Institute of Energy and the Environment

Podcast explores tackling complex problems through One Health

A transdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers is exploring how One Health, an approach that recognizes the interconnectedness among human health, ecosystem health, and animal health, may be able to tackle complex health problems facing Pennsylvania. Credit: Brenna Buck / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The latest episode of the Growing Impact podcast features four researchers who were awarded a seed grant for their project focused on One Health in Pennsylvania. The group comprises Leann Andrews, an assistant professor of landscape architecture; Justin Brown, assistant teaching professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences; Sona Jasani, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology; and Stephen Mainzer, assistant professor of landscape architecture.

Their project is exploring how new networks of researchers using the One Health approach may be able to tackle complex health problems facing Pennsylvania.

One Health is a transdisciplinary approach that recognizes the interconnectedness among human health, ecosystem health and animal health. One Health suggests that what affects one component of this health triad will affect one or both of the other components.

“It's a framework to approach problems,” Jasani said. “The foundation of it is based on collaboration and being transdisciplinary so that you have different disciplines looking at complex issues to really think about it in a holistic fashion.”

One of the group’s focus areas is prevention.

“One Health helps us all think about things together and address some of the health issues that might appear further downstream.” Andrews said. “We know both in the animal sciences and human sciences that the environment is a determinant of health. If we're experiencing all kinds of rapid changes in our environment all around the world, that has influence on both the human and the animal side. If we can start to understand these systems through examining animal health, human health or environmental health, maybe we can prevent some of the diseases or prevent some of the health issues even before they even happen.”

Growing Impact is a podcast by the Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE). It features Penn State researchers who have been awarded IEE seed grants and discusses their foundational work as they further their projects. The podcast is available on multiple platforms, including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Spotify.

Last Updated March 1, 2022