Cornell and the Wildlife Conservation Society join forces in veterinary training
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine have expanded their collaborative relationship, creating a new training initiative that combines the academic rigor of a premiere Ivy League university with critical hands-on experience with a diversity of wild animals at the Bronx Zoo and other WCS facilities.
Cornell veterinary students in the initiative's two recently created residencies - wildlife medicine and wildlife pathology - will divide their three-year terms between Cornell, in Ithaca, N.Y., and WCS facilities in New York City, while gaining a truly comprehensive understanding of animal health issues and the skill sets to address the challenges of those disciplines at home and around the world.
The joint residencies are two of several collaborative programs in the new WCS-Cornell partnership, which also includes increasing animal disease surveillance around the world, boosting veterinary expertise in other nations, and developing a collaborative Global Center for Wildlife and Domestic Animal Health, to be located on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. WCS and Cornell, with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development and the government of Zambia, also have launched a project to develop models for balancing socio-economic development with biodiversity conservation in southern Africa.
"This collaboration provides a unique combination of scientific rigor and higher quality of professional practice," said Dr. Donald F. Smith, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell.
Dr. Robert Cook, chief veterinarian and vice president of WCS Wildlife Health Sciences, added, "The WCS 'One World, One Health,' model will give the world's health organizations and agencies multi-disciplinary practitioners who can really make a difference not only to wildlife but to the future health of domestic animals and people."
Residents in the wildlife medicine program will begin their training at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, where they will study internal medicine, surgery dermatology, epidemiology and other relevant topics. After completing the first part of the program, residents will continue their training at WCS's Wildlife Health Center, the primary care facility for some 20,000 animals in the Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium, and the Central Park, Prospect Park and Queens zoos. Medical challenges for residents may include experiences such as performing root canal surgery on a tiger, treating a shell wound on a sea turtle, vaccinating a rare bird species to protect it from West Nile Virus, or taking a radiograph of a red-tailed hawk's broken wing. Residents may also have opportunities to work with field veterinarians and biologists, applying what they have learned in the society s zoos and aquariums to wildlife health issues around the world.
In the pathology residency, students will spend two years studying comparative anatomy and the diseases of domestic and wild animals at Cornell, developing the ability to diagnose pathogens in a variety of species and settings. Residents will then hone their skills in disease identification during their third year at the Bronx Zoo and other WCS facilities. In addition to learning to apply course work on a wide range of species, pathologists in the program can help document poorly understood diseases through in-depth study and devise strategies to mitigate the threats of emerging infectious diseases, such as West Nile virus or avian influenza.
"The partnership between WCS and Cornell offers both organizations a means of maximizing our complementary expertise and giving veterinarians the most comprehensive training to date," said Cook. "As we increase our understanding of how health issues move across animal and human divides, we realize that collaborative programs such as these are critical in ensuring the health of wildlife, domestic animals and humankind."
Additional details Contact: Sabina LeePhone: (607)255-3024Cell: (607)227-3341
Cornell veterinary students in the initiative's two recently created residencies - wildlife medicine and wildlife pathology - will divide their three-year terms between Cornell, in Ithaca, N.Y., and WCS facilities in New York City, while gaining a truly comprehensive understanding of animal health issues and the skill sets to address the challenges of those disciplines at home and around the world.
The joint residencies are two of several collaborative programs in the new WCS-Cornell partnership, which also includes increasing animal disease surveillance around the world, boosting veterinary expertise in other nations, and developing a collaborative Global Center for Wildlife and Domestic Animal Health, to be located on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo. WCS and Cornell, with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development and the government of Zambia, also have launched a project to develop models for balancing socio-economic development with biodiversity conservation in southern Africa.
"This collaboration provides a unique combination of scientific rigor and higher quality of professional practice," said Dr. Donald F. Smith, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell.
Dr. Robert Cook, chief veterinarian and vice president of WCS Wildlife Health Sciences, added, "The WCS 'One World, One Health,' model will give the world's health organizations and agencies multi-disciplinary practitioners who can really make a difference not only to wildlife but to the future health of domestic animals and people."
Residents in the wildlife medicine program will begin their training at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, where they will study internal medicine, surgery dermatology, epidemiology and other relevant topics. After completing the first part of the program, residents will continue their training at WCS's Wildlife Health Center, the primary care facility for some 20,000 animals in the Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium, and the Central Park, Prospect Park and Queens zoos. Medical challenges for residents may include experiences such as performing root canal surgery on a tiger, treating a shell wound on a sea turtle, vaccinating a rare bird species to protect it from West Nile Virus, or taking a radiograph of a red-tailed hawk's broken wing. Residents may also have opportunities to work with field veterinarians and biologists, applying what they have learned in the society s zoos and aquariums to wildlife health issues around the world.
In the pathology residency, students will spend two years studying comparative anatomy and the diseases of domestic and wild animals at Cornell, developing the ability to diagnose pathogens in a variety of species and settings. Residents will then hone their skills in disease identification during their third year at the Bronx Zoo and other WCS facilities. In addition to learning to apply course work on a wide range of species, pathologists in the program can help document poorly understood diseases through in-depth study and devise strategies to mitigate the threats of emerging infectious diseases, such as West Nile virus or avian influenza.
"The partnership between WCS and Cornell offers both organizations a means of maximizing our complementary expertise and giving veterinarians the most comprehensive training to date," said Cook. "As we increase our understanding of how health issues move across animal and human divides, we realize that collaborative programs such as these are critical in ensuring the health of wildlife, domestic animals and humankind."
Additional details Contact: Sabina LeePhone: (607)255-3024Cell: (607)227-3341
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