May/June 2025

Dear Friends of the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health,

We’d like to celebrate our Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2025 DVM graduates and wish them hearty congratulations! We encourage and support our students to pursue enriching experiences working on One Health issues around the world (and we routinely share their stories in this newsletter), and we look forward to seeing these latest graduates' accomplishments in the years to come.

As part of our commitment to training the next generation of wildlife conservation and One Health leaders—with an emphasis on applying sound science to influence real world policy and practice—we are thrilled to announce that the 2025-2026 call for applications for our Cornell K. Lisa Yang Postdoctoral Fellowships in Wildlife Health is now out. Fellows will be part of a vibrant, collaborative, multidisciplinary, and inclusive community of faculty, staff, and students working towards improving the health and well-being of animals, people, and the environment that supports us all.

Please help us spread the word about what we believe will be an extraordinary opportunity for the next generation of wildlife health / One Health leaders!

This spring marked an exciting milestone for the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health as we launched our Distinguished Speaker Series, a new initiative to bring the world’s leading voices in wildlife conservation and One Health to the Cornell community.

In our inaugural session, we welcomed Dr. Craig Stephen and Dr. Marcela Uhart for a riveting double-header that offered powerful insights into systems thinking and real-world applications, moving from what preparedness really requires to the urgent challenges posed by H5N1 and other animal influenza viruses. These experts provided vivid reminders of why advancing One Health—a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health—is more critical than ever.



Read more about our inaugural distinguished speakers addressing interconnected global challenges through a One Health lens or watch the full lectures below!

One Health, Fish Edition: Biodiversity, Health, and Nutrition Through an Aquatic Lens (video)

Tune in as our own Drs. Katie Fiorella, Sebastian Heilpern, and Eric Teplitz discuss the rapidly emerging aquatic food sectors in Cambodia, the Amazon, and Kenya to underscore the critical importance of aquatic environments and biodiversity to our health.

What Kind of Seafood Should I Eat? [New York Times]

Cornell's Dr. Sebastian Heilpern and Dr. Kathryn Fiorella provide expert insights on sustainable fish and seafood choices consumers can use.

More than Twenty Years of Work Now Paying One Health Dividends in Southern Africa

Dr. Steve Osofsky and team highlight a pioneering One Health effort while emphasizing that policy change across sectors requires time and patience.

Avian Influenza Discovered in NYS Bobcats

According to a recent study by Cornell scientists, avian influenza has now been confirmed in wild bobcats in New York.

CYCWH Welcomes Working Dogs for Conservation (story and videos)

Dr. Pete Coppolillo of Working Dogs for Conservation discussed how dogs are helping to advance conservation efforts. 

Are Backyard Bird Feeders Safe? How to Stop Illness and Intruders

As bird flu continues to spread, Dr. Krysten Schuler of the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab offers expert advice on best practices for bird enthusiasts to maintain a safe, healthy feeder this spring.

Celebrating World Veterinary Day 2025: Animal Health Takes a Team

On World Veterinary Day, we celebrated Cornell's wildlife and ecosystem health teams and their tireless efforts to build a healthier future for wildlife, people, and planet.

How to Catch a Dhole (or Not?) – Part 1

Lions & Tigers & Bears: My Veterinary Externship at the Oregon Zoo

Lunching with Rhinos: Threats to Nepal’s Rhinos Have Been Consuming My Thoughts

A Semi-Free-Ranging Approach to Wildlife Conservation

Training Cage Farmers on the Shores of Lake Victoria



Deer Brains and Duck Botulism: A Month with Nevada’s State Wildlife Veterinarian

The Sky’s the Limit in the Conservation of Scarlet and Great Green Macaws

Take a little break with this greater one-horned rhino enjoying the waters of Chitwan National Park in Nepal

Kate Mueller, DVM '15

International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue & the National Marine Life Center

J. Hunter Reed, MPH, DVM '20

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

More in the News

Habitat Protections for Endangered Species in Doubt From Proposed Rule Change

Biodiversity Allows for Sustainable Fisheries, Better Nutrition

A Wildly Successful Weekend: Recapping the 2025 Special Species Symposium at Cornell

Changes in Bats’ Diets Increase Spread of Viruses, Spillover Risk

A Crucial First Step: WHO Pandemic Agreement

A ‘Model’ Professor

How Do You Re-Home a Rhino by Helicopter? Upside Down [BBC]

New Paper: An Outbreak of Canine Coronavirus Type 2 in Captive Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) Demonstrates a Possible Role for Felids as Mixing Vessels for Alphacoronaviruses

New Paper: Management Agencies Can Leverage Animal Social Structure for Wildlife Disease Surveillance

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Please consider supporting the Cornell Yang Center for Wildlife Health by giving online or contacting Alison Smith at 607-254-6129 or ars1@cornell.edu. Thank you!