Leader of organization that led the way in protections for children, pets, and farm animals highlights new model to help humans and animals alike live long, healthy, and humane lives in keynote speech at International Conference on Epidemiology & Public Health in Valencia, Spain
VALENCIA, Spain, Aug. 5, 2015 — Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane Association, which for 138 years has led the way in developing protections for children, pets, and farm animals, is the keynote speaker and session chair at the Third International Conference on Epidemiology and Public Health in Valencia, Spain today. Her address, “A New Medical Research Model: Advancing Human and Animal Health Humanely,” will detail the concept of a new research model predicated on a meaningful commitment by both medical and veterinary researchers to work cooperatively together to address disease and disorders in humans and animals – evaluating genetic and environmental risk factors, sensitive diagnostic indicators and novel therapies. The pursuit of such a medical model requires humane, ethical principles to ensure success. American Humane Association’s Animal Welfare Research Institute has identified multiple diseases and disorders that afflict both animals and children, to include cancer, diabetes, respiratory syncytial virus, asthma, food borne illnesses, obesity, neurological disorders and tuberculosis. It is necessary to seek innovative collaborations whereby genetic, nutritional and environmental factors might be identified, and where leveraging of expertise by scientists working with companion animals, farm animals and wildlife can help optimize the health and welfare of both animals and humans.
“Society stands on the precipice of change, as the ability to sequence and study the genomes of humans and animals is dramatically altering how scientists and doctors study and treat disease and disorders,” says Dr. Ganzert. “Medical breakthroughs stemming from a deeper understanding of our genomic blueprint – and the blueprints of other species – have created a watershed moment for genomic medicine. Advances in the ability to identify and functionally interpret changes in the genetic blueprint of humans and their animal companions have already begun to radically change the practice of medicine for all species.”
Dr. Robin Ganzert is the president and CEO of American Humane Association, the oldest national humane organization in the United States, founded around the issue of farm animal welfare but evolving to pioneer virtually all the major advances in protections for children and animals. The organization saves and shelters thousands of animals each year through its famed Red Star® Rescue program, ensures the welfare of more than one billion farm animals, researches new ways to help children with cancer, veterans and others through animal-assisted therapy, and protects some 100,000 animal actors on television and movie production sets each year through its well well-known “No Animals Were Harmed®” program.
Dr. Ganzert is frequently sought after as an expert in the humane field and has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, NPR, CNN, the Today Show, Fox and Friends, and the BBC World Service. She is the author of the new book Animal Stars, and has published opinion pieces in The Hill, newspapers across the country, and journals reporting on animals. Her paper, “A New Medical Research Model: Advancing Human and Animal Health Humanely,” was accepted presented earlier this year in the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences.
About American Humane Association
American Humane Association is the country’s first national humane organization and the only one dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Since 1877, American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting our most vulnerable from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today we’re also leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine and society. American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org today.
