Research Education Program for Laboratory Animal Medicine Veterinarians

描述（由申请人提供）：兽医是经过广泛培训的卫生专业人员，他们具有参与生物医学研究的独特资格，对整个生物体的健康和疾病有着深刻的理解1，2。随着人畜共患病原体的出现以及心血管疾病和糖尿病等日益常见的慢性衰老疾病的出现，融合了人类医学和兽医学发现的“同一健康”概念日益受到关注。随着动物模型转化研究继续扩展到目前NIH所有研究项目的大约一半1，实验室动物医学兽医，特别是那些受过研究培训的兽医，为生物医学研究做出了越来越有价值的贡献。3美国国家科学院国家研究理事会委员会最近的两份报告得出结论，此类兽医严重短缺4，5。德克萨斯A&M大学准备扩大我们目前的比较医学培训计划，在实验室动物医学和动物模型研究的特殊轨道。这个特殊计划的目标是准备兽医精通临床医学，并通过完成一个研究项目，了解转化生物医学研究的概念。参与者不仅将接受经典实验室动物医学的教育，目标是成为ACLAM专家，他们还将拥有研究实验室的经验。课程工作和研讨会系列将给予广泛接触的主题和个人参与生物医学，无论是在临床医学和动物模型研究。必要的和可选的，单独设计的，轮换将涉及不同的动物物种，临床和行政实验室动物医学，诊断比较病理学和殖民地管理的学员。一个并行的组成部分，重点是3年计划的最后18个月，将涉及学员在一个研究项目，将使用 实验室动物作为主要组成部分。这项研究将最终在一个或多个同行评议的出版物适合ACLAM资格和MS。在生物医学科学。该计划将由临床和动物研究背景的教师组成，有17名临床医学/比较病理学导师和17名研究导师（共28名; 6名重叠），具有示范性临床医学/比较病理学专业知识和/或研究出版物和校外资金。该计划拥有卓越的机构支持和广泛的最先进的设施，包括临床前GLP实验室，转基因设施，灵长类动物中心，强大的行业-机构合作，以及新批准的DHHS生物防御疫苗中心。学术机构努力培养更多实验室动物医学兽医的一个主要障碍是难以提供足够的工资来源，以支持受训人员接受所需的长期培训。R25提供的培训职位将有助于招聘工作，增加比较医学住院医师的数量，并有助于缓解这种国家短缺。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 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, laboratory animal medicine veterinarians, particularly those with research training, make increasingly valuable contributions to biomedical research.3 Two recent reports by National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Committees concluded that there is a critical shortage of such veterinarians4,5. Texas A&M University is prepared to expand our current comparative medicine training program for a special track in Laboratory Animal Medicine and Animal Model Research. The objectives of this special program are to prepare veterinarians to be proficient in clinical medicine and understand concepts of translational biomedical research by completing a research project. Participants will not only become educated in classical laboratory animal medicine with the goal to become an ACLAM diplomate, they will also have experience in a research laboratory. Course work and seminar series will give broad exposure to topics and individuals involved in biomedicine, both in clinical medicine and in animal model research. Required and optional, individually designed, rotations will involve the trainees in diverse animal species, clinical and administrative laboratory animal medicine, diagnostic comparative pathology, and colony management. A concurrent component, with emphasis on the last 18 months of the 3-year program, will involve trainees in a research project that will use laboratory animals as a major component. This research will culminate in one or more peer-reviewed publications suitable for ACLAM eligibility and a M.S. in Biomedical Sciences. The program will be composed of faculty in both clinical and animal research backgrounds, with 17 Clinical Medicine/Comparative Pathology Mentors and 17 Research Mentors (total 28; 6 overlap) with exemplary clinical medicine/comparative pathology expertise and/or research publications and extramural funding. The program has exceptional institutional support and a broad array of state-of-the-art facilities, including preclinical GLP labs, transgenic facilities, primate centers, strong industry- institutional collaborations, and a newly approved DHHS Biodefense vaccine center. A major obstacle to the efforts of academic institutions to produce more laboratory animal medicine veterinarians is the difficulty of providing adequate salary sources to support trainees through the extended training needed. The training positions provided by this R25 would assist recruiting efforts, increase numbers of comparative medicine residents, and help alleviate this national shortage.