Dr. Thomas Wittum, PhD

Dr. Wittum currently serves a Professor of Epidemiology and Chair of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University. He has academic appointments in both the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Public Health. In that role he provided leadership for a variety of programs related to antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship. He is one of the leaders of our Veterinary Public Health program at OSU, a true interprofessional educational program that is administered in conjunction with the College of Public Health. Dr. Wittum is a co-leader of the campus wide AMR thematic program within the OSU Infectious Diseases Institute and led the effort to have that program named one of the first international reference centers for AMR by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He serves on the executive advisory committee of the National Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education (NIAMRRE). For the past 20+ years his research program has focused on the epidemiology of zoonotic infectious diseases, with an emphasis on antimicrobial use, resistance, and stewardship. Dr. Wittum has placed considerable emphasis on research related to the issue of agricultural antimicrobial use and its impact on the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes and resistant pathogens impacting both veterinary medicine and public health. His research utilizes a One Health approach to investigate the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in animals, humans, and the environment. Dr. Wittum is also one of the leaders of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program for our OSU Veterinary Medical Center.