Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Oklahoma State University One Health Innovation Lab Director, Dr. Samuel Jeyasingh, to talk about the One Health Innovation Lab facility in The Innovation Foundation at OSU.
Jeyasingh explained that the lab spans the interconnectedness between animal health, human health, plant health and the environment also known as One Health. “We understand there is a lot of mutual connection between how animal health impacts our global food supply.”
“As an entity within The Innovation Foundation at OSU, our mission is to collaborate across our three applied research institutes, the University as well as strengthen and build on our biotech efforts across the state of Oklahoma,” Jeyasingh said.
Those activities might include working with the OSU Wheat Breeding Program, or with our Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute, the state of Oklahoma and other state agencies such as the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
“The samples need to be sequenced, and currently, they are being outsourced to another state. By offering this process here, we are creating a more efficient system saving time and money,” Jeyasingh explained.
Jeyasingh is proud of what the lab has to offer. He said, “We have a niche on the animal health space. We have the animal diseases diagnostic lab that acts as a USDA reference lab. Also having the quality of veterinary medicine and some well-known scientists. It is a great place to be, working together as a team to solve One Health problems.”
On a personal note, Jeyasingh is proud to be back in Stillwater serving as the Lab Director at the same institution where he earned his Ph.D. “It is a great honor for me to be back and able to give back to this community,” he remarked.
