The Center for Animal Health and Food Safety and the Veterinary Population Medicine Department are excited to welcome three new residents into the Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine (VPHPM) program.

Drs. Lauren Bernstein, Gus Brihn, and James Kincheloe began the University of Minnesota program on July 16th.

The two-year VPHPM residency allows early- to mid-career veterinarians to gain specialized training in veterinary public health practice, and is the first program in the United States to receive recognition from the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM).

The three new residents will all be pursuing a masters of public health through the U of M School of Public Health, in addition to their residency work. Residents are assigned to a variety of projects and activities with an emphasis on providing experiences across the full spectrum of teaching, research, and service. Residents work in close collaboration with their VPHPM residency mentors as well as U of M veterinary and public health faculty advisors.

Lauren Bernstein

Lauren received her BS in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee. Following a Rotary International site visit to South Africa as an undergraduate student, she decided to focus her prospective veterinary career on public health, specifically on issues involving diseases at the human-animal-environment interface. She completed her veterinary education at the University College Dublin, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Lauren is interested in preventive medicine, One Health, and the policy initiatives, community outreach, and public education surrounding One Health topics. When she's not in the office, she enjoys yoga, embracing the outdoor activities in Minneapolis, and finding excuses to talk about her rescue cat, Father Ted (affectionately named after a famous Irish TV comedy).

Gus Brihn

Gus completed his undergraduate degree at the U of M in Global Studies, and has spent much of his time abroad, including a year in France, and time in Namibia working for a research institution. Gus became interested in emergency medicine from becoming a Wilderness First Responder and NR-EMT. This, combined with his experience in Namibia, lead him into the realm of zoonotic diseases and veterinary medicine. He completed his veterinary degree at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Gus is interested in zoonotic disease outbreak investigation, prevention, and epidemiology. Outside of work, Gus enjoys rock climbing, doing Brazilian Jiu jitsu, or running trails. He has an 11 year-old Staffordshire terrier mix breed dog named Sweet Pea.

James Kincheloe

James grew up in wine country about an hour north of San Francisco, CA. He attended undergraduate and veterinary school at the University of California, Davis and has worked in production dairy medicine and small animal medicine in California. James’s primary interests in public health are sustainable agricultural development and policy. James also enjoys the opportunity teach in the veterinary curriculum and participate in outreach activities through the residency.

In his free time, James has too many hobbies and will attempt to scale back and focus on just a few during the residency. You may find him, among other activities, fly fishing on a lake, reading a history novel, practicing guitar, playing strategy games, or beer and wine tasting depending on the weekend.