Veterinary Summer Scholars in Comparative Medicine

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ABSTRACT Veterinarian-scientists provide critical disciplinary and technical expertise for advancing biomedical research. Due to their broad understanding of animal anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and disease, they possess key knowledge for cross-species comparative medicine and for experimentally-induced and naturally occurring animal models of human diseases. Veterinarian-scientists also provide contributions to human welfare through critical roles in One Health initiatives, including in global food security and in emerging and zoonotic diseases. Of importance is that approximately 75% of recently emerging infectious diseases affecting humans are diseases of animal origin. However, the US National Research Council, an NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce Working Group Report, and the NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs have all emphasized that the veterinarian-scientist workforce is far underrepresented and underutilized in biomedical research. Reasons for this include limited access by veterinary students to biomedical research programs and appropriate training. The objective of our “Veterinary Summer Scholars in Comparative Medicine” T35 training program is to provide direct biomedical research experiences to first and second-year veterinary students to increase the numbers of researchers in the veterinary-scientist pipeline. Our approach will consist of 1) providing opportunities to conduct biomedical research in an environment of collaboration and discovery provided by mentors who are basic and clinical-scientists, and 2) providing research training in the form of lectures and discussions focused on responsible conduct and ethics in research, experimental design and quality assurance, research communication, and career pathways in the biomedical sciences. New innovations described in this renewal application include increased opportunities for continued research experiences during veterinary school, as well as interprofessional interactions by our veterinary students with other health professionals to promote team-science. The proposed T35 training program involves a critical mass of faculty mentors from our comprehensive Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota for providing multidisciplinary and state-of-the-art research experiences.