium opened with remarks from Dr. Mark Smolinski, founder of Ending Pandemics and a global leader in disease detection and prevention. Drawing on over three decades of experience with governments, NGOs, and international organizations, Smolinski emphasized the urgent need for early detection systems and strong cross-sector collaboration to stop outbreaks before they escalate. His remarks set the tone by underscoring the shared responsibility researchers, institutions, and communities have in strengthening global health security.
The second day of the symposium featured a full slate of sessions demonstrating One Health research in practice – the full agenda is listed below with videos of the presentations. Dean Iman Hakim from the Zuckerman College of Public Health gave the opening remarks and highlighted the University of Arizona’s commitment to operationalizing One Health by turning research into action through transdisciplinary collaboration. She emphasized moving beyond theory to focus on practical solutions, partnerships, and research that translates into community projects to build resilient systems that benefit people, animals, and ecosystems.
Participants explored how integrating diverse health data can unlock new insights into complex challenges. Presentations highlighted work across epidemiology, ecology, veterinary science, and public health, showing how convergent research can translate discovery into real-world impact. A central theme was the data paradox: although researchers now have unprecedented access to environmental sensors, satellite imagery, clinical records, and genomic data, these resources often remain fragmented across platforms and disciplines.
Speakers highlighted the University of Arizona’s AI-Driven Health Innovation initiative as an important step toward bridging these data gaps. By building digital infrastructure that can integrate and analyze complex datasets, the initiative supports predictive research and real-time decision making. Applications include digital epidemiology tools for early disease detection, telemedicine technologies expanding access in rural and tribal communities, and environmental health models informing public health policy.
Equally important is the university’s commitment to responsible and ethical AI. Researchers emphasized transparency, strong governance, and respect for tribal data sovereignty while ensuring emerging technologies reduce—rather than widen—existing health disparities. The initiative also supports training a new generation of professionals skilled in both biomedical sciences and artificial intelligence.
The symposium concluded with a keynote from Dr. Jason Wertheim, transplant surgeon and regenerative medicine researcher, who emphasized that today’s health challenges demand a fully integrated approach. Even the most advanced medical treatments depend on the health of the communities and ecosystems surrounding patients. Without healthy environments, true healing cannot occur, and this insight reinforces the essential role of the One Health framework in shaping the future of global health.
Thanks to everyone who supported, coordinated, and participated in the 2026 Southwest One Health Symposium!
2026 One Health Symposium Presentations
Program Opening Presentations
Opening Remarks
Iman A. Hakim, MD, PhD, MPH
Dean, Professor, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
University of Arizona
Welcome from the Directors
Frank von Hippel, PhD
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Director, One Health Research Initiative
University of Arizona
David M. Engelthaler, PhD
Executive Director, TGen North, ASU Health Observatory
Mark Smolinski, MD, MPH
Executive Director, Ending Pandemics Academy
Jeff Skoll Endowed Chair in Ending Pandemics
Professor of Practice, Public Health
University of Arizona
SESSION A, Breaking Silos: Building Effective Interdisciplinary Collaboration
One Health in Academia
Kristen Pogreba Brown, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Epidemiology
Faculty Lead, MPH One Health Program
University of Arizona
Implementing a One Health Curriculum: Challenges and Lessons Learned
Jennifer Wishnie, DVM, MSc, MPH, DACVPM
Associate Professor of Practice
Director, One Health/Veterinary Public Health Residency
College of Veterinary Medicine
Arizona One Health Needs Assessment
Kathryn Burr, DVM, MPH
Acting State Public Health Veterinarian
CDC Career Epidemiology Field Officer
Arizona Department of Health Services
Crowdsourcing Public Health Intelligence for Verification across the One Health Spectrum
Nomita Divi, MSPH
Director of Programs and Operations, Ending Pandemics Academy
University of Arizona
One Health Lightning Talks
Antibiotic Use Practices in Animal Shelters
Paulina Colombo
PhD Student in Epidemiology
University of Arizona
Sewage Sampling at the Human–Animal Interface
Royani Saha
PhD Student in Environmental Science
University of Arizona
One Health Clinics
Ellen Santos, PhD
Program Manager
Pima County Health Department
OH-MEMA: One Health Mixed-Effects Modeling and Analytics
Aseel Basheer, PhD
Postdoc Research Associate, Data Institute for Societal Challenges
University of Oklahoma
Valley Fever in New Mexico
Morgan Gorris, PhD
Information Systems and Modeling Group (A-1)
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Multi-Jurisdictional Collaborations and Epidemiologic Approaches to Address Extreme Heat
Meaghan Batchelor, MPH
Epidemiologist
Principal Population Health Data Scientist
Knowledge Enterprise, Health Observatory
Arizona State University
Infant Exposures to Chemicals and Pathogens in the Lake Atitlán Watershed, Guatemala: The Development of Effective Interventions
Sandra F. Rodríguez Quintana, MD, MPH
Postdoctoral Research Associate III
Community Environment & Policy
University of Arizona
SESSION C, The Future of One Health: Where Do We Go from Here?
