About

The McEachran Institute provides a valuable new voice to help support animal health professionals, decision makers and communities as they collaboratively consider issues facing today’s society.  The Institute brings together people with diverse knowledge and skills, and a commitment to be a resource to help support organizations responsible for stewardship of animal and ecosystem health”.

Dr. Brett Elkin

Assistant Deputy Minister. Government of the Northwest Territories

Duncan McEachran was a pioneering veterinarian who tirelessly worked near the turn of the 19th Century to bolster the standing of veterinarians in society by expanding the scope and rigour of their training and practice as comparative health professionals. The mission of the McEachran Institute is to mirror Duncan’s efforts by enhancing the capacity for animal health professionals to serve the needs of society by addressing grand challenges of the 21st Century. The Institute is grounded by the philosophy of Duncan and his colleague William Osler that human and animal health are complementary and based on the same fundamental principles.  Like these two innovators, the McEachran Institute will combine superb comparative, cross-sectoral knowledge with an optimistic approach focused on societies capacity to overcome challenges by working together.

The McEachran Institute is an apolitical, independent registered charitable organization supported by a cross-sectoral board and advised by a cadre of internationally recognised experts. We are driven to ensure our investments and efforts make tangible differences in Canada and around the world through our knowledge sharing and outreach efforts. We are a nidus for a growing community of practice dedicated to creating innovations developed in a larger system of thinking, enabling collective actions achieved through collaborations spanning sectors, disciplines, and communities, and in doing so, enhance the contribution of animal health to society and ecosystems. 

The Institute was made possible by the visionary leadership and foundational funding provided by Dr. Ole Nielsen CM, DVM, PhD, LLD (Hon), Dip. ACVP. Ole is is a pioneer of veterinary education. As the former dean of both the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the Ontario Veterinary College, he shaped the field’s curriculum and fosters the ‘greening” of veterinary medicine. His early championing of “One Health” and ecosystem health helped shaped a generation of researchers and practitioners who are empowered to study and manage animal and human health together.