S&T funds training of the next generation of animal health experts
“This is a great experience,” said Dr. Tammi Krecek, Research Professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Services, “and one opportunity that not many scientists in the U.S. get.”
Students travel to Texas, Colorado, and South Africa during the experiential training, where they have several opportunities to work in laboratories, speak with experts, and participate in outbreak exercises. This valuable hands-on experience helps inform future research and development, and helps participants understand the full spectrum of TAD threats. During the summer of 2017, Bench to Shop participants learned about developing human and animal vaccines and diagnostics, selecting personal protective equipment for different biosafety levels, establishing laboratory best practices, and collecting blood samples from livestock.
“This unique training program connected me with lifelong mentors and invaluable future collaborators,” said Amanda Korum, one of the Bench to Shop program participants, “while illuminating multiple career paths that I would not have been exposed to in my current formal education and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity.”
Kansas State University’s TAD Fellowship began in August of 2016 with five Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ph.D. and post-doctoral fellows, and will launch a second class of six fellows in August 2017. It is designed to foster TAD research expertise in various biosafety level environments through classroom and practical training in biosafety, containment, research laboratory, animal handling and regulatory compliance. The goal is to invest in graduate degree-seeking individuals or individuals beginning their postdoctoral career, which will help grow the nation’s TAD research capabilities.
“This program leverages the expertise and resources of the Biosecurity Research Institute and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory to train next-generation master and masters of public health students, doctoral students, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students and postdoctoral researchers to work in high- and maximum containment environments on TADs,” said Dana Vanlandingham, associate professor of virology at Kansas State University diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department.
As a part of the TAD Fellowship program, fellows spend their first year participating in traditional classroom activities as well as practical rotations, the last two years of the fellowship include more hands-on training as participants receive Biosafety Level 4 simulator training and apply the program competencies in containment through an independent research project under the guidance of an established researcher in the field of TADs.
S&T says that both the Texas A&M and Kansas State programs are vital to building a national workforce that is experienced with TADs and other pathogens. The expertise these students gain through their respective programs will provide a strong baseline they can use to jump-start future careers at the NBAF, animal health agencies, or other research institutions. The skills they gain today will be critical to safeguarding the American economy and our nation’s public health in the years to come.
