Dr. Julio Benavides is Director of Research in One Health within the MIVEGEC unit. Trained as an ecologist and evolutionary biologist, his main research focuses on the interdisciplinary study of the ecology and control of zoonotic diseases and antibiotic-resistant bacteria at the interface between wildlife, domestic animals and humans. This work aims to identify the socio-ecological factors influencing the emergence and spread of these diseases, using a ‘One Health’ approach to reduce their impact on animal and human health and a multidisciplinary approach to study the health and socio-economic consequences of zoonotic disease transmission.
After years of research in the gorilla-dwelling rainforests of Central Africa, then Yellowstone, his research over the last ten years has focused mainly on Latin America (IRN MIGRAPATHO including 7 countries) and the Mediterranean (Zone Atelier Camargues), with projects and students in Chile (Visiting Professor of the Doctorate in Conservation Medicine and One Health Institute, Andres Bello University), Peru (JEAI STOAMR), Brazil (ZAMBA and ZOOPOX projects), Argentina and Colombia.