Key Speakers

Dr. Sharon Watkins retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Health in November 2023, having served most recently as the Director for the Bureau of Epidemiology and the State Epidemiologist. Prior to joining the department in 2015, she served as Chief for the Bureau of Epidemiology and as Director of Public Health Research for the Florida Department of Health. Dr. Watkins has over 40 peer reviewed publications and over 25 years of experience in applied public health and epidemiology. She also served on the CSTE Executive Board from 2012 until 2021, including a term as President from 2019–2020, and was the recipient of the 2023 CSTE Pumphandle Award. Dr. Watkins is a graduate of Ohio State University where she specialized in Epidemiology, Environmental Epidemiology, and Perinatal/Maternal & Child Epidemiology.

Dr. Melanie Nadeau, aka Dr. Mel, is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in Belcourt, North Dakota.  She completed both her Master of Public Health in community health education with a concentration in health disparities and her PhD in social/behavioral epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Dr. Mel is a community led scholar and has worked more than 19 years on various research and evaluation projects within the American Indian community. She has successfully engaged a multitude of tribal health stakeholders from across the nation and is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Native communities.  Dr. Mel currently serves on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Research Review Board, as program co-chair for the American Evaluation Association Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation Topical Interest Group, on the American Public Health Association American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian board, and co-chairs the Tribal Health Data workgroup for the North Dakota Department of Health.  Dr. Mel also serves as Graduate Program Director and Assistant Professor for the Indigenous Health PhD program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Dr. Stephen Cole is a veterinarian and clinical microbiologist board-certified in bacteriology/mycology, virology and immunology by the American College of Veterinary Microbiology. He is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Microbiology and serves as the Director of the Clinical Infectious Diseases Laboratory at PennVet. His work in the diagnostic lab informs his research interests in antibiotic resistant bacteria of companion animals and their potential spread from and to their human companions. He employs his skills in basic bacteriology and molecular epidemiology with his clinical training and knowledge with the goal of advancing the field of veterinary microbiology. He is also a dedicated teacher with an interest in educational research that informs antimicrobial stewardship education. He has won numerous teaching awards, the ASM Peggy Cotter Early Career Award and was named a One Health Scholar by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges.