Veterinarians are broadly trained health professionals who are uniquely qualified to participate in biomedical research, having an understanding of health and disease in the context of the whole organism1,2. The One Health concept, integrating discoveries in both human and veterinary medicine, has received increased attention with the emergence of zoonotic pathogens as well as increasingly common chronic aging conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. As translational research with animal models continue to expand to approximately half of all current NIH research projects1, veterinarians, particularly those with research training, make increasingly valuable contributions to biomedical research.3 Two reports by National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Committees concluded that there is a critical shortage of such veterinarians4,5. For example, the lack of an adequate number of comparative pathologists, physiologists, laboratory animal veterinarians, and other veterinary specialists to evaluate genetically engineered mice has resulted in erroneous publications in which normal anatomic structures were interpreted as lesions.1 Texas A&M University is prepared to expand our current summer research training program for veterinary students. The goal of our summer Veterinary Scholar Research Program (VSRP) is to introduce veterinary students very early in their veterinary training to the biomedical research environment, facilitating trainees to discover research as an exciting career option. In this competitive renewal, the program will be led by a new Program Director, a reconfigured Advisory Committee, and 39 research mentors. The summer program includes: 1) research in a mentor's laboratory, emphasizing the One Health approach to a biomedical research problem; (2) a weekly lunch meeting of seminars on topics related to research ethics and scientific and professional development, or journal clubs discussing peer-reviewed research papers; (3) participation in the annual CVM research symposium; and 4) presenting a research poster at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium. The program has exceptional institutional support and a broad array of state-of-the-art facilities, including preclinical GLP lbs, a national biodefense lab, primate center, strong institutional collaborations, and a recently funded DHHS Biodefense vaccine center. A major obstacle to the efforts of academic institutions to produce more research veterinarians is the difficulty of providing adequate salary sources to introduce trainees to research. The training positions provided by this T35 would assist recruiting efforts, increase numbers of veterinarians in research, and help alleviate this national shortage.

Public Health Relevance

Veterinarians are broadly trained health professionals who are uniquely qualified to participate in biomedical research, having an understanding of health and disease in the context of the whole organism. This Veterinary Research Scholars training program addresses a critical national need for veterinarians in biomedical research. Texas A&M University is prepared to expand our current summer research training program for veterinary students. The goal of our summer Veterinary Scholar Research Program (VSRP) is to introduce veterinary students very early in their veterinary training to the biomedical research environment, facilitating trainees to discover research as an exciting career option. The training positions provided by this T35 would assist recruiting efforts, increase numbers of veterinarians in research, and help alleviate this national shortage.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)
Type
NRSA Short -Term Research Training (T35)
Project #
5T35OD010991-13
Application #
9231514
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Watson, Harold L
Project Start
2004-08-02
Project End
2020-02-28
Budget Start
2017-03-01
Budget End
2018-02-28
Support Year
13
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Texas A&M Agrilife Research
Department
Veterinary Sciences
Type
Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS #
847205713
City
College Station
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77843
Milligan, Sherrelle; Martin, Gregory G; Landrock, Danilo et al. (2018) Ablating both Fabp1 and Scp2/Scpx (TKO) induces hepatic phospholipid and cholesterol accumulation in high fat-fed mice. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 1863:323-338
Martin, Gregory G; Seeger, Drew R; McIntosh, Avery L et al. (2018) Scp-2/Scp-x ablation in Fabp1 null mice differentially impacts hepatic endocannabinoid level depending on dietary fat. Arch Biochem Biophys 650:93-102
Linden, Albert G; Li, Shili; Choi, Hwa Y et al. (2018) Interplay between ChREBP and SREBP-1c coordinates postprandial glycolysis and lipogenesis in livers of mice. J Lipid Res 59:475-487
Meason-Smith, Courtney; Edwards, Erin E; Older, Caitlin E et al. (2017) Panfungal Polymerase Chain Reaction for Identification of Fungal Pathogens in Formalin-Fixed Animal Tissues. Vet Pathol 54:640-648
Martin, Gregory G; Landrock, Danilo; Chung, Sarah et al. (2017) Loss of fatty acid binding protein-1 alters the hepatic endocannabinoid system response to a high-fat diet. J Lipid Res 58:2114-2126
Hodo, Carolyn L; Bertolini, Nicole R; Bernal, John C et al. (2017) Lack of Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Urban Roof Rats (Rattus rattus) at a Texas Facility Housing Naturally Infected Nonhuman Primates. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 56:57-62
Chatham-Stephens, Kevin; Taylor, Ethel; Chang, Arthur et al. (2017) Hepatotoxicity associated with weight loss or sports dietary supplements, including OxyELITE Pro™ - United States, 2013. Drug Test Anal 9:68-74
Martin, Gregory G; Landrock, Danilo; Chung, Sarah et al. (2017) Fabp1 gene ablation inhibits high-fat diet-induced increase in brain endocannabinoids. J Neurochem 140:294-306
Meason-Smith, Courtney; Diesel, Alison; Patterson, Adam P et al. (2017) Characterization of the cutaneous mycobiota in healthy and allergic cats using next generation sequencing. Vet Dermatol 28:71-e17
Landrock, Danilo; Milligan, Sherrelle; Martin, Gregory G et al. (2017) Effect of Fabp1/Scp-2/Scp-x Ablation on Whole Body and Hepatic Phenotype of Phytol-Fed Male Mice. Lipids 52:385-397

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