The Wildlife Disease Association (WDA) was started in 1951 with goal of researching and understanding wildlife health. In recent years, after the Covid-19 Pandemic, it has become increasingly important to study One Health and its impacts. From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), One Health is an approach which considers how humans, plants, and animals interact with each other in their environments. In the UTK student chapter of the WDA, members will be encouraged to pursue research, volunteer work, and continuing education with wildlife utilizing a One Health approach. 

Students interested in wildlife or wildlife health, disease, and/or One Health would fit right into the WDA. We will have guest speakers from UT College of Veterinary Medicine, the Wildlife and Fisheries department, and the Animal Science department, as well as local and international speakers. 

We also welcome members to talk to the organization about current research, volunteer work, or programs that they become involved with. 

The goal is educate the members of the WDA UTK Student Chapter about local, national, and international opportunities within the wildlife, disease, and One Health fields. 

Students are encouraged to join the organization through their VoLink accounts. Simply login using your UTK NetID and password. Then search "WDA", go to the organization's profile, and click the big blue "Join" button. It may take a couple of days for a board member to approve you, but there are no specific requirements for you to join, so you are automatically a member! Once you join, please request to join our groupme through this link @utkwda. 

If there are any more questions about the WDA UTK Student Chapter, please refer to our board member page for contact information.