When COVID-19 started making headlines in early 2020, public health officials were consumed with human-to-human transmission of a novel coronavirus, and many were quick to dismiss concerns that the virus also posed a risk to livestock, pets and wildlife.

For decades, researchers at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) have studied the relationships between global health systems, spanning human, animal, and environmental health.

Overweight cats might be adorable “chonkers” to some on the internet, but obesity greatly reduces a cat’s quality of life and helping them lose weight isn’t always easy.

From his roots as a small animal veterinarian to his appointment as the Associate Deputy Minister of Health Canada and now as president of the Public Health Agency of Canada (with many adventures in between!), Dr. Harpreet Kochhar’s career is proof ‘you never know where a degree in veterinary medicine will take you.’