Comparative Biomedical Research Training for Veterinarians

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Project Summary/Abstract The critical national shortage of veterinary scientists with PhD training who can provide their unique expertise in biomedical research recognized. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Research Council have recognized that veterinarians are broadly trained health professionals who are uniquely qualified to lead biomedical research, having an understanding of disease in the context of the whole organism. The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine (TAMU CVM) T32 training program is a three-year post-doctoral training program with the objective of providing PhD training to veterinarians in cutting edge biomedical research approaches and address the national need for this expertise. This renewal builds upon two previous successful project periods, 2010-2014 and 2015-2020, under the directorship of Dr. Ann Kier, who will assume an Advisor role to the PD (Albert Mulenga) and this renewal and serve on student committees. The TAMU CVM T32 will recruit outstanding trainees DVMS. In previous budget periods, trainees were recruited after they had completed their DVM residency program at the TAMU CVM or other schools in different specialties and had passed their specialty boards. During the residency program, prospective trainees with expressed desire to join the T32 program are advised to take relevant coursework pertinent to the PhD training. In this way, trainees will focus on conducting their dissertation research and complete PhD degree requirement within the three years that is supported under T32 funding. In the event that the trainee does not meet requirement for PhD graduation during the three-year T32 support, the mentor will provide support. During the two project periods, the program recruited 14 DVMs into graduate school. Of the 14 trainees, eight have graduated with their PhDs and seven have taken employment in biomedical research, one is in a temporary private practice, one is on schedule to complete her PhD, and five are still in training. Of the five; one trainee on track to finish in spring of 2020. Of the five, one trainee is on track to finish in spring of 2020 and the remaining are scheduled to graduate during this renewal: one trainee in year one of this renewal, and two in year two, and one in year 3. The NIH has recognized the fact that although the veterinary curriculum is analogous to medical school training, it provides an added benefit, the comparative nature of training in normal anatomy/physiology and abnormal disease states, providing an excellent basis for biomedical disease inquiry. This specialized training uniquely prepares veterinarian researchers to contribute to biomedical research in the modeling of human pathophysiology using laboratory animal models. The NIH Roadmap for Medical Research is designed to open up new opportunities to tackle the multifactorial causes of diseases not yet understood, particularly those associated with a longer lived, aging population, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes mellitus, autoimmunity, and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases. The comparative nature of their training equips veterinarians with insight and expertise to conduct clinical research.