? The past decade has seen reduced veterinary medical student exposure to the basic sciences in favor of the clinical sciences, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of veterinarians choosing research-oriented careers. With the increased emphasis on infectious diseases and use of animal models in research, particularly in the area of transgenic animals and gene therapy, the demand for veterinarians trained in basic sciences is escalating. Infectious agents and toxins are a critical concern for national security. The majority of infectious agents included as class A or B agents of concern are in fact veterinary pathogens. Veterinarians with clinical training in conjunction with specialized biomedical skills will bring unique perspectives to diagnosis, control, and study of pathogenic mechanisms of these infectious agents. Most biomedical research problems involving human health are best solved by a collaborative effort involving specialists in many different fields, especially in elucidating the role of environmental pollution on human health. Yet, without animal experimentation, it will be difficult to definitively prove the role of any given pollutant in environmentally related disease or to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of disease development. Veterinarians should play key roles in developing and using needed animal models most efficiently. However, without research training, these individuals will not be fully functional members of the team. As one of the few universities with both veterinary and medical professional schools on the same physical campus, the investigators have the opportunity to provide truly multi-disciplinary opportunities for training in basic animal-oriented, hypothesis-driven research. The proposed training program will be an expansion of the current D.V.M./Ph.D. training program and involves mentors from the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, and Dentistry. The applicants will identify and recruit three students per year. Admission to the veterinary curriculum will be delayed for one year while the formal doctoral didactic coursework is completed, with stipends provided by UF. The UF will provide one additional year of stipend support, with a full year of research support provided by this training grant. If necessary, additional years of support will be provided by the mentor. ? ?
