Melinda Wilkins, DVM, MPH, PhD

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota. I received my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1994, my MPH from the University of Illinois-Springfield in 1999, and my PhD in Large Animal Clinical Sciences (focus in Epidemiology) from Michigan State University in 2008. I worked for USDA, APHIS, VS (VMO and AEO positions), the CDC (EIS Class of ’99), and the Michigan Department of Community Health prior to starting my academic career. I started teaching in the MPH program at MSU, then became Director of the MS in Food Safety Program before becoming regular faculty in the DVM program at MSU, CVM. My interests lie in quality instruction, infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance, One Health, and international health.

• Veterinary and human infectious disease epidemiology
• Veterinary Preventive Medicine, One Health, Public Health and Global Health
• Liaison work with human and animal regulatory agencies

My research interests are broad and include two current projects. The first is looking at PFAS exposure and negative outcomes in pet populations, and the second includes cutaneous leishmaniosis in northern Africa.

• 1.Brake, HD, Langfeldt A, Kaneene JB, Wilkins MJ. Current PFAS Research Points to a Growing Threat in Animals. JAVMA, Accepted Sept 2022. Publication date pending.
• 2.Ghimire RP, Maredia KM, Wilkins MJ. Virtual Training for Managing Emerging Zoonotic Diseases including COVID-19. J I Ag and Extension Ed, Accepted Oct 2021.
• 3.Carniero PAM, Pasquatti TN, Lima DAR, Rodriques RA, Takatane H, Silva CBDG, Jardim R, Abramovtch RB, Wilkins MJ, Davilia AMR, Fraujo FR, Kaneene JB. Milk contamination by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Implications for public Health in Amazonas Brazil. J Food Protection, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-21-303
• Sharma S, Fowler P, Pant DK, Singh S, Wilkins MJ. Antimicrobial resistant Non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica prevalence among poultry farms and slaughterhouses in Chitwan, Nepal. Vet World, 2021, www.doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.437-445.
• Fowler P, Sharma S, Pant DK, Singh S, Wilkins MJ. Prevalence of Non-typhoidal Salmonella and risk factors on poultry farms in Chitwan, Nepal. Vet World, 2021, www.doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.426-436.
• Carneiro PAM., Takatani H, Pasquatti TN, Silva CBDG, Norby B, Wilkins M, Zumárraga MJ, Araujo FR, Kaneene JB. Epidemiological Study of Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Buffalo and Cattle in Amazonas, Brazil. Frontiers Vet Sci , 2019(6) https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2019.00434
• Vertalka J, Reese LA, Wilkins M, Pizarro J. Dog bites in the context of urban distress: the importance of environment. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.254.8.986
• LaDronka RM, Ainsworth S, Wilkins M, Norby B, Byrem TM, and Bartlett PC, Prevalence of Bovine Leukemia Virus Antibodies in US Dairy Cattle, Veterinary Medicine International, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5831278.
• Vertalka J, Reese LA, Wilkins M, Pizarro JM (2018) Environmental correlates of urban dog bites: A spatial analysis, J Urban Affairs, 40:3, 311-328, DOI: 10.1080/07352166.2017.1355666

Encouraging veterinary students to see themselves as One Health practitioners

Public Health, One Health, Food Safety, Systems Thinking

• CVM 6500 – Animal, Human and Ecosystem Health – Zoonotic Diseases, Occupational Health and Regulatory Medicine Sections (4^th yr, required clerkship)
• CVM 6923 – Public Health and Community Medicine (2^nd yr, required course)
• CVM 6001 and 6007 – Global and Intercultural Opportunities Elective