Michigan State University
Fisheries & Wildlife Department
Graduate Student Organization
The GSO Symposium is a student-organized event with the goals of increasing communication within our department and amongst our partners, showcasing the range of research topics we are investigating, and providing graduate students with an opportunity to present their research in a professional atmosphere.
The 2026 Symposium will be held on March 20th, 2026 at the MSU Union
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Amanda Fine
Former Director of One Health
Wildlife Conservation Society
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"The Wild Side of One Health"
One Health is often described as the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health, yet the wildlife and ecosystem dimensions are often overlooked. In this talk, veterinary epidemiologist and wildlife health specialist Amanda Fine shares her career journey into the One Health field and reflects on how work at the wildlife–livestock–human interface has shaped her perspectives on emerging infectious diseases and global health. Drawing on three decades of experience across wildlife conservation, veterinary medicine, and international health, she explores why integrating wildlife and ecosystem health are essential to preventing future disease threats and sustaining healthy communities. The talk will highlight how students and researchers in Michigan State University’s Fisheries and Wildlife Program are uniquely positioned to help bring the environmental pillar of One Health to the forefront and shape a more integrated and healthier future for people, animals, and the planet.
More about Dr. Amanda Fine:
Amanda Fine is the former Director of One Health at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). She has 20 years of experience working in Asia, first based in Mongolia as WCS Country Program Director, and more recently in Vietnam overseeing WCS health initiatives in the Southeast Asia region. Amanda led WCS’s engagement in USAID’s Emerging Pandemic Threat Program’s PREDICT Project and supported the development of the WildHealthNet initiative which is currently building national wildlife disease surveillance capacity and networks across Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia. Amanda has a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology from Michigan State University. During her career Amanda has led a series of interdisciplinary “One Health” initiatives focused on the management of disease at the interface of human, livestock, and wildlife health with projects and research focused on zoonotic viruses, avian influenza in wild birds, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in wild and domestic ungulates, bovine tuberculosis, and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) virus at the wildlife/livestock interface. ​