College of Veterinary Medicine Research Brochure

Research HighlightsIntroduction, continued from page 1The preferred animal model for thestudy of osteoporosis in womenwas developed by one of our facultymembers in the mid 1980s. Thatsame individual has helped evaluateseveral osteoporosis treatments nowon the market. Mice that were partof his related studies involving boneloss and its relationship toweightlessness have flown on theSpace Shuttle.More recently, UF veterinaryresearchers made headlines whenthey reported in conjunction withthe Centers for Disease Controlthat equine influenza virus hadjumped species into dogs and wasthe likely cause of several racinggreyhound deaths in Jacksonville.Mysterious greyhound deathscontinue in Florida and elsewherefrom respiratory illness,and so does our investigators’research into the cause.Another of our researchers is wellknown locally and internationallyfor her advocacy of homeless catsand her studies of how to improvecat population control.When West Nile virus begangrabbing media attention a fewyears ago, another of our researcherssoon became the point person formonitoring the incidence ofoutbreaks affecting horses at ourVeterinary Medical Center andelsewhere in Florida. With fundingfrom state and federal sources, shehas helped to build a database thatwill help both horse owners andveterinary professionals betterunderstand the potential forinfection as well as how to bettertrack West Nile disease spread.In spite of all the publicacknowledgments our researchershave received, much work continueswithout headlines or fanfare. In thiscollection of stories, a meaningfulcross-section of research takingplace here at the college, wecelebrate all of these individualsand their commitment to keepinganimals, humans and theenvironment healthy. We hopeyou will as well.Best Regards,Joseph A. DiPietro, D.V.M. M.S.Dean, UF College ofVeterinary MedicineCharles H. Courtney, D.V.M. Ph.D.Associate Dean for Research andGraduate StudiesTThe College of VeterinaryMedicine at the Universityof Florida, the state’s only veterinarycollege, offers comprehensive serviceto the public through a fourfoldmission: teaching, research,extension, and patient care.Following graduation of its firstclass in 1980, the college has builton the university’s reputation forexcellence and is consistentlyranked in the top 10 of all U.S.veterinary colleges by U.S. Newsand World Report.The college is unique in that itis administered jointly by UF’sInstitute of Food and AgriculturalSciences and the Health ScienceCenter, with the Dean ofVeterinary Medicine answering toboth the Vice President forAgriculture and Natural Resourcesand the Vice President for HealthAffairs. Over half of college facultyhold both IFAS and HealthScience Center facultyappointments. Organizationally,the college is divided into fouracademic departments.The department of large animalclinical sciences is responsible forteaching, clinical service andresearch involving diseases oflivestock, poultry and fish. Majorprograms include animalreproduction, food animalproduction medicine, equine colicand equine performance medicine.The department of pathobiologyis responsible for teaching, clinicalservice and research involvingpathology, molecular biology,microbiology and parasitologyof animal diseases. Major programsinclude tick-borne diseases,EPM in horses, the AIDS virusesof animals and mycoplasmaldiseases. The department alsohosts the college’s comparativeclinical immunology program.The department of physiologicalsciences is responsible for teaching,clinical service and researchinvolving basic physiology andtoxicology. Major programs includeenvironmental toxicology, forensictoxicology, the neurosciences, andrespiratory and cardiac physiology.The department of small animalclinical sciences is primarilyresponsible for teaching, clinicalservice, and research involvingdiseases of pets and zoo animals,but some work is done withlivestock, primarily in the fieldof ophthalmology.In addition to the above fourdepartments, the college also is hostto the Center for Environmental andHuman Toxicology. Included withinthis center are the analytical coretoxicology laboratory, the aquatictoxicology facility and theUniversity of Florida RacingLaboratory. The racing laboratory,one of only five such internationallycertified laboratories in the UnitedStates, is responsible for conductingdrug screens on all horses andgreyhounds raced at tracksthroughout Florida.The college also hosts theuniversity’s marine mammalprogram jointly with theWhitney Laboratory. Thisinterdisciplinary programsupports research and training inthe care of marine mammals withemphasis on manatees.In the 10 years from 1994 to 2004, thedollar amount of grants and contractsawarded annually to UF College of VeterinaryMedicine faculty nearly doubled, from$5,221,642 in 1994 to $9,616,498 in2004 despite an overall decline in statesupportedfaculty numbers.Most of the increase was a result of a 2.5-foldincrease in federal funding, a 3-fold increasein corporate funding and a 3.5-fold increase infunding from charitable foundations, whereasresearch grant funding by the state of Floridadeclined to 80 percent of 1994 levels.4Research • University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine••www.vetmed.ufl.edu5