“One Health for a Changing World: Forests, Farms and Families”

Professor David Durrheim AM
Director of Health Protection
Hunter New England Health, NSW

Panellists
Associate Professor Lorina Barker
Local, Community, and Oral History, UNE
Professor Susan Wilson
Environmental Pollution, UNE
Associate Professor Gal Winter
Biomedical Science (Nutrition), UNE
Associate Professor Jacqueline Epps
Rural Medicine, UNE
Professor Natkunam Ketheesan (Moderator)
Biomedical Science(Infection and Immunity), UNE

Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2026, 5.00–7.30 pm AEST
Venue: NOVA, 122 Faulkner Street, Armidale NSW 2350
Entry: No charge
Registration: Please register before 12.00 noon AEST on Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Video presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome

Please click here to register Summary: One Health recognises that human, animal, and environmental health are inseparable. Harm rarely travels in one direction — damage to a forest or a farm sets in motion a chain of consequences that ultimately reaches the family dinner table and the clinic waiting room. Disease, food security, and ecosystem resilience cannot be solved in isolation.

Breaking research silos means clinicians, ecologists, veterinarians, agriculturalists, and community voices working from a shared evidence base rather than parallel ones. For Forests, Farms and Families, this integration is not merely desirable — it is essential.

Drawing on real-world examples of locally important zoonotic diseases, Professor Durrheim will talk about growing a viable One Health Network in regional Australia. Panel members will further share how their own research is reshaping our understanding of One Health — not simply connecting existing dots, but redrawing the map of how we think about, and respond to, interconnected global health challenges.

Professor David Durrheim MBChB DrPH DCH DTM&H MPH&TM FACTM FAFPHM is Director of Health Protection at Hunter New England Health, New South Wales, Australia. His research interests span novel infectious disease surveillance, the control of zoonotic diseases, and strategies to reduce inequities in public health service delivery.

Professor Durrheim has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications, as well as numerous scientific monographs and book chapters. His work in the One Health space has earned international recognition, particularly for his success in translating operational research into practical improvements in surveillance and service delivery for local public health programs. He has been instrumental in developing novel surveillance systems to detect and support responses to emerging infectious disease risks.

In 2021, Professor Durrheim was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to public health medicine and international health. In 2024, he was conferred the honour of Freeman of the City of Lake Macquarie in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public health and his dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic. He remains an outspoken advocate for equitable global access to effective public health measures.