Tag: antimicrobial resistance

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.

Reporting from a UNA Europa funded One Health Approach to AMR workshop

In this post, two graduates from the One Health MSc programme share their experiences of participating in a UNA Europa course on One Health approaches to antimicrobial resistance and the subsequent in-person workshop held in Madrid, in June 2025. The workshop was hosted by the Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology, at the Universidad Complutense Madrid (UCM); participation of our students was fully funded through the UNA Europa grant that the One Health programme team helped to secure.

This post is written by Dr Christiana Hebel, who graduated from the programme in 2023, and Maresa Neuerer, who completed the Postgraduate Diploma in 2025, in parallel with her own PhD studies on AMR. You can read more about Christiana and her work and research in a separate blog post.

For more information on the UNA Europa Course and to view recordings of the sessions that staff and students from the One Health MSc programme contributed to, please click on the following links for sessions on (i) One Health and AMR (ii) AMR and Ecosystem Health and biodiversity and (iii) Systems change and AMR.

UNA Europa Workshop in Madrid: A Rewarding Experience

Between 11-12 June 2025, we had the opportunity to attend the UNA Europa workshop ”Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) by 360 One Health Approach”, organised by Assistant Professor Ana I. Fraguas Sanchez of the Complutense University’s Department of Pharmaceutics and Food Technology in Madrid, Spain.

La Facultad de Farmacia de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)

The workshop brought together postgraduate students and early-career researchers from the four collaborating institutions in Spain, Finland, Germany, and the UK to explore emerging technologies and strategies in the field of AMR. As students from the One Health Master’s programme at the University of Edinburgh, we found ourselves in a room full of pharmacists, a slightly unfamiliar landscape for us which turned out to be an enriching experience. The workshop not only introduced us to state-of-the-art research in biopharmaceuticals but also made us reflect on how different disciplines can approach the same problem from different angles.

The workshop started off with a fascinating three-hour visit to Normon Laboratories, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer of generic medicines for the human market. This provided a unique opportunity to see the inner workings of a modern pharmaceutical production facility from, and was possibly the highlight of the trip. For those of us who had never set foot in a pharmaceutical factory before, seeing the scale, precision, and regulation involved was a fascinating experience that gave us a new appreciation for the complexity behind something as seemingly simple as a tablet.

Back at Complutense University, we were welcomed with a series of talks on “Biopharmaceuticals as new antimicrobials,” “Emerging Platforms in Antimicrobial Resistance Research,” and “Innovative Strategies in Drug Development.” These presentations were a great introduction to the workshop and laid the foundation on how innovation can help combat AMR.

The second day continued with a session on “Innovative Strategies in Drug Development II,” including a practical workshop on 3D printing technology for capsule production. This was an inspiring demonstration of how modern technology and new tools may reshape and individualise healthcare. We also had the chance to visit to the Pharmacy Museum at UCM, offering a historical perspective on the field of pharmacology. The workshop concluded with a wrap-up session. many discussions, and valuable networking opportunities.

Some of the workshop participants during the visit to the Pharmacy Museum at UCM

While the workshop provided space for interdisciplinary conversation, it became clear that the concept of One Health was not widely known among the participants. This presented a valuable opportunity for us to weave One Health into our discussions. We found that participants were open and curious and we were able to encourage them to consider interdisciplinary approaches beyond their usual fields. Attending this workshop reminded us of the importance of building bridges across disciplines. No single field holds all the answers and learning how to connect and collaborate across disciplines might be just as important as developing the next breakthrough drug. We’re grateful to our programme and professor for the opportunity to attend, and to all the workshop organisers and participants for creating this space. It was also a bonus to connect with each other in person.