Dr. Tracy McCracken named assistant director of education and training at Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Tracy McCracken of Chevy Chase, Md., has joined the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine as the assistant director of education and training for the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine.
McCracken is a 2005 graduate of the veterinary college. Prior to entering veterinary school, she completed a bachelor’s degree in wildlife at Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in animal health and production at the University of Edinburgh.
After earning her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, McCracken focused her career on international veterinary medicine and infectious diseases at the human-livestock-wildlife interface. Most recently, she was responsible for the technical design and field implementation of the WILD (Wildlife Investigation in Livestock Disease and Public Health) “One Health” training courses conducted throughout Africa supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Emergency Pandemic Threats program. This course was designed to provide joint training in both the classroom and field to promote and improve collaborative responses to health issues among human, livestock, and wildlife professionals.
Prior to her appointment, McCracken spent several years with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she provided technical support to programs and policy initiatives on emerging wildlife, livestock, and zoonotic diseases. She also led field research studies to provide insight on the role of wild birds in the global spread of avian influenza and has worked for USAID as a technical advisor supporting livestock development programs globally.
“Dr. McCracken’s work with the U.S. government and the United Nations has allowed her to apply her veterinary expertise in many countries throughout the world,” said Dr. Valerie Ragan, director of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. “Her area of specialty is emerging infectious diseases from wildlife, and she has been working to support the implementation of One Health integrated activities in addressing health issues globally. We are looking forward to leveraging her experiences and expertise to expand our One Health teaching portfolio and to help students shape their futures as veterinarians contributing to the global community.”
McCracken began her position with the veterinary college on Sept. 17. In her new role, she will help expand teaching, training, and career advisor programs for the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. Based in College Park, Md., the center has more than two decades of experience training veterinary students and graduate veterinarians for careers outside of traditional private clinical practice.
