Dr Rüegg is veterinarian. He completed a doctorate (DVM) and a PhD in epidemiology, biostatistics and molecular diagnostics of tick-borne equine piroplasmoses. Throughout field projects in southern Mongolia and as a veterinary practitioner he gained a solid understanding of practical aspects of veterinary medicine and epidemiology. From 2013 he worked as postdoc at the Veterinary Public Health Institute at the Vetsuisse-Faculty of Berne conducting an EMIDA project on cost efficacy of surveillance for vector-borne diseases and supervising a doctoral student. In September 2013 he has joined the Veterinary Epidemiology Group in Zurich as senior research assistant and lecturer. He also participates in the statistic consultancy. His research interest is the application of the theory of complex adaptive systems to medicine, in particular its impact on the medical decision making process, the relation between scientific, emotive, financial, ethical and social aspects, and the sustainability of medical practices. He also investigates the application of complex dynamical systems metrics to medical time series and is involved in several epidemiological investigations in Switzerland. His work in the COST Action "Network on the Evaluation of One Health" was published in two books, a "Handbook on Evaluation of One Health" and a Frontiers Research Topic with case studies. Currently, he works primarily on the implementation and evaluation of One Health as foreseen by that framework. Through the COVID-19 pandemic he has been invited by the World Organisation for Animal Healthto contribute to the "ad hoc Group on reducing the risk of disease spillover events at markets selling wildlife and along the wildlife supply chain" and by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) to advise on "a coordinated surveillance system under the One Health approach for cross-border pathogens that threaten the European Union".
He contributes to the editorial review board of various scientific journals on One Health, Epidemiology and tropical diseases. He contributes to a radio program of the Swiss national radioon plant and animal health. Furthermore, he is chair of the Swiss Association of Widlife, Zoo Animal and Exotic Pet Medicine, founding member of the European Network for One Health and Ecohealth, and member of the ethical commission on animal experimentation of the canton of Fribourg, and of the Swiss Association of Veterinarians.
Researcher profiles and publications
Dr. Rüegg's publications can be found here
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)
or in the Zürich Open Repository and Archive (ZORA) below.
ZORA Publication List
Publications
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Integrative concepts and practices of health in transdisciplinary social ecology. Socio-Ecological Practice Research, 2(1):71-90.
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Risk-based surveillance for meat-borne parasites. Experimental Parasitology, 208:107808.
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Ocular abnormalities in a herd of Old Kladruber Horses: a cross-sectional study. Veterinary Ophthalmology, 22(4):462-469.
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Editorial: Concepts and experiences in framing, integration and evaluation of One Health and EcoHealth. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6:1-3.
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Complex system approaches for animal health surveillance. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6:53.
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EVOLvINC: EValuating knOwLedge INtegration Capacity in multistakeholder governance. Ecology and Society, 24(2):art36.
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Optimising cost-effectiveness of freedom from disease surveillance—Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 as an example. Preventive veterinary medicine, 160:145-154.
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UV-light and dietary vitamin D and their effects on ionized calcium and 25-OH-D plasma concentrations in captive gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua). Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 102(5):1419-1428.
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Food intake and energy expenditure in growing cats with and without a predisposition to overweight. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 102(5):1401-1410.
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A systems approach to evaluate One Health initiatives. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5:23.
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One Health governance: knowledge integration in One Health policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. In: Rüegg, Simon; Häsler, B; Zinsstag, J. Integrated approaches to health : a handbook for the evaluation of One Health. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 228-245.
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Health solutions: theoretical foundations of the shift from sectoral to integrated systems. In: Rüegg, Simon; Häsler, B; Zinsstag, J. Integrated approaches to health : a handbook for the evaluation of One Health. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 22-37.
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Evaluation of integrated approaches to health with a focus on One Health. In: Rüegg, Simon; Häsler, B; Zinsstag, J. Integrated approaches to health : a handbook for the evaluation of One Health. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 14-21.
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A One Health evaluation framework. In: Rüegg, Simon R; Häsler, Barbara; Zinsstag, Jakob. Integrated approaches to health : a handbook for the evaluation of One Health. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 39-85.
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Assessing the ecological dimension of One Health. In: Rüegg, Simon R; Häsler, Barbara; Zinsstag, Jakob. Integrated approaches to health : a handbook for the evaluation of One Health. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 126-169.
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Growth potential of Listeria monocytogenes in six different RTE fruit products: impact of food matrix, storage temperature and shelf life. Italian journal of food safety, 7(3):142-147.
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Evaluating the contributions of One Health initiatives to social sustainability. In: Rüegg, Simon; Häsler, Barbara; Zinsstag, Jakob. Integrated approaches to health : a handbook for the evaluation of One Health. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 86-125.
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zDALY: An adjusted indicator to estimate the burden of zoonotic diseases. One health, 5:40-45.
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A One Health evaluation of the Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5(33):33.