Students interested in studying the interconnections of health among plants, animals, and humans are encouraged to apply for this scholarship by September 27.
The College of Health and Human Services is pleased to announce a new scholarship opportunity for Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science in Global Health (MS-Global Health) students who are passionate about studying the interconnections of health among plants, animals, and humans. Thanks to the generosity of Michael von Fricken, professor of Global and Community Health, the One Health Scholarship will provide a selected graduate student with funding and/or support to pursue a research project relating to the One Health initiative.
“I wanted to create an opportunity to support our graduate students interested or actively engaged in infectious disease research,” von Fricken said. “This is also a way to identify promising students who want to become more involved in One Health, which will be important as we grow the One Health discipline here at Mason.”
As an incentive to get students interested in One Health, the scholarship will provide graduate students with additional funding to offset costs related to their research. “This is one of a small number of scholarships that benefit CHHS graduate students," said Shannon Donohue, assistant director of development. "We are grateful to Dr. von Fricken for supporting student success at the graduate level."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the One Health Initiative is “a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.”
The One Health Initiative is an important field of research because the majority of emerging diseases in humans are zoonotic in nature, meaning they originate in animals. “When these spillover events occur, it is important that we have trained personnel who understand the importance of One Health and are open to listening to perspectives from experts across disciplines," von Fricken said. "Conducting research within the human-animal-environment interface can provide important insights to disease emergence to better prepare for future pandemics.”
Undergraduate students who are interested in One Health are invited to register for Introduction to One Health (GCH 305). This course occurs every spring and is co-taught by three lecturers, each with specific backgrounds related to human, animal, and environmental health.
The deadline to apply for the 2021-2022 One Health Scholarship is Monday, September 27, 2021. To apply, please visit the Fall 2021 Scholarship Opportunities webpage. Applications for the 2022-2023 academic year will be available from December 2021 to May 2022.