PVM-led Conference Links Experts Virtually for International Dialogue on the Human-Animal Bond

October 29, 2021

A silhouette of a dog putting its paw on a woman's outstretched hand as they sit in the grass against a sunrise sky

The Purdue University Center for the Human-Animal Bond will host more than 1,800 participants from around the globe virtually next week for the 2021 Centers for the Human-Animal Bond Conference. The online conference November 4-5 will bring together a diverse collection of national and international academic human-animal interaction centers and institutes for a global, interdisciplinary conversation focused on advancement in this relatively new field of research.

The Centers for the Human-Animal Bond (CHAB) Conference first was held in 2006 at Purdue, and in 2016 a ten-year follow-up conference continued the conversation. Both of these previous conferences resulted in special issues in peer-reviewed journals (2008 in JVME and 2018 in HAIB), and this year’s conference will seek to continue that legacy.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Associate Professor of Human-Animal Interaction Maggie O’Haire said the 2021 CHAB Conference provides a vital opportunity to bring together multiple national and international academic human-animal interaction centers and institutes. “The conference will serve as a platform for interdisciplinary conversation with substantial opportunities for the exchange and discussion of new ideas for future research on animal assisted interventions and additional dimensions of the human-animal bond,” Dr. O’Haire said. She further explained that the periodic and structured dialogue and coordination by multi-disciplinary and geographically diverse human-animal interaction centers are critical to accelerating the advancement of the field and collaboration across disciplines, leading to further understanding of the physiological, psychological, and cultural implications of the human-animal bond.

The first day of the conference, Thursday, November 4, is free and open to the public and will include two plenary speakers and a panel discussion in the morning, a “Lunch and Learn” with center directors during the lunch hour, and two additional plenary speakers in the afternoon. During the Lunch and Learn session, representatives of world-class centers and institutions from around the globe will provide an overview of their organizations and the work they are accomplishing.

The conference is able to offer the day-long session that is open to the public with free registration thanks to generous sponsorships from the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Mars Petcare. Additional support for the conference is provided by the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for the Human-Animal Bond and the university’s Office of the Provost.

The conference will continue for a second day on Friday, November 5, with closed sessions that are limited to only invited leaders in the field of human-animal interaction.

Writer(s): Susan Xioufaridou | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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