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Experienced Texas A & M University (USA) One Health Professor Enhances a Dynamic One Health Program

 

Since 2015, Rosina (Tammi) C. Krecek, FRSSAf, BS, MS, PhD, MAP, MBA has been Research Professor of Global One Health and Interim Assistant Dean of One Health at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM), Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas (USA).  Dr. Krecek works within a dynamic, expanding One Health program under the auspices of an extraordinary CVM Dean, Dr. Eleanor M. Green [DVM, DACVIM, DABVP] http://vetmed.tamu.edu/about-us/dean.  One recent dramatic example of the visionary One Health TAMU activities was demonstrated with a Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service report entitled “The Growing Threat of Pandemics: Enhancing Domestic and International Biosecurity - March 2017” https://goo.gl/y9pXo6.  

Krecek has more than 30 years international experience at building sustainable One Health research, education and outreach programs in Africa, the Caribbean and the USA.  Her focus has been a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach for diagnosis and interventions to prevent and manage zoonotic parasitic and infectious diseases which impact resource-poor communities. She established a successful international agricultural consultancy in Sub-Saharan Africa, which addresses societal issues through novel One Health solutions. Two of her overall strengths are establishing international sustainable strategic partnerships, and leading teams to successfully achieve their goals.

In 2005, she was recruited as Associate Dean for Research, and Professor of Parasitology at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on St. Kitts to create a research program which was completely lacking.  Krecek established and led a credible and sustainable research program with a One Health focus endorsed by all global, international, national, regional, and island stakeholders (i.e., World Association for Animal Health (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), etc.) Under her research and administrative leadership Ross established a One Health research program with several “firsts”: a Memorandum of Understanding signed between St. Kitts-Nevis Ministries of Agriculture and Human Health and Ross, which strengthened partnerships across diverse disciplines; developed a strategic plan and attracted comprehensive institutional funding to build research and animal facilities, develop operating policies and attract research faculty to support the One Health approach; established the Ross graduate program which was awarded accreditation from the St. Kitts-Nevis Ministry of Education; and awarded funding for the Ross Merial Veterinary Scholars Program. In 2011, as a result of this 6-year strategic effort, Ross achieved accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE) and was awarded a full 7-year accreditation, becoming the first veterinary school in the Caribbean and the 5th foreign school to achieve this global benchmark.

Leading strategic partnerships and working critically in team efforts are proven strengths, as evidenced by the awarding of a 2015 U.S. Department of Homeland Security contract for a novel collaborative multidisciplinary training program. This “Bench to Shop” program (http://vetmed.tamu.edu/benchtoshop) develops an international curriculum for next generation scientists to take bench discoveries for high consequence transboundary diseases to commercialization.

Significant achievements during Krecek’s tenure as Interim Assistant Dean of One Health at Texas A&M held since 2015 have advanced the One Health initiative to the next level (http://onehealth.tamu.edu). This includes 3 recent grant awards for the establishment of new interdisciplinary programs (e.g., comparative genomics of agricultural, animal, human pests and microbes; porcine cysticercosis biosafety and biosecurity international training initiatives including 21 countries, etc.) with several awarded. A critical process has been to compile performance metrics for campus-wide One Health research, demonstrating positive outcomes in various research, education and outreach programs.

Krecek currently serves with distinction on the One Health Commission’s Board of Directors https://www.onehealthcommission.org/en/leadership__board_of_directors/.