Date:  Thursday, January 26, 2023
Time:  7-8 pm

Topic : "CDC research in our backyard"
Dr. Heather Brake will be presenting on the exposure assessment of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) among dogs and cats living in the City of Parchment, Cooper township, and Belmont/Rockford areas. She is a CDC veterinarian focusing on West MI. The outcome of this study will allow veterinarians to better identify and provide recommendations for patients who have been exposed to high levels of PFAS and lay the foundation for the development of a surveillance system using dogs and cats as sentinels for human exposure. 

Here are the quick details:

• This meeting is open to member veterinarians and technicians.
  
• After registration with the WMVMA, you will receive an email to register with Zoom. You MUST register with Zoom to receive the link to the webinar. 

About our speaker:

Heather Brake, MS DVM, DACVPM is a board-certified veterinarian with the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who has been assigned to work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA.  Since joining CDC in 2003, she has been instrumental in the development of several programs to promote veterinarians in public health and to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases.  Most notably, Dr. Brake produced the website Healthy Pets Healthy People (www.cdc.gov/healthypets).   This is the only federal government website devoted to education about pet-associated zoonotic diseases and handling pets safely. 

In 2017, Dr. Brake was assigned to the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) where she currently works.  Since joining Environmental Health, Dr. Brake has worked on several critical issues such as lead, natural disasters, chemical spills, and per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).   Noting that her home state of Michigan had identified many areas of PFAS contamination, she decided to return to Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine to do research on PFAS and specifically how it impacts dogs and cats.  She is working towards a PhD under Dr. Kaneene in Comparative Medicine. 

CDR Bair-Brake received her Bachelor of Science at Hope College, her Master of Veterinary Science from the University of Kentucky, her Aquatic medicine certificate from AQUAVET, and her veterinary degree from Michigan State University. She lives in Tucker, GA with her two boys, two cats, dog, and numerous fish.