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The Veterinary Profession Has Lost One of Its Many Champions
March 18, 2024
Dr. Theresa Bernardo, who graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1984 and had a MSc in Epidemiology (UPEI) – the first graduate student from the then-nascent Atlantic Veterinary College – recently ended her battle with an aggressive disease. At the time of her death, Dr. Bernardo was the IDEXX Chair in Emerging Technologies and Preventive Healthcare at the University of Guelph and co-lead of the Informatics Theme for the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs).
Dr. Bernardo had a long and distinguished career with global impact. She was at the forefront of worldwide efforts to map and address regional and global disease surveillance and was transformative in the promotion of universal health surveillance awareness and interconnectedness. Her intellect and passion advanced the power of data collection and analysis to help us all understand the interplay and interdependence of humans, animals and our environment in the health and well-being of all (One Health). She was an internationally recognized innovator in addressing complex health problems through technology and made significant contributions to the United Nations and Inter-American systems in integrated health informatics, as well as in academia. Her contributions to the development of surveillance/mapping software have been used in over 100 countries and adopted by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) and the United Nations.
Theresa was the CVMA representative to PANVET (Pan-American Association of Veterinary Sciences) which has membership from veterinary associations within North, South, and Central America, and develops strategies to address cross jurisdictional concerns.
She was a kind and generous person who despite her illness took the time before her death to remind us all to, “Be kind to everyone and treasure each precious day.”
She will be missed.