Future of Wastewater Surveillance
Crystal Hepp, PhD
Associate Professor
Immunology and Microbial Genomics Division
TGen North
Wildlife Surveillance: Challenges and New Opportunities
Leigh Combrink, BSc, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor - Wildlife Disease and Conservation
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
University of Arizona
Digital Biomarkers, Wearables, and Other Tracking & Monitoring Systems
Onicio B. Leal-Neto, MSc, PhD
Assistant Research Professor - Digital Epidemiology
University of Arizona
Climate Health
Kacey C. Ernst, PhD, MPH
Professor of Epidemiology
Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Arizona
Closing Remarks
Jason A. Wertheim, MD, PhD
Vice Dean, Research and Graduate Studies
Professor, Surgery & Biomedical Engineering
Associate Vice President for Research and Partnerships – Health Research
University of Arizona
Graduate Student Poster Presentations
The Role of the Environment in the Persistence of Zoonotic Pathogens Using Targeted Metagenomics
Luis Alegria
PhD Student
Tracking Disinfection-Resistant Adenoviruses in Water Reuse: One Health Insights and Emerging Research Directions
Walter Q. Betancourt, PhD
Assessing contamination of water, subsistence foods, and breastmilk in rural indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon
Kerry Cooper, PhD
Micro- and Nanoplastic Detection via Flow Velocity Analysis and Machine Learning
Lexi DeFord, Victoria Sciarrotta, Janna Said, Kenna Harrington, and Jeong-Yeol Yoon
My One Health Experience: Combating HPAI
Donovan Davis
Digital Imaging in Veterinary Pathology: Dynamic One Health Applications
Dr. Grace Davis
Bioinformatics: Strengthening One Health Pathogen Surveillance
Hailey Gavigan
Birds and Bites: Tracking West Nile Virus Risk Through Avian Hosts and Mosquito Vectors in Arizona
Gracie Ann Fischer
Graduate Student
Characterization of human adenovirus-41 circulation in populations across Arizona: A use-case for wastewater-based epidemiology
Paige Hawkinson
Satellite-Based Assessment of Power Outage Disparities Across 30 Atlantic Hurricanes (2012-2024)
Chris Lim, PhD
Distinct Early Host Transcriptional Programs Differentiate Pathogenic and Vaccine-Like Coccidioides Exposure
Xiangdi Mao, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance and Biosecurity Assessment in Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities
Beth Nielsen
Cyclically-Induced Heat Strain Alters Hepatic ADME Enzymes
Paxton Alan Sample
Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus): An emerging model organism for One Health research
Maria Eugenia Sancho Santos, DVM, MSc, PhD, CertAqV
Development of an Environmental Surveillance System to Track Endemic and Emerging Virus Circulations Using a One Health Approach
Kelly A. Reynolds, PhD
Evaluation of Pathogens, Chemicals and Toxic Metals and Metalloids in Human, Animal, and Aquatic Environments in La Pesca, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Priscilla B. Valenzuela
PhD Student
Color Signaling and Pollinator Perception in Hybrid Palo Verde (Parkinsonia x sonorae)
Yidi Wu
DVM Candidate, College of Veterinary Medicine