CVMBS Professor Appointed To Presidential Advisory Council On Antibiotic Resistance
Story by Megan Myers, CVMBS Communications
Dr. Virginia Fajt, a clinical professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), has been appointed as a voting member to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB).
Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most urgent public health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths.
The PACCARB provides advice, information, and recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding programs and policies intended to support and evaluate U.S. government activities combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
As a voting member appointed by the Secretary for a term of four years, Fajt will attend two to three meetings of the PACCARB each year in Washington, D.C., as well as online working group meetings.
“I am honored to join this group in their important work on antibiotic resistance, which is a global challenge to human and animal health,” Fajt said. “The PACCARB is a premier example of the One Health approach, and I look forward to contributing to this effort in my capacity as a veterinarian, pharmacologist, and educator.”
Fajt, who is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology, has previously served on a Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) committee to produce the first comprehensive resource for understanding and interpreting antimicrobial susceptibility test results. She was also involved in making this resource, which addresses challenges veterinarians face every day in understanding how antimicrobial drugs work, available to all CVMBS veterinary students.
Her research interests include veterinary clinical pharmacology, food animal pharmacology, antimicrobial stewardship, and antibiotic resistance.
The PACCARB was created by executive order in 2014 as part of a federal effort to combat antibiotic resistance.
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Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of VMBS Communications, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu, 979-862-4216
