Eight students from NDSU’s master’s program in infectious disease management and biosecurity recently participated in a weeklong global policy course in Washington, D.C. The students enrolled in the International Health Security, Policy and Biosecurity course gained an understanding and appreciation for international health regulations as applied by intergovernmental agencies and the potential implications of these regulations on animal and human health, global trade and food safety. 

Margaret Khaitsa, associate professor of veterinary and microbiological sciences, co-instructed the course with Bill Sischo of Washington State University and Gene Hugoson of the University of Minnesota.

Students were given an opportunity to network with representatives of several intergovernmental organizations including, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, The World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Several collaborations emerged from the course, including internship opportunities at Washington State University for two of the graduate students. Michael Muleme and Robert Mugabi will spend July working under the mentorship of Sischo and Donald Knowles of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service with projects on salmonellosis and East Coast fever, respectively. In addition, students were given an opportunity to contribute to a concept note that is being developed by staff at The World Bank to address climate-sensitive diseases, in particular East Coast fever, bluetongue and Rift Valley fever. 

Students from Washington State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of California-Davis attended the weeklong course.

NDSU’s master’s degree in international infectious disease management and biosecurity was approved Sept. 16, 2011. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.