Emory professor to highlight threat of antibiotic resistance at Coppoc One Health Lecture

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Dr. James M. Hughes, professor of medicine and public health at Emory University, will speak about challenges posed by resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents at the third Coppoc One Health Lecture hosted by Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2 in Lynn Hall, Room 1136.

Hughes holds joint appointments in the School of Medicine (infectious diseases) and the Rollins School of Public Health (global health) at Emory University and is co-director of the Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center. Prior to joining Emory in 2005, Hughes worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, serving as director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases and as a rear admiral and an assistant surgeon general in the U.S. Public Health Service.

The topic of his lecture, which is free and open to the public, is "Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance: Importance of a One Health Approach."

"Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent, complex, multifaceted national and global challenge for medical, veterinary, research, pharmaceutical and public health professionals," Hughes said.  "This presentation will provide a historical perspective, review factors contributing to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, highlight the resistant organisms of greatest concern, and discuss some illustrative examples."

The program is in honor of Gordon Coppoc, a Purdue professor emeritus of veterinary pharmacology, and his wife, Harriet. A longtime faculty member and former head of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Coppoc also served as director of the Indiana University School of Medicine-Lafayette and associate dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine before retiring in December 2014.

A light reception will follow the lecture. No registration is necessary and one Continuing Education credit is available. 

Contact: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Source: Kevin Doerr, director of communications and public affairs for College of Veterinary Medicine, 765-494-8216, doerrkr@purdue.edu