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Helensburgh & District

August 2026 Science Group Talk

Event type: Meeting
Date: 14th August 2026
Time: 11:00 am
Group: Science -Monthly Talks
Venue: Helensburgh Parish Church (Main Hall)
Organiser:
Cost: £2

Title:  ‘Some diseases we share with animals and what they tell us’  by Prof Kate Stalin

Summary:   As One Health becomes an increasingly common part of our scientific language, it is worth pausing to look more closely at how animal and human diseases intersect. Too often this relationship is viewed primarily through the lens of threat, particularly in the context of zoonotic disease. Yet many conditions are shared across species, and this shared biology offers significant opportunity. In this talk, I will explore examples of naturally occurring disease in dogs that serve as powerful models for comparative research, alongside ways in which disease management in animals can directly support human health. These examples reveal a truly symbiotic relationship between veterinary and human medicine; one that remains surprisingly under‑appreciated.

Speaker:  Professor Kate Stalin trained in small animal clinical practice and specialist referral work before moving into academia. She has spent over a decade at the University of Glasgow as a veterinary neurologist, combining clinical service, teaching, and research. Her interests focus on naturally occurring disease in companion animals and how clinical veterinary medicine can inform comparative and One Health research.