Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The project is a constituent of the NIH Graduate Partnership Program and serves to coordinate the doctoral research training and the university-NIH interface. The project achievements continue to become more widely recognized within academic veterinary medicine as new university partners have integrated as training center partners since a national recompetition was completed in 2019-2020. The academic community recognized limitations in workforce size and access to resources remained perennial challenges to greater progress in academic veterinary medicine and the engagement between human and veterinary medicine (One Health). Veterinarians play significant roles in improving human health. One Health interactions, particularly through interdisciplinary collaborations in biomedical research, present constructive opportunities to inform resource policies and advance health care. To this end, inter-institutional partnerships between individual veterinary medical education programs (VMEPs) and several National Institutes of Health (NIH) intramural research programs have created synergies beyond those provided by individual programs. In the NIH Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program (CBSTP), interdisciplinary cross-training of veterinarians consisting of specialty veterinary medicine coupled with training in human disease research leading to a PhD, occurs collaboratively on both Vetarinary Medical Education Programs and NIH campuses. Pre-doctoral veterinary student research opportunities also continue to be made available. Through the CBSTP, NIH investigators and national biomedical science policy makers gain access to veterinary perspective and expertise, while veterinarians obtain additional opportunities for NIH-funded research training. CBSTP Fellows serve as de facto ambassadors enhancing visibility for the profession while in residence at NIH, and subsequently through a variety of university, industry, and government research appointments, as CBSTP graduates. Thus, the CBSTP represents an inter-institutional opportunity that not only addresses critical needs for veterinarian-scientists in the biomedical workforce, but also simultaneously exposes national policy makers to veterinarian-scientists' specialized training and expertise, leading to more effective realization of One Health goals to benefit human and animal health. The program builds upon an interdisciplinary and comparative orientation to problems in biomedical science. Program and trainee accomplishments for fiscal year 2023 include: Presently there are 14 veterinarians training as comparative biomedical scientists, supported by multiple NIH collaborating institutes. No fellows completed their PhD degree since the previous annual report. Three current trainees completed board certification by passing the national examination administered by The American College of Veterinary Pathologists. The summer internship program for veterinary students was reinstituted this year following the pandemic. The CBSTP hosted four 2nd or third year veterinary students for summer research internships. Four veterinarians were recruited in 2023 to train in the CBSTP within the new Graduate partnership consortium.