Pathways to One Health
Striving for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through One Health Fellowships
The One Health approach thrives on diversity! Our team enjoys the privilege of collaborating with and training One Health professionals from around the world, and we recognize that there’s more work to do to improve opportunities for underrepresented groups in our own communities. We are excited to launch an undergraduate fellowship program starting in the Winter of 2023 to help provide more inclusive and accessible opportunities at UC Davis. This pilot program is funded by the One Health Institute DEI Competitive Grants Program.
The One Health Fellowships pilot program will offer students an opportunity to gain research experience and receive mentorship in support of their career development within the veterinary and health sciences. Two UC Davis undergraduate students from underrepresented groups will receive fellowships during the 2022-2023 academic year.
The Fellowship will take place over two academic quarters, averaging 10 hours a week. Each student will receive a $3,000 stipend for their participation during the fellowship period. No previous research experience is required.
This application period has closed. Stay tuned for future opportunities!
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Jump to: Fellowship Activities | Eligibility Criteria | Mentors | FAQs |
Fellowship Activities
Each fellow selected will work with their mentorship team to outline fellowship priorities and develop a mentorship plan that best fits their interests and career goals.
Program activities will provide One Health Fellows experience in:
- Hands-on research: Fellows will attend project meetings and engage in research activities, including field sampling at local sites, reviewing scientific literature, analyzing data, and other research activities designed around the fellow’s interests. A portion of the literature review will include research into the barriers students from under-represented groups face when pursuing graduate school, which will be applied to the grant proposal development and presentation components listed below.
- Career planning: Fellows will engage with mentors across our team to develop their career interests and make plans to support their application to an advanced degree program.
- Grant proposal development: Fellows will gain insight into collaborative proposal writing by assisting researchers in preparing materials for grant applications to support future student fellowships.
- Presenting research findings: At the end of the fellowship, fellows will prepare and present a poster or short presentation summarizing their findings on the barriers students face when pursuing graduate school.
Eligibility Criteria
- Enrolled as an undergraduate at UC Davis and in good class standing
- Enrolled in a major relevant to One Health studies (e.g., biology and life science majors)
- Interested in pursuing a DVM, VMD, Masters, or Ph.D. after graduation
- Have and maintain a UC cumulative GPA at or above 2.8 (waived freshmen and transfer students during their first quarter of attendance)
- Belong to an underrepresented group in the veterinary and health sciences
- Are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, or a DACA recipient
- Able to commit to fellowship activities for 10 hours per week over 2 academic quarters
Priority will be given to students who fit the following criteria:
- A first-generation college student (neither parent/guardian achieving a BA or BS)
- From low-income household and eligible for need-based financial aid
- Sophomore to junior class level
- Have limited or no prior research experience
Our Mentorship Team
Our core mentoring team includes Christine K. Johnson, Brian Bird, Jalika Joyner, Pranav Pandit, Tierra Smiley Evans, Nicole Gardner, Ariel Loredo, and Janna Freeman. We’ll also recruit additional mentors as needed based on student fellow’s interests. Students will work with many people across our EpiCenter and OHI teams to learn different skills and get exposure to a variety of research activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need previous research experience to apply to this fellowship?
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You do not need previous research experience to apply! We encourage you to learn more about this opportunity if you have interests in veterinary and/or health science, if you are interested in undergraduate research experience, want to go to graduate school, and/or you are interested in contributing to building and developing more inclusive and accessible opportunities for your UC Davis community.
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How do I know if this fellowship is right for me? I’m not sure about what career path I’d like to pursue and/or I don’t know if I want to attend graduate or veterinary school.
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We encourage you to come to our information session and talk to us about your interests. You don’t need your career path planned out to benefit from this fellowship, but you’ll get the most out of our program if you’re excited about the work we do. You can learn more about our research and team by exploring the EpiCenter and OHI websites.
If you need assistance in planning your coursework to ensure you meet graduate or veterinary school prerequisites, you can reach out to your academic advisor for support.
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I’m not sure if I qualify. How can I tell?
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Review the eligibility criteria on this page and reach out to us at OneHealthPathways@ucdavis.edu if you have any questions. We also encourage you to come to our information session and talk to us about your situation.
If you don’t qualify, but want to learn more about the programs we offer and receive information about resources and opportunities to advance your education and career, join our listserv!
If you want more information on under-represented groups in the veterinary sciences, check out these sources:
UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Student Diversity Data
Association Of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Position Statements
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How long is the fellowship? What will the schedule and workload requirements be like?
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The Fellowship will take place over two academic quarters, averaging 10 hours a week. Each student will receive a $3,000 stipend for their participation during the fellowship period.
Fellows will have a flexible schedule with hours balanced throughout the quarter to accommodate course workload and availability. Some work may be conducted during academic breaks as feasible, to permit timeline flexibility.
- How does the stipend work?
- The stipend will be distributed into your financial aid account for you to use as you need it most. $1,500 will be distributed during your first quarter in the program and $1,500 will be distributed during your second quarter in the program, for a total of $3,000.
- What happens after I apply?
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Our team will review applications in late November and we will contact top applicants by email to schedule a 15-minute interview to assess if their interests and abilities align well with our program. After we complete all interviews, we will select two students to participate as One Health Fellows and notify them by email. All applicants will receive email updates about future opportunities and resources to advance their education and career.
- Which faculty will I be working with? Who will my mentor be?
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Once you begin your fellowship, we’ll meet with you to outline your fellowship priorities and develop a mentorship plan that best fits your interests and career goals. You’ll also work with many people on our team to learn different skills and get exposure to a variety of research activities. Here are some people you’ll work with during your fellowship:
Faculty:
Student and Staff Mentors:
- Where does the fellowship take place? Where are your field sites and laboratory?
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The One Health Institute and OHI Lab are located in Veterinary Medicine 3B (VM3B) on the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine campus. The majority of activities will take place on-site at OHI, though some activities will be available for virtual attendance. Field research activities will occur at the Clover Valley Research field station in the Sierra Nevada mountains and locally around Yolo County. Carpooling options will be available for all field outings, so you will not need your own vehicle to attend.
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Why am I presenting research findings? What will this presentation contribute to?
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The fellow will present a research poster or seminar summarizing their findings on relevant barriers and challenges for underrepresented students seeking research experience and admission to graduate school. The fellow will also present identified opportunities and priorities for improving accessibility to opportunities in One Health research and the veterinary sciences.
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Any tips for submitting a successful application?
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• Be sincere and honest in your responses.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
• Reread your application before submission to catch any typos or sections with incomplete information.
• Learn more about our research and team by exploring the EpiCenter and OHI websites.
Below are the two writing prompts in the application. We suggest writing and editing these in a word processing application before you start filling in the application.
1. Why are you interested in this research fellowship opportunity? How will it help you achieve your future academic and career goals? In addition to telling us why you're interested in the fellowship and how it may help you, you can use this section to share research interests or experiences that have inspired your academic and career pursuits. (2,000 character limit, about 350-400 words).
2. Describe any relevant research and extracurricular activities (e.g., volunteer positions, student clubs, etc.). (500 character limit, about 80-100 words)