CRITICAL NEEDS FOR RESEARCH IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the American Animal Hospital Association, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Contract No. 200-2000-00629 (Task Order No. 28), the National Association of Federal Veterinarians, and the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139 (Task Order No. 140). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL NEEDS FOR RESEARCH IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
JAMES E. WOMACK, Chair,
Texas A&M University, College Station
LYNN C. ANDERSON,
Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, Massachusetts
LEONARD S. BULL,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
CHARLES C. CAPEN,
Ohio State University, Columbus
NORMAN F. CHEVILLE (retired),
Iowa State University, Ames
PETER DASZAK,
Consortium for Conservation Medicine, Palisades, New York
W. JEAN DODDS,
Hemopet, Santa Monica, California
MICHAEL P. DOYLE,
University of Georgia, Griffin
DAVID R. FRANZ,
Midwest Research Institute, Frederick, Maryland
JOHN A. SHADDUCK,
Shadduck Consulting LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado
DARCY H. SHAW,
University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada
DAVID E. SWAYNE,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, College Station, Athens, Georgia
RAVI J. TOLWANI,
Stanford University, California
National Research Council Staff
EVONNE TANG, Study Director
NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Senior Editor
JOHNNY HERNANDEZ, Anderson Intern
KAREN IMHOF, Administrative Assistant
PEGGY TSAI, Research Associate
BOARD ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
MAY BERENBAUM, Chair,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
SANDRA BARTHOLMEY,
University of Illinois, Chicago
ROGER N. BEACHY,
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri
H.H. CHENG,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul
W.R. GOMES,
University of California, Oakland
ARTURO GOMEZ-POMPA,
University of California, Riverside
PERRY R. HAGENSTEIN,
Institute for Forest Analysis, Planning, and Policy, Wayland, Massachusetts
JEAN HALLORAN,
Consumer Policy Institute/Consumers Union, Yonkers, New York
HANS R. HERREN,
Millennium Institute, Arlington, Virginia
DANIEL P. LOUCKS,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
WHITNEY MACMILLAN (Emeritus),
Cargill, Incorporated, Minneapolis, Minnesota
BRIAN W. MCBRIDE,
University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
TERRY MEDLEY,
E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Delaware
OLE NIELSEN (Emeritus),
Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Canada
ROBERT PAARLBERG,
Wellesley College, Watertown, Massachusetts
ALICE N. PELL,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
BOBBY PHILLS,
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
PEDRO A. SANCHEZ,
The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Palisades, New York
SONYA SALAMON,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
B.L. TURNER II,
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
TILAHUN D. YILMA,
University of California, Davis
JAW-KAI WANG,
University of Hawaii, Manoa
National Research Council Staff
CHARLOTTE KIRK BAER, Director (until October 2004)
ROBIN SCHOEN, Director (from November 2004)
KAREN IMHOF, Administrative Assistant
DONNA LEE JAMEISON, Senior Program Assistant
AUSTIN LEWIS, Program Officer
PEGGY TSAI, Research Associate
Preface
Veterinary research has historically played an important role in the improvement of health and welfare of all animals, including humans. Veterinary scientists are often at the forefront of research in human diseases because many human pathogens have their origins in animal hosts. Moreover, animal models of disease have been used to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of many diseases in humans and other animals. In addition to its many contributions to human health, veterinary research—by targeting the prevention and control of agricultural, domestic, wild and aquatic animal diseases—contributes to the quality of human life. Food-animal health, for example, secures a safe and economic food supply for the human population. Veterinary research is also essential to the health and increased longevity of service and companion animals and thereby reduces stress in both animals and owners. The events of September 11, 2001, have changed our lives in many ways and have greatly increased the need for research in human and animal health as bioterrorism threatens human health directly and indirectly through disruption of our food supply. Despite the increasing demands on veterinary research, however, its workforce has not increased. The types and priorities of resources dedicated to human and animal health must be reevaluated to address the greatly increased demands on research in the veterinary community.
