by Laura Patterson, PhD candidate, Graduate Group in Epidemiology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
As a former small-scale, diversified farmer (e.g., flowers, vegetables) and goat dairy manager, my deep-rooted agricultural background informs my research as an epidemiology PhD candidate at the University of California, Davis. My dissertation focuses on evaluating the risk of disease transmission in the wildlife-livestock-human interface.
Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis discusses the challenges that California dairies will face as they attempt to reduce agricultural emissions by 2030.
An additional research project, “Reducing occupational exposure to zoonotic pathogens in California dairy farmworkers,” has been awarded funding from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, increasing the number of primary WCAHS research projects to five.
Dairy workers are especially at risk for injury (fatal and non-fatal) from accidents with animals and machinery. Download a free dairy safety training guide in English or Spanish.
