This semester on the St. Paul Campus, CAHFS will present Webcast viewings of the events in the lecture series Antibiotic Resistance: Policy Challenges & Solutions, provided by the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences. This 2018 lecture series will feature lectures from 3 speakers. With the in-person event happening in Coffman Union on East Bank, these Webcast viewings will allow those on the St. Paul Campus a chance to view and participate. The third event, “Antibiotic Resistance Policy Challenges and Solutions," will take place Tuesday, April 3rd.

Prof. Ramanan Laxminarayan, PhD, MPH
Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, & Policy; Princeton University

"Antibiotic Resistance Policy Challenges and Solutions"

Tuesday, April 3rd, 11:30 - 1:00pm
Webcast streaming in 280 Veterinary Diagnostic Lab

Commentator:

Ruth Lynfield, MD
Minnesota Department of Health

Moderator:

Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH
University of Minnesota

For information about Continuing Education credits for this event, please contact Kathy Grimes at the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences. For additional information on the in-person event, visit the Consortium’s website.

Past Events:

Prof. Martin J. Blaser, MD
New York University School of Medicine

"The Dark Side of Antibiotics"

Wednesday, February 7th, 11:30 - 1:00pm
Webcast streaming in 280 Veterinary Diagnostic Lab

Although antibiotics are probably as old as life itself, over the last 75 years we have been using antibiotics and related antibacterials on a worldwide scale approaching and possibly exceeding one million tons a year. Such use – in the clinic, the farm, the ranch, fisheries, and the home – is having an enormous impact on our ecosystems. One manifestation of the ecological consequences has been the progressive rise in antibiotic resistance, which is increasing geometrically in both scale and diversity. Another manifestation has been the damage to our internal ecosystems, most importantly the human microbiome. We are beginning to learn of the consequences in terms of disease, including those that have been epidemic during this time period – obesity, asthma, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, among others. We need to recognize and interdict these issues which often begin in early life, because unless we do, the problems will predictably grow. Prof. Blaser will describe potential solutions that are yet to be developed.

Commentator:

James R. Johnson, MD
University of Minnesota
Minnesota VA Medical Center

Moderator:

Michael J. Sadowsky, PhD
University of Minnesota

Prof. H. Morgan Scott, DVM, PhD
Texas A&M University

"Antimicrobials in Agriculture and Food Production: Use, Overuse, & Misuse"

Wednesday, February 28th, 11:30 - 1:00pm
Webcast streaming in 385J Animal Science/Veterinary Medicine

Officials around the globe agree: the most serious health threat currently facing us is fast-evolving infectious diseases for which we lack antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is accelerated by overprescription and environmental exposure to drugs that have made their way into our lakes, rivers, and streams, often as a result of runoff from feedlots.

On February 28, 2018, H. Morgan Scott, DVM, PhD (Texas A&M University) will discuss this complex and urgent issue and propose policy approaches to solve it. A practicing veterinarian, Prof. Scott has had a front row seat for this evolving debate through his studies of antimicrobial use in agriculture and food production. Scott will be joined by Tim Johnson, PhD, and Jeff Bender, DVM, MS, both of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota, to analyze the ethics of balancing infectious disease threats with the need to feed a growing world population.

Prof. Scott's talk will reflect his policy experience at the farm, industry, country, and global level. He has collaborated on several initiatves of the WHO and served on McDonald's Corporation's Animal Health and Welfare Antimicrobial Resistance sub-team. He also advises the Centers for Disease Control/Food and Drug Administration/US Department of Agriculture on their joint National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) program.

Commentator:

Tim Johnson, PhD
University of Minnesota

Moderator:

Jeff Bender, DVM, MS, DACVPM
USAID One Health Workforce Project
Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH)
University of Minnesota