POWER OUTAGE

The UT Veterinary Medical Center will operate at severely reduced patient capacity from Saturday, December 16, 2023 until Wednesday, January 3, 2024. Referring veterinarians should call before sending a patient. For More Information

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Chika Okafor, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVPM (Epidemiology)

Associate Professor of Pre-harvest Food Safety Epidemiology and Director of the Veterinary Public Health Program | Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences

Specialization: A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and has a specialty board certification in Epidemiology from the same college.

Overview

Dr. Chika Okafor is a Pre-harvest Food Safety Epidemiologist. As director of Veterinary Public Health Program, he oversees the veterinary concentration of the UTK’s MPH degree program. His long-term research goal is to improve stewardship of antimicrobial use in food animals and veterinary medicine. He has utilized his expertise in epidemiological methods as well as statistical analysis of large datasets to understand/prevent animal diseases (e.g., bovine anaplasmosis) and pre-harvest food safety issues (colibacillosis, salmonellosis) associated antibiotic usage. He has published extensively in his field and has an excellent record of obtaining extramural funding. Before joining UT, Dr. Okafor received his DVM degree from the University of Nigeria, MS in Food Safety and PhD in Epidemiology from Michigan State University, and a post-doctoral fellowship in Nutritional Epidemiology at the University of Guelph, Canada. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and specialty board certified in Epidemiology.

Research Focus

Identifying patterns of antimicrobial use/resistance; Understanding/preventing animal diseases (ex: bovine anaplasmosis); pre-harvest food safety issues (colibacillosis, salmonellosis) associated with use of antibiotics

Teaching Focus

DVM and CEM graduate courses in Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine, One Health, Public Health, Food Safety, Zoonoses, and Epidemiology.

The College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Tennessee
2407 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Education and Training
  • DVM, University of Nigeria, 2003
  • MS, Michigan State University, 2008
  • PhD, Michigan State University, 2011
  • Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, 2014
  • Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine (Epidemiology), 2015

Chika Okafor, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVPM (Epidemiology)

Associate Professor of Pre-harvest Food Safety Epidemiology and Director of the Veterinary Public Health Program | Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences
The College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Tennessee
2407 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Education and Training
  • DVM, University of Nigeria, 2003
  • MS, Michigan State University, 2008
  • PhD, Michigan State University, 2011
  • Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, 2014
  • Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine (Epidemiology), 2015
Overview

Dr. Chika Okafor is a Pre-harvest Food Safety Epidemiologist. As director of Veterinary Public Health Program, he oversees the veterinary concentration of the UTK’s MPH degree program. His long-term research goal is to improve stewardship of antimicrobial use in food animals and veterinary medicine. He has utilized his expertise in epidemiological methods as well as statistical analysis of large datasets to understand/prevent animal diseases (e.g., bovine anaplasmosis) and pre-harvest food safety issues (colibacillosis, salmonellosis) associated antibiotic usage. He has published extensively in his field and has an excellent record of obtaining extramural funding. Before joining UT, Dr. Okafor received his DVM degree from the University of Nigeria, MS in Food Safety and PhD in Epidemiology from Michigan State University, and a post-doctoral fellowship in Nutritional Epidemiology at the University of Guelph, Canada. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and specialty board certified in Epidemiology.

Research Focus

Identifying patterns of antimicrobial use/resistance; Understanding/preventing animal diseases (ex: bovine anaplasmosis); pre-harvest food safety issues (colibacillosis, salmonellosis) associated with use of antibiotics

Teaching Focus

DVM and CEM graduate courses in Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine, One Health, Public Health, Food Safety, Zoonoses, and Epidemiology.