The National Research Council’s Committee on the National Needs for Research in Veterinary Science—composed of specialists in pathology, laboratory animal medicine, infectious diseases, genomics, nutrition, food safety, biosecurity, and other subdisciplines of animal research—was charged to identify current needs and project future needs for research in three fields of veterinary science: public health and food safety; animal health; and comparative medicine. (The committee defines comparative medicine as the field of medicine that compares medical and scientific discoveries and knowledge of one or more animal species, including humans.) The committee was also asked to assess resources, infrastructure, and manpower available to meet those needs without making specific budgetary or organizational recommendations.
The committee met five times over a 10-month period, beginning in May 2004. To gather information, the committee hosted a workshop in which stakeholders and experts met to share data and opinions on current and future needs in veterinary research, on a vision for veterinary research from a government perspective, and on the integration of veterinary science into tomorrow’s research. Workshop speakers were selected in part to fill perceived gaps in the background and expertise of the committee.
We have organized our report into five chapters. We attempted to define the role of veterinary research in human society in Chapter 1, and to highlight historic achievements and identify trends and frontiers in veterinary research in Chapter 2. On the basis of the research needs described in Chapter 2, we suggest in Chapter 3 an implementation plan for each area of research with short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term goals. We describe the resources available for veterinary research in Chapter 4. In crafting Chapter 4, the committee encountered several instances in which desired information was not available for two reasons. First, veterinary research crosses disciplinary boundaries, so it is difficult to define resources and personnel that are dedicated strictly to veterinary research. Second, some desired information is available but cannot be extracted from databases. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a good database on individual grants, but it is difficult to determine whether some relevant awards are credited to veterinary research. The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges provided many of the needed data, but we were also seeking data on the time that faculty devote to research in colleges of veterinary medicine. Most important, there is no central source of data on infrastructure, human, and financial resources for other academic and research units relevant to veterinary science, such as departments of veterinary science, wildlife and fisheries, and comparative medicine; colleges of agriculture; and zoological institutions. In Chapter 5, we assess the adequacies of available resources to meet the challenges posed to veterinary research.
I am grateful to the committee of experts who gave their time and energy generously to a report they perceived to be timely and important. Each committee member participated in the writing, review, discussion, and revision of this report and eventually accepted it as a consensus interpretation of the status of and needs for research in veterinary science. I was impressed from beginning to end with the ability of this diverse collection of professionals to speak and listen, instruct and learn, agree and disagree, and ultimately reach an objective consensus on the issues posed in our charge. On behalf of the committee, I thank our study director, Dr. Evonne Tang, for providing direction, marshaling resources, and keeping this committee focused on its charge. The sometimes appropriate metaphor of herding cats is probably not lost on an audience drawn to veterinary research. We are also indebted to our administrative assistant, Karen Imhof, who, with Evonne made our work both productive and enjoyable.
James E. Womack, Chair
Committee on the National Needs for Research in Veterinary Science
Acknowledgments
This report is a product of the cooperation and contributions of many people. The committee would like to thank all the participants of the Workshop on National Needs for Research in Veterinary Science on July 19-20, 2004, and others who provided information and input.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following for their review of this report:
Ed Breitschwerdt, North Carolina State University
James Estep, Battelle Medical Research and Evaluation Facility
John M. Gay, University of Washington
Scott McEwen, University of Guelph, Canada
Michael Miller, Colorado Division of Wildlife
George Seidel, Colorado State University
Gary Sherman, USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
John Sundberg, The Jackson Laboratory
Linda Toth, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Dr. John G. Vandenbergh of the North Carolina State University. Appointed by the National Research Council, Dr. Vandenbergh was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the author committee and the institution.
