Mycotoxin contamination of food and feed is a shared problem for South Africa and the United States, and it crosses every boundary One Health is meant to span: soil and climate, crop and feed systems, animal health, and human disease. Two disease endpoints anchor our work. North-West University and the University of Missouri already collaborate on the relationship between aflatoxin exposure and breast cancer risk. In parallel, NWU's Research Chair in Mycotoxins and Human Health examines inflammation and metabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes.

We will present both strands and what they suggest about exposure assessment, biomarker development and health outcomes in high-exposure populations, then set out what NWU brings to a wider partnership: field sampling access and archived sample sets from populations with exposure levels that cannot be assembled in the United States, and postgraduate training capacity. MU's strengths in model development, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, and clinical research and training infrastructure, provide unique opportunity for impactful collaboration.