More than 50 skuas in Antarctica died from the high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1 in the summers of 2023 and 2024, marking the first documented die-off of wildlife from the virus on the continent. That is confirmed for the first time in a study led by Erasmus MC in The Netherlands and the University of California, Davis. It published this week in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

• Accessible Veterinary Care is raising funds to help remove financial barriers to lifesaving veterinary care for pets whose families are facing hardship.

When I took over leadership of the UC Davis One Health Institute (OHI) in 2020, the world was standing at the crossroads of crisis and possibility. Stepping into this role at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the end of our very successful PREDICT program, meant learning to lead a team already stretched by uncertainty and the shifting landscape of a “new normal.” Over the past five years, and especially throughout 2025, the OHI has navigated pressures that would have tested any organization. At every turn, we adapted. We pivoted.

We have two open positions within our Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center programs. See below for details:

Application Deadline: October 9, 2025 at 11:59PM
Salary/Pay Range: $111,400 - $170,600/year

OSLO, SEP 4 —Global health and pandemic experts are banding together to combine their AI programmes and infectious disease knowledge to more accurately rank the viruses that have the potential to cause the next deadly pandemic.

In early July, the 2025 Rx One Health Field Institute wrapped up its 8th year of programming! Over the course of two weeks, 25 participants from 13 countries immersed themselves in One Health experiential learning across some of California’s most remarkable ecosystems.

When Dr. Ernesto Rojas Sánchez first heard about UC Davis, he was a third-year veterinary student at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (UNA-CR). That’s when Dr. Pat Conrad, at the time the Associate Dean for Global Programs at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, visited his university to give a series of talks on infectious diseases in California and the One Health approach. Her presentation, which included research on toxoplasmosis in marine mammals and a roundtable discussion “Imagine what you can do and contribute as a veterinarian”, left a lasting impression.

June 19 marks World Albatross Day, organized by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), to raise awareness about the growing threats to albatrosses and petrels worldwide. This year’s theme focuses on the devastating impact of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) on these already vulnerable seabirds.

We're excited to announce a new collaboration between Siguiendo Ballenas — a southern right whale monitoring project we support through our Latin America program — and the global Blue Corridors initiative, which works to protect whale migratory routes around the world.

Four critically endangered female eastern lowland gorillas (also known as Grauer’s gorillas) rescued from the illegal wildlife trade have been reintroduced to the wild in Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The gorillas will provide a critical genetic boost to a small, isolated population of gorillas living on Mt. Tshiaberimu.