Category: One Health

From Silicon Valley to rural Tanzania: My journey into the world of animal scent detection

In this blog post, one of our One Health alumni shares insights into her incredible journey from a business oriented career, in Silicon Valley, into One Health. Whitney Hischier graduated from the One Health MSc programme in 2024 after completing a dissertation project focussed on working dogs, entitled “Scent Detection Dogs in the US: Uses and Challenges”. This fascinating project has since seen Whitney take on a role with the the incredible organisation APOPO, a charity training HeroRATs and HeroDOGs to use their extraordinary sense of smell to detect landmines and deadly diseases, including tuberculosis. In doing so, they are saving lives and restoring hope in communities across the globe.

From Silicon Valley to rural Tanzania: my journey into the world of animal scent detection

I entered the MSc in One Health programme as a bit of an outsider as someone who is on the Business School faculty at University of California Berkeley and had no formal education in the veterinary world. I had discovered the field of One Health during the pandemic, when suddenly zoonotic disease became a household term, but my childhood desire to become a vet had been derailed by a poor mark in organic chemistry at university. With this desire reignited in me and knowledge that everyone can find a home in and contribute to One Health, I applied and was not disappointed.

I loved the MSc programme and carried this passion into my final dissertation year. My chosen research topic for the dissertation grew out of a meta-level question of ‘what can animals do that technology cannot?’ – a pertinent question perhaps given that I live in the techno-centric world of Silicon Valley.

This led me to the world of animal scent detection, specifically with dogs and how the market for these specialised dogs has developed in the United States. The One Health programme team connected me with a fantastic mentor, Cindy Otto, who runs the Working Dog Center at University of Pennsylvania’s vet school setting me up for my dissertation year. This turned into a fascinating exploration of the work of stakeholders in the working dog world, with work briefs ranging from explosives detection and police work to wildlife and disease detection.

During this time, I was also travelling to Cambodia frequently to help run a joint USAID – UC Berkeley programme. Whilst there, I visited the APOPO Visitor Centre in Siem Reap. APOPO is an incredible organisation who employ African pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei) as well as dogs for land mine detection, tuberculosis detection, search and rescue and wildlife smuggling. APOPO operate in a number of countries, though much of the mine-action work is in Cambodia, a vestige of the Khmer Rouge era.

 

Whitney with Jenny, one of the retired rats at the visitors center in Siem Reap.

To appreciate just how incredible this collaborative work is it helps to understand how rats go about surveying a field, connected by via a harness to a line the length of the survey area: When they detect the volatile organic compounds (VOC) of an explosive, they scratch and are immediately given a food reward. These “HERORats” can search an area the size of a tennis court in thirty minutes; by contrast a human deminer with a metal detector can take up to four days to cover the same area. The rats work in conjunction with technical survey dogs who search larger areas of difficult terrain with high levels of vegetation.

A HeroRAT detecting landmines by sniffing out the VOCs given off by explosives.

Impressed by their work, I found myself reaching out to APOPO to see how I could help and very soon was involved. It started with overseeing research projects with my students and has since developed into taking up a position on their US board. I have seen at first hand some of their work across the world:

In February, I visited an active mine field outside of Siem Reap, where APOPO is working to de-mine between a series of temples, part of a UNESCO Heritage site. Then, in June, I travelled to Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), in Morgoro, Tanzania where APOPO breeds and trains their rats. The trip included a visit to the tuberculosis (TB) lab where the rats are detecting TB in samples from local clinics, as well as to the cargo area of the Dar es Salaam airport, where the rats inspect packages for trafficked wildlife parts (no photos were allowed but it was amazing to see the rats detect tiny amounts of giraffe pelt in a massive, heavily packaged box).

Whitney with Cindy Fast, the head of training for the rats.

My journey from the One Health MSc programme to APOPO was not one I would have ever predicted.  While technology may surpass animal scent detection capabilities at some point, I am excited to be part of an organisation that is constantly finding new ways that dogs and rats can synergistically work with people to combat some of the larger societal challenges we face, including both disease and weapons.

Visiting Siem Rep with my daughter and her friend, where I discovered that taking teenagers into an active mine field is not recommended but does give instant cool mom status.

A falcon vet spreads their wings and studies One Health

In this blog post from Dr Christiana Hebel, who graduated from the One Health MSc programme in 2023, we are treated to a perspective from the Middle East. Christiana shares her motivations for pursuing her studies and insights into the project  that she developed for her dissertation. As a falcon vet, she chose to study the potential for bacteriophages to be developed as a possible way of addressing the antimicrobial resistance challenges that falcon medicine faces.

A falcon vet broadens their horizons

15 years after graduation from vet school, I felt the need to broaden my professional horizons, while navigating life in the Middle East, with its mix of nationalities and varied cultural and educational backgrounds.

This realisation marked the start of my Master’s journey in One Health, a programme that fitted perfectly into the challenges falcon medicine is facing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This experience profoundly underscored just how interconnected our world is, even within highly specialised fields.

My Master’s research explored the evolving challenges within falcon medicine. Falconry, a tradition deeply woven into Emirati culture, has seen significant changes due to advancements in captive breeding and a change from hunting to falcon racing, resulting in a surge of imported falcons. This large influx, while celebrating the sport and the culture, introduces novel and complex challenges for veterinarians.

Christiana with a patient
The stress of captivity

My thesis investigated the critical issue of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in falcon medicine. Stress, often exacerbated by intensive housing systems, can compromise falcons’ immune systems, significantly increasing their susceptibility to infections, particularly from opportunistic pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The widespread, often unregulated, availability of over-the-counter antibiotics, as well as a general lack of awareness regarding the impact of AMR, made me start to investigate bacteriophages – viruses that specifically target and kill bacteria- as a potential alternative to antibiotics in falcons.

The intense use of antibiotics in animals contributes to the development and spread of drug-resistant bacteria, posing a serious threat to both animal and human health. This growing concern ignited my interest in exploring innovative solutions. Understanding their potential to combat resistant infections in falcons, and potentially other animals, became a key area of focus within my broader One Health research.

Undertaking an online Master’s degree while managing a demanding full-time job was undeniably challenging. It was frequently overwhelming, requiring considerable sacrifices of personal time and other activities. Nevertheless, the opportunity to combine my clinical experience with research, and to connect with colleagues around the world, was truly fascinating. Despite many hurdles, I enjoyed studying the core essence of One Health — a profound recognition that human, animal, and environmental health are deeply linked.

Christiana in the lab

The insights I gained during my three-year Master’s in One Health, combined with the experience of global collaboration with my colleagues, have deepened not only my understanding of emerging infectious diseases but also the critical impact of husbandry on animal well-being, and the urgent need for antimicrobial stewardship and alternative therapies like bacteriophages.

This Master’s journey was an insightful and inspiring experience that I believe will profoundly shape my approach as a veterinarian. I wholeheartedly recommend it to others.