At the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, an initiative dedicated to protecting the health and welfare of the state’s people, animals and environment, is now open and welcoming new members. 

The mission of the One Health Center Initiative is to increase awareness of one health by working together and conducting multidisciplinary research—recognizing that health of people, animals and environment are intricately linked and interdependent. Through these vital connections, One Health focuses on solving complex health challenges, ranging from zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance to environmental exposures.

“One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems,” said S. Reddy Palli, Department of Entomology chair at Martin-Gatton CAFE, state entomologist and The Bill Gatton Foundation Distinguished Professor. “We want to be a leader in educating people about the significance of One Health and its impact on everyone’s daily life.”

The One Health Initiative, part of one of The Bill Gatton Foundation Grand Challenges, wants to bring together faculty, staff and students from various UK colleges and departments, along with state agencies, to identify and provide solutions through education, research and extension.

In fall 2025, a graduate course “One Health in Action” will be offered in-person and online. An introductory undergraduate course as well as undergraduate and graduate certificates in One Health are planned for 2026. In addition, all UK students are welcome to join the new Student One Health Organization.

Some of the collaborative research being conducted by members of the UK One Health Initiative team include: 

• Surveillance, speciation and diagnostics of disease vectors, including ticks and mosquitoes in Kentucky, which is a collaboration between Palli and Sanderson from the UK Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention;
• Developing novel antibiotics and therapeutics to mitigate infectious pathogens in animals and humans by Yosra Helmy, associate professor in the UK Department of Veterinary Science and Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the Markey Cancer Center;
• Exploring several enveloped RNA viruses that cause significant diseases in humans and livestock, including influenza viruses, rotaviruses, flaviviruses (Zika and West Nile virus) and HIV, by Feng Li, professor in the UK Department of Veterinary Science; and
• Understanding the mechanisms by which pathogenic bacteria sense their environments and their response and identifying novel regulatory networks in Borrelia burgdorferi (the pathogen which causes Lyme disease) by Brian Stevenson, professor in the Department of Entomology and UK College of Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics.

The UK One Health Initiative will work closely with the Cooperative Extension Service to educate agents with resources and research related to biosecurity, food safety and security, zoonosis, vector-borne diseases, along with farm health and safety, plant and tree health, soil health and wildlife.

Furthermore, the UK One Health Initiative will work with UK Colleges of Public Health, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, State Public Health and other state agencies in educating farmers, county agents, veterinarians, physicians, rural populations and public health workers on the prevention of infectious diseases.

After a successful debut last year, the 2025 One Health Symposium is scheduled for October 20—welcoming all One Health champions in human, animal and environmental health across extension, instruction, research, policy and more.

“We believe our college has one of the strongest extension programs in the nation and that the One Health Initiative at UK is uniquely positioned to grow,” Palli said. “We welcome everyone interested in One Health to join our collaborative effort and take advantage of all that we have to offer.”

Learn more about the One Health Center/Initiative, events, resources and how to join at https://onehealth.ca.uky.edu.

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Writer: Christopher Carney, Christopher.Carney@uky.edu

University of Kentucky alum and former trustee Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton bestowed a transformational $100 million gift to the college through The Bill Gatton Foundation. It is the largest gift to the university in its history.

Four Pillars of The Bill Gatton Foundation’s gift are (1) Scholarships and other initiatives for Student Success, (2) Companion Animal Program, (3) 21st Century Capital Projects and New Initiatives Fund and (4) Faculty Research and Innovation/Research Challenge Trust Fund Program.

The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services to individuals and institutions that provide equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status.