Research on Agricultural Animals Jeopardized
at Land Grant Institutions: Key Obstacles and Solutions
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Table 1.   Research areas (not prioritized) that potentially could be advanced by use of agricultural  animals as biomedical models. _______________________________________________________________________

Epigenetics and environment: effect of photoperiod, global warming, seasonality, and elevation on modification of gene function

Reproduction: gametogenesis, gonadal function, infertility

Aging: skeletal diseases, especially chicken and pig models; bone metabolism and osteoarthritis, especially the horse model; reproduction, especially beef cattle and mares

Obesity: genetic, dietary, hormonal influences on pre- and post-natal adipose tissue development using pig model

Pregnancy: placental growth, angiogenesis, congenital and birth defects, developmental biology especially chickens, fetal programming especially sheep to study stress, malnutrition, effects of exposure of fetuses to androgens and environmental toxins on adults, molecular/cellular basis of parturition and premature birth

Diabetes Types I and II 

Therapeutics: xenotransplantation, gene therapy, stem cells, “Farmaceuticals”; 

Toxicology, environmental endocrine disrupters

Neurobiology: behavior, stress, learning, pheromonal communication, neuroendocrinology

Immunology: autoimmune disease, inflammation, innate and mucosal

Cardiovascular disorders such as diet-induced artherosclerosis and lethal cardia tachyarrhythmias (ventricular fibrillation) using minature or normal pigs

Nutrition: energetic balance including homeostatic mechanism, regulation of metabolism, use of neonatal piglet as pediatric model for studies of nutrition, metabolism and gastroenterology

Ophthalmology: retinal degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration

Comparative physiology (e.g., Understanding of what makes cattle breeds different with respect to reproduction, lactation, growth, bone structure, fat deposition, altitude and heat tolerance, and resistance to specific pathogens will be invaluable in elucidating related physiological processes important to human health.)

Radiation biology

Biomechanics

Renal biology

Diseases: Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE); Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV); Crohn’s Disease; sexually transmitted diseases (STD); enteric including Transmissible Gastroenteritis (TGE); viral, E. coli 01578; cancer including prostate, breast, ovary (chicken), hematopoiesis, leukemia; cattle as a model for salmonellosis, tuberculosis and cryptosporidiosis; pathogen transmission of emerging diseases that infect animals and humans such as use of cattle to study tick-borne infections

Disorders:  liver, epilepsy, and sleep such as narcolepsy

Table 2.   Attributes of successful NIH grants.
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§ Simple questions with appropriate background were posed

§ Substantial and compelling preliminary data were included

§ Current gaps in knowledge were addressed              

§ Unique comparative value of the chosen model was explained (cannot recapitulate observations in rodents)

§ How the model led an area of research and was used to answer the questions posed were explained carefully

§ A broad range of disciplines and expertise was employed to resolve problems

§ Potential bias of reviewers was addressed

§ Senior investigators had a significant track record of success including publications in high quality journals 

Table 3.  Short-term goals.
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 Engage “top” university administrators at land grant institutions to provide incentives for faculty to compete for extramural grants at agencies other than USDA and to assist motivated scientists in preparation of such applications for review. 

Advertise attributes of successful grant applications to NIH to motivated faculty (see Table 2).

Meet and seek advice from Director of Center for Scientific Review on NIH obstacles.

Identify advocates at NIH, USDA and other agencies to assist scientists in the  implementation of strategies to enhance use of agricultural animals in biomedical research.

Hold workshops at NIH to inform SRAs and appropriate administrators of advantages of agricultural animals as biomedical models.

Form committees to engage organizers of scientific meetings to promote/showcase agricultural animals, primate and rodent models addressing high priority human health problems (e.g., To promote agricultural species as important comparative animal models, a central fund from all land grant institutions could be created and used to partially sponsor the aforementioned special animal models’ symposia at national meetings.).
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Table 4.  Intermediate-term goals.
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Set up “brainstorming” sessions between USDA and NIH to improve interagency cooperation.

Improve awareness of scientists using rodents as models of the importance of agricultural animal species as models for biomedical research by publicizing models to other research groups (e.g., hold joint meetings with scientists using agricultural animal and rodent models).

Organize follow-up meetings involving scientific administrative staff at the NIH National Center for Research Resources and various other institutions at NIH, