This workshop will tackle and discuss issues related to safe workplaces and increasing the representation of marginalized groups (including racialized minorities and women of all races) in the sciences. The workshop will feature a keynote presentation by UTIA’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Craig Pickett on the foundations of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). This presentation will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on actionable steps that can be taken to foster DEI and safe workplaces in the field of amphibian and reptile health specifically, and academia, government, and industry more broadly. The moderated panel session will feature experts and practitioners of DEI in the field of amphibian and reptile health and beyond. Attendees will be asked to anonymously submit questions for the panel discussion at registration and following the keynote presentation. Resource links and minutes from the workshop will be emailed to all participants and made public through the GARD website.

Organizer/Moderator: Craig Pickett 
Contact: mwilber@utk.edu
Format: Hybrid
Prerequisites: None
Date: August 8, 2022
Time: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: UTK Conference Center, Room 413ABC

This workshop will provide an overview of mathematical models of infectious diseases with a focus on dynamical systems models, such as systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) applied to amphibian populations. The learning objectives are:

1. To introduce participants to basic modeling frameworks of infectious diseases applied to amphibian populations.
2. To teach numerical and analytical methods for parameterizing and analyzing these models

Participants will learn the core theory for mathematical epidemiology including model development, parameterization, and analysis. During the workshop participants will get hands-on experience with provided sample codes in a variety of programming languages including Matlab, R, and/or python. The workshop will have short lectures followed by breakout sessions allowing individuals and/or small groups to implement code. These hands-on activities will include 1.) model development and coding, 2.) numerical simulations of ODEs, and 3.) parameterization and model fitting techniques. Previous modeling and coding experience is not necessary. Introductory material on scientific computing and installing necessary software will be provided one month prior to the workshop.

Organizer: Dr. Angie Peace, Dr. Amanda Laubmeier, and Mihrab Chowdhury
Contact: a.peace@tt.edu 
Format: Hybrid
Prerequisites: No prior experience necessary. Please bring your own laptop or contact mwilber@utk.edu to procure a temporary laptop for the workshop. Learners will be contacted prior to the workshop with information on necessary software to install.
Date: August 4, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: UTK Conference Center, Room 406

Our statistics, from regressions to SEMs, are association machines. They cannot, by themselves, tell us anything about causation, but only the degree and direction of statistical associations. We can, however, use DAGs to help us understand and test the consequence of assumed causal relationships, which can help us infer causation from statistical associations. That is, just by drawing a box-and-arrow sort of graph, we can make better sense of our data, related to amphibian and reptile health and beyond!

In this workshop we’ll cover the basics of DAGs, identify their testable implications, and learn why throwing all of our variables into a regression often makes our inference worse, not better. Our primary goal will be to place you, the researcher, back in the driver seat of your statistical inference. We will work with a handful of examples relevant to infectious disease research and practice drawing and thinking about causal diagrams based on our own research questions.

This workshop is ideal for students beginning to design their own studies, but is also intended for those wishing to develop a more formal version of their hard-won intuition for their own research or teaching.

Organizer: Dr. Jesse Brunner
Contact: jesse.brunner@wsu.edu
Format: In person
Prerequisites: None
Date: August 4, 2022
Time: 9:30 - 11:30am
Location: UTK Conference Center, Room 403

This workshop will consist of two parts (A & B).

Part A: A presentation will be given by Dr. Mike Garner on gross lesion recognition in amphibian and reptile species. The purpose of this portion of the workshop is to present images of common and not so common reptile and amphibian gross lesions in live and necropsy specimens, and in a participatory manner, establish a differential diagnosis and means for establishing a definitive diagnosis.

Part B: Participants will receive a hands-on, interactive experience with the necropsy process. An introductory presentation will be given to describe a standard necropsy and provide examples of common lesions seen in amphibian and reptile species. Thorough postmortem examinations including external and internal examination, lesion identification, and diagnostic sample collection will then be performed by the participants on one of a variety of amphibian and reptile species.

Organizer: Dr. Michael Garner, Dr. Deb Miller, and Dr. Wesley Sheley
Contact: zoopath1@gmail.com and dmille42@utk.edu
Format: Part A: Hybrid; Part B: In-person
Prerequisites: None
Date: August 4, 2022
Time: Part A: 7:30am - 9:00am; Part B: 9:30-12:00 pm
Location:  Part A: UTK Conference Center, Room 413; Part B: UT Center for Veterinary Medicine Pathology Floor

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought greater attention to a One Health approach that recognizes that public health is closely connected to animal health and our shared environment. The goals of this two-part workshop are to: (1) share information on One Health and the role of herps and (2) work on a white paper outline to elevate the importance of including herptile species in One Health approaches that are implemented in clinical, research, management, and policy actions globally. Part A (first hour) will include presentations geared at defining One Health and how herps currently factor into a One Health approach. Part B (the remaining 2-3 hours) will include discussion of gaps and opportunities related to inclusion of herps in a One Health approach. The workshop product will be an outline of key points that can be incorporated into a white paper on the importance of Herps in One Health. This paper will subsequently be submitted for publication. Workshop attendees will be asked to submit 1-2 key points ahead of time to serve as a basis for which to initiate the workshop discussion. Workshop will have two parts: Part A (first hour): open attendance; Part B (last 2-3 hr): 15 professionals + 5 students.

Organizer: Dr. Camile Hopkins and Dr. Deb Miller
Contact: mchopkins@usgs.gov and dmille42@utk.edu
Format: Hybrid
Prerequisites: None
Date: August 4, 2022
Time: Part A: 3:00pm-4:00pm; Part B: 4:00pm-6:30pm
Location: Part A: UTK Conference Center, Room 406; Part B: UTK Conference Center, Room 406