10/1/02 letter of intent doctor of philosophy degree option the ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

II: NEEDA. Potential Program Duplication.No similar program has been offered at this institution previously.B. Competing Programs.No similar program is offered at any other institution in Louisiana. However, severalother Veterinary Schools (3) in the United States offer doctoral degrees in VeterinaryClinical Sciences.C. Basis for Program Development. If similar programs exist in Louisiana, why isan additional program needed? Indicate manpower needs, including interest on the partof industry, academia, governmental agencies, or other institutions.Currently, other departments in the School of Veterinary Medicine offer limited opportunity tostudy and perform clinical research at the Ph.D. level. The VCS concentration allowsparticipation of Ph.D. candidates in clinical research which has several unique aspects. To besuccessful, clinical research requires special design because control groups often cannot becontrived as in bench research and outcomes can be so variable because one is dealing withcomplex spontaneous disease. Specific examples of unique approaches in clinical researchinclude: diagnosis and characterization of spontaneous animal models of human disease;identification and selection of suitable cohort populations to develop a basis for comparison ofpopulations; principle component analysis to determine the relative importance of several riskfactors when a disease has multifactorial etiology; and variability of predictive value dependingon disease prevalence and other test results that narrow population selection. These examplesserve to illustrate some unique aspects of experimental design in clinical research and the VCSconcentration provides the appropriate perspective for Ph.D. candidates in this field.Appended is a copy of the most recent departmental report (2001-2), which gives an indicationof the scope of clinical research performed by faculty in VCS. For the most part, otherdepartments in the School of Veterinary Medicine offering concentrations under the VMSumbrella Ph.D. program do not participate in clinical research and the addition of the VCSconcentration will fill that void. In addition, it is anticipated that faculty expertise in otherdepartments of the SVM will further bolster the strength of this new option.The range of required courses listed in the VCS concentration includes many courses offered byother LSU departments because these courses are well suited to the needs of our graduatestudents. This aspect further reinforces the fact that the VCS concentration does not representthe establishment of a new degree program. This combination of opportunities offered in theSchool of Veterinary Medicine=s graduate degree programs is in line with the current trend awayfrom redundant, Alow completer@ programs and works toward the establishment of a AOneUniversity@ concept with shared resources.4
1. State, Regional, and National Need in the Field for More Graduates.The Department=s research and teaching strengths relate to disciplines that are in need ofindividuals with additional training in clinical research. Further, faculty in the Department arecommitted to applying contemporary research techniques to clinical problems. The Ph.D. optionwould allow us to train much needed veterinary researchers to fill governmental, academic andindustrial positions. The proposed Ph.D. option would focus on the clinical sciences to insurethat the graduates are equipped to understand disciplines that will be the foundation of veterinaryclinical research in the twenty-first century. We know that we are in a unique position to providea qualified pool of graduates to help strengthen future scientific work and veterinary medicine inLouisiana and the United States.The program in Veterinary Clinical Sciences is unique because it exposes students to researchproblems that are directly related to clinical problems. This interface of research and clinicalsciences provides avenues for new and exciting projects and opportunities for research fundingfrom private foundations, industry, and federal agencies.2. Possibilities for Cooperative Programs.A formal cooperative degree program is not possible since no other institution in Louisiana canprovide the requisite expertise to train veterinary clinicians with a strong background in clinicalsciences. However, collaborative arrangements with other departments in the SVM willcomplement and strengthen the clinical research training of graduate students. Existing graduatecourses will also be utilized to complement specific research training within the Department.Clinical faculty in the Department routinely collaborate on research projects with faculty at anumber of institutions both inside and outside of the state. For example, faculty are currentlycollaborating with faculty at Louisiana Agricultural Experimental Station (LAES), The AudubonCenter for Research of Endangered Species, Louisiana State University (LSU) Medical Center inNew Orleans, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Delta Regional Primate Center.These interactions are expected to complement and enrich the quality of research trainingprovided by the proposed program.The Department also has selectively pursued faculty and physicians involved in complementaryactivities for nomination as adjunct professors. These individuals are expected to contribute tothe graduate program by presenting lectures on biomedical research to graduate students enrolledin the proposed option.Similarly, there are research disciplines on the Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana StateUniversity campuses that will complement our training programs by offering courses to facilitatetraining of residency/graduate students in specific areas of departmental research. For example,the LSU Baton Rouge campus currently has graduate programs in neurobiology, endocrinology,microbiology, veterinary microbiology and parasitology, veterinary physiology, pharmacology5
Page 3: Interdepartmental Program. While ma
Page 8 and 9: PART IV: FACULTYA. Credentials of t
Page 10 and 11: SVM departments provides latitude i
Page 12 and 13: VCS Departmental Graduate Courses (
Page 14: Research Proposal: It is recommende

10/1/02 letter of intent doctor of philosophy degree option the ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?