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Bonnie Buntain is the Assistant Dean of Government and International Relations and a Professor of Public Health at the University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine with a joint appointment in the Faculty of Medicine. She is an expert advisor to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Public Health Agency of Canada and the Auditor General of Canada.  Prior to joining the faculty in January 2007, Dr. Buntain was the Chief Public Health Veterinarian of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), United States Department of Agriculture. At the USDA Dr. Buntain advised the Office of Field Operations of all veterinary issues regarding food safety, humane slaughter and handling and optimizing the use, retention and recruitment of public health veterinarians. During her 16 years in public practice, Dr. Buntain has also held other government positions: a scientific reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine; the National Program Leader for Veterinary Medicine at the USDA’s Extension Service; and the Director of Animal Care at the USDA's Animal and Plant Inspection Service. In 1995, FSIS selected her to establish and manage their first Animal Production Food Safety Staff. In 1999 she was promoted to Assistant Deputy Administrator of FSIS’s Office of Public Health and Science. Asked about her work with the government, Dr. Buntain says, "I enjoy being able to make a significant difference on a very large scale in advancing public health and our profession." Dr. Buntain is the President of the Association of Food Safety Veterinarians and Chair of the United States Animal Health Association’s Food and Feed Safety Committee. She was also associated with the University of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, and served on the Advisory Council for the Center for Corporate and Government Practice. She has received numerous awards for her work. In 2000, Dr. Buntain was awarded “Outstanding Veterinarian in Food Safety” by the American Association of Food Safety Veterinarians, and “Outstanding Woman in Veterinary Medicine” by the Association for Women Veterinarians. In 2002, she received a Certificate of Merit for her work on the Food Biosecurity Action Team. In 2004, Dr. Buntain became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and was inducted into the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society. In 2006 she was inducted into the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Buntain received her DVM (1977) from Colorado State University, and her BS and MS in Animal Science from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Buntain completed an internship in Food Animal Medicine at the University of Glasgow, Scotland in 1978 and a two-year residency in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Missouri in 1980. She owned an equine veterinary practice in Hawaii from 1980-1990, and hosted an award-winning public television show, “Pets and People”.

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