Australia's first Zoobiquity conference coming to Sydney

On 27 February, the University of Sydney will host the first Zoobiquity conference ever to be held outside North America. Zoologists, molecular biologists and human and veterinary physicians will come together as they adopt an interdisciplinary approach to nutrition and disease in humans and animals.

The idea that ignited Zoobiquity came when Dr Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, a human cardiologist from the University of California, saw a sub-human primate at the Los Angeles Zoo. After realising the advantages of studying comparative medicine, she wrote a book on the subject and has since run three Zoobiquity conferences in the US. The conferences have garnered attention for facilitating discussion between human physicians and veterinarians, who rarely share their knowledge despite animals and humans suffering from similar diseases.

The Australian conference, which will be opened by Dr Natterson-Horowitz via video, will be jointly hosted by the university’s Centre for Veterinary Education, Sydney Medical School and Charles Perkins Centre. Leading researchers and clinicians will draw on the latest research from medical and veterinary science to explore how an integrated approach can help to better diagnose, treat and heal both human and animal patients.

Speakers will tackle difficult questions on diverse topics, including which macronutrients make for good nutritional health; how much salt, water and exercise we need; and why our companion animals are sharing a load of the obesity epidemic. Adjunct Professor Richard Malik, from the Centre of Veterinary Education, will bring his international expertise on small animal medicine to provide an evolutionary perspective on the health issues facing humans and animals alike.

The conference will be held at the Charles Perkins Centre on 27 February from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. For more information and to register, visit http://www.cve.edu.au/evzoobiquityconference15.