Grace Maina
- @NjokiVET
- | She/Her
Hello, everyone. I am a veterinarian working in Kenya with little experience in wildlife fieldwork. My recent and ongoing MSc in One Health has sparked a renewed interest in ecological changes, biodiversity loss, and how these factors influence disease spread in wildlife populations. I am also curious about how increased human-wildlife interaction caused by climate change has fuelled zoonotic disease spillovers from wildlife populations, or vice versa. Is anyone here in the same research space, or can you point me in the right direction for such resources and opportunities? I will appreciate it.
I am very happy to be here; I learnt about this platform from Esther Githinji's presentation at a Climate Enterprise School I was attending. I am looking forward to learning so much in this space from all of the wonderful, brilliant works with which I will be interacting.
19 January 2025 9:01pm
Great to see you here @NjokiVET :) I'm sure the WILDLABS East Africa Group Leads @CathyNj @Agripina or WILDLABS Community Specialist @alexrood can point you in the right direction! Wishing you the best :)
Chris Yesson
Zoological Society London (ZSL)
23 January 2025 9:08am
Hi Grace,
Are you aware of the wildlife health bridge team at ZSL (link below)? It may be worth reaching out to the team who could point you towards people with similar interests.
24 January 2025 6:46pm
Hi Grace,
One Health is keen interest of mine. While the WHO incarnation of it many years ago focused on reducing antimicrobial resistance, I much prefer to take the more evolved view of more complex interactions between humans, wildlife, and our shared environments.
Quite a few institures in the UK have One Health Labs.
With focus on Africa, Adrian runs a lab at Edinburgh, and Roslin Instiute still do a bunch DOH - Home
He has published lots. Drop him a line Adrian Muwonge - Google Scholar
Also, check out (7) Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka | LinkedIn
She pioneered one health in Uganda to save gorilla populations, and succeeded! Her NGO is called Conservation through Public Health.
Similar to the issue that was facing gorillas in Uganda, chimps have for years been catching respiratory infections from humans, one source may be shared water sources. A study recently showed that by improving health of local children, chimps can be safeguarded from human to chimp crossover. I haven't seen a renewal of Uganda's One Health Policy which ended in 2023, but I do hope they are carrying on.
Uganda is particularly interesting from a one health perspective and a hotspot for zoonosis potential.
Lots going on in the space :)
Esther Githinji