Supporting veterinary research in the 21st century

"Love a vet"

Veterinarians have an increasingly critical role in the modern world. Climate change, globalisation, and the emergence and spread of new diseases are changing the spatial epidemiology of animal diseases – many of which can be transferred to humans (zoonoses).

As populations grow the demand for meat and livestock will keep rising, and with dramatic shifts in disease epidemiology, along with the ever-present possibility of bio- and agro-terrorism, food – and animal – safety is of paramount importance. Yet veterinary research is under-funded and the important contribution of the vet to wider research is under-recognised.

On the day that the Trust’s clinical veterinary fellowship schemes for 2010 are opened to applicants, Penny Bailey reports on a workshop held for veterinarians earlier this year. Delegates discussed the reasons for the lack of funding and recognition for veterinary research, and considered ways to improve the situation.

‘I’ve spent the last two weeks touring vet schools in the UK, trying to intrigue and seduce students,’ Australian Nobel Prize-winning veterinary researcher Professor Peter Doherty cheerfully announced to delegates during his plenary lecture at a workshop for Trust-funded veterinary researchers.

Inspiring young vets to consider either a full time research career, or to conduct research alongside their clinical work, is a key factor in ensuring the vitality of veterinary science. Vets seeking to undertake research face a number of specific obstacles, yet the contribution they can make to wider research is critical.

First and foremost, the world needs skilled vets. As the demand for meat rises with the world’s growing population, vets will play an ever more important role in looking after public health and food safety. With their experience in diagnosing a wide range of different diseases in different species, they will also act as a vital watchdog for emerging zoonoses (e.g. the initial alarm for West Nile virus, which entered the USA in 1999, was given by a veterinary pathologist at the Bronx Zoo).

They can also alert us to the arrival of exotic diseases in new territories due to climate change – particularly those spread by vectors such as ticks and mosquitoes, and hosted by animal populations. Thanks to more clement winters, Lyme disease, spread by ticks and carried by wild mice, voles, birds and deer as well as humans, has already extended its range north and into higher altitudes in Europe and Canada.

Veterinary pathogens could also be used as agents of bioterror, to wreak economic havoc on a scale similar to that of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic in the UK or to contaminate food, thereby harming humans. Moreover, many of the bioterror agents, such as anthrax, bubonic plague and tularaemia (rabbit fever) that can directly harm humans (i.e. without going through the food supply) are zoonotic, and easily obtained from infected animals. Vets therefore have the potential to be an indispensable part of the first line of defence in recognising and controlling bioterrorism.

Vets as researchers

During both their training and experience working as animal clinicians, vets gain a broad-based exposure to microbiology, anatomy, immunology, physiology, and epidemiology in a wide number of species. This means they are uniquely able to see the ‘big picture’ of a disease, make outstanding team members in multi-disciplinary research, and an invaluable contribution to comparative research. As Professor Sandy Trees (Junior Vice-President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) noted, ‘We need clinically literate research’.

Several delegates made the important point that veterinary science benefits humans as well as animals – not only in terms of food safety, but also in finding cures or prophylactics for shared diseases. Professor David Argylle noted that research into the papilloma virus in cattle was fundamental in developing a vaccination against cervical cancer for teenage girls.

Professor Trees pointed to the intellectual ability among veterinarians that could be harnessed for research: 80 per cent of veterinary students in the UK gain UCAS tariff points of over 360 (which is the equivalent of three A’s at ‘A’-level), compared to 28 per cent of all students accepted to attend university. ‘This is a neglected opportunity, these are talented graduates.’

Professor Elizabeth Simpson agreed, noting that vets, who have huge learning potential, often turn to research for intellectual stimulation or are driven, like biomedical researchers, by curiosity. Other speakers discussed the interest, excitement and unpredictability of a research career in veterinary science – and the opportunities to travel. Dr Phillippa Beard described her study of the pox virus in Mongolia, and Dr Richard Piercy said he did his research masters in Alaska where he was ‘mentored by excellent scientists’.

The obstacles

Yet, veterinary research is under-funded and its value under-recognised in the UK and elsewhere. The Report of the Committee of Enquiry into Veterinary Research, chaired by Lord Selborne and published in December 1997, identified the need for urgent action to engage vets in research – a finding echoed at a Wellcome Trust workshop held at Hinxton in 2005.

One of the barriers, according to Professor Simpson, is that funders are prejudiced against veterinary research, leaning instead towards supporting medical research and biology. She noted that vets seeking research funding need to point out in their applications that animal medicine also benefits humans.

Another barrier, according to Professor Eleanor Riley, is that when funders do support veterinary research, they tend to address economic priorities, preferring to fund research that directly improves the health of cows, chicken and sheep. Vets also have a tendency to collaborate with their direct neighbours in their veterinary school, rather than seeking out the best possible collaborators elsewhere and this affects their ability to compete for grants.

There was a lot of discussion about the lack of career opportunities, and gaps in career structure for veterinary researchers. Factors like job security and reduced income, were also mentioned. And Professor Tim Skerry talked about the ‘culture shock’ of moving from clinical practice, where one is an expert to a daunting, new environment, with very little scientific knowledge or expertise at the start.

Dr Piercy described the unique difficulties vets face in trying to reconcile research with work as a clinician. Unlike people attending the NHS, clients bringing their animals to veterinary schools and clinics, have to pay upfront. As a result they have high expectations of fairly fast results. ‘They want to collect their horse tomorrow, not wait for two weeks for us to finish an experiment’.

Since research is not such an integral part of a veterinary clinic as it is in NHS hospitals, there are also far fewer people on the ground to check on experiments and keep things moving. Dr Piercy recommended that vets seeking research funding hire a reliable research technician, who will ‘keep things ticking over in the lab whilst you’re in the clinic’, very early on, and ensure they secure funding for this.

Some solutions

Two large-scale UK initiatives are addressing the problem of career gaps and training. The Veterinary Training and Research Initiative (VTRI) is a government-sponsored scheme which offers training for veterinary graduates and undergraduates considering a career in research, giving undergraduates first hand experience of research.

And in 2007 the Wellcome Trust made £10.7 million of funding available for personal research training awards for veterinarians. The Clinical Veterinary Research Training award, made to a consortium of the seven UK veterinary schools, provides a range of support including Veterinary Vacation Scholarships and Summer Schools, Intercalated degrees and Post-graduate Fellowships.

However, these fellowships remain under-subscribed, suggesting more action needs to be taken to attract vets into research. Speakers suggested a number of possible steps veterinarians could take to make the process easier for themselves. In particular, they urged vets to seek collaborators in high-powered research laboratories in order to win grants, to develop a clinical specialisation and/or a core research skill, and – critically – to do a PhD in biomedical science after completing their veterinary training.

Professor Skerry also stressed the importance of picking a research subject that would hold their attention. ‘Find something interesting, you need adhesion to make you stick at it through thick and thin.’

Penny Bailey, Writer, Wellcome Trust

The Trust’s clinical veterinary fellowship schemes for 2010 are now open to applicants.

See the Trust’s website for more information.

Image credit: Flickr/MR8