We are requesting 2 interns. One would be a graduate student pursuing computer based modeling of livestock infectious disease, and the other would be a veterinary student interested in livestock health and infectious disease problems. These 2 interns would work together so they not only learn from the project experiences, but share knowledge as a team. We will have them working with Dr. Webb's lab with oversight by Dr. Beck-Johnson to see how the modeling is performed and the data needs and quality essential for this type of work. We will have them working with the State Veterinarians office to gather data about livestock operations throughout the state. They will travel with the assistant State Veterinarian and the livestock specialist Mr. David Dice to work with livestock operations, evaluate biosecurity plans, interface with producer communities. Extension field agents are also involved in livestock operation assessment and education and interactions with these Extension field agents will be facilitated by the State Veterinary workforce. The interns will gain appreciation of the intersection and cooperation required between the regulatory, academic and producer communities to develop preparedness and response activities. They will learn about the challenges inherent in emergency preparedness, data collection and management, team coordination, public-private cooperation, producer education and livestock production systems.