TABLES, FIGURES, AND BOXES
Tables
4-1 |
Source of Funds for Animal Systems Research in FY 1998-2003 as Reported by Research Information for 15 Fields, |
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4-2 |
Funding of Research in FY 1999-2003 for Animal Systems, Food Safety, and Zoonoses as Reported by Current Research Information System, |
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4-3 |
Infrastructure Needed for Colleges of Veterinary Medicine to Support 241 Additional Veterinary Students and 658 New Graduate Students, |
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4-4 |
Total Patient Contacts by Faculty Members in All CVMs in 2002, |
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4-5 |
NIH Training Awards to CVMs, |
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4-6 |
Research Expenditures in Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, FY 2002-2003, |
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4-7 |
NIH Awards to Veterinarians and CVMs, |
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4-8 |
FY 2002 CVMs Sorted into Quartiles Based on Faculty Size (full-time equivalents—FTE), |
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4-9 |
NIH Awards (All Types) to Veterinarians, Dentists and All Degree Holders, |
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4-10 |
FY 1993-FY 2003 NIH Awards to Veterinarians in Different Institutions, |
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4-11 |
Awards to NPRC Investigators (Excluding P51 RR Support), FY 2001-FY 2004, |
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4-12 |
NIH Base Funding (P51) and Other Financial Support to NPRCs, FY 2001-FY 2004, |
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4-13 |
Funding for NIH Roadmap Initiatives, |
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4-14 |
CSREES Research Funding by Grant Category for Animal Protection in RPA#11-315, FY 1999-2003, |
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4-15 |
CSREES Funding in Selected Fields for FY 2004, FY 2005, and Proposed in President’s FY 2006 Budget, |
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4-16 |
Veterinarians at CDC, |
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4-17 |
Veterinarians participating in Epidemic Intelligence Service, 1951-2004, |
4-18 |
Annual Budget of Office of Research in the Center of Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration, FY 2001-FY 2005, |
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4-19 |
Extramural Grants and Cooperative Agreements Funded by the Center of Veterinary Medicine, FY 2000-FY 2005, |
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4-20 |
Awards by Each Agency under Joint NIH-NSF Program in Ecology of Infectious Diseases, FY 2000-2004, |
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5-1 |
Supply of and Demand for Veterinary Pathologists, |
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5-2 |
New Faculty Requirements of CVMs, |
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5-3 |
Proposed New Graduate Students in CVMs, |
Figures
1-1 |
A vision for veterinary medicine, |
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4-1 |
Number of US and foreign graduate students enrolled in colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States, 1993-2000, |
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4-2 |
Number of MS and PhD degrees awarded to US and foreign students by colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States, 1993-2003, |
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4-3 |
Number and total value of NIH awarded to colleges of veterinary medicine and departments of veterinary science that are not affiliated with colleges of veterinary medicine, |
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4-4 |
Number and total value of Research Projects (R01) awarded to colleges of veterinary medicine and departments of veterinary science that are not affiliated with colleges of veterinary medicine, |
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4-5 |
Number and total value of Research Program Projects (P01) awarded to colleges of veterinary medicine and departments of veterinary science that are not affiliated with colleges of veterinary medicine, |
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4-6 |
Number and total value of Animal Model and Animal/Biological Material Resource (P40) grants awarded to colleges of veterinary medicine and departments of veterinary science that are not affiliated with colleges of veterinary medicine, |
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4-7 |
ARS Scientists in animal health and protection (STP 3.2) and animal health national program (NP 103), |
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4-8 |
Veterinary medical officers (VMOs) and microbiologists employed by ARS, |
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4-9 |
ARS funding for animal health and protection (STP 3.2) and in animal health national program (NP 103), |
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4-10 |
Total NRI funding to states for FY 1999 to FY 2004, |
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4-11 |
Veterinarians and nonveterinarians participating in Epidemic Intelligence Service program, 1951-2004, |
Boxes
S-1 |
Examples of Opportunities for Veterinary Research to Safeguard and Improve Human and Animal Health, |
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S-2 |
Institutions and Organizations Considered in the Assessment of Resources for Veterinary Research in this Report, |
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2-1 |
Subdisciplines of Veterinary Research that are Critical to Improving Public Health and Food Safety, and Animal Health and Advancing Comparative Medicine, |
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2-2 |
Species-Neutral Disease Surveillance, |
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2-3 |
Examples of Wildlife Disease Outbreaks, |
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2-4 |
Medical Advances Achieved Through Animal Research, |
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3-1 |
A Research Agenda for Canine Behavior and Genetics Studies, |
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3-2 |
Example of an Interdisciplinary Research Approach to Studying Diseases-Rift Valley Fever, |
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4-1 |
End Points of DOD Directed Animal Research, |
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4-2 |
An Opportunity for Development of Scientific Expertise Needed in Veterinary Science Research, |
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5-1 |
CCR Training Initiative in Comparative Pathology and Biomedical Science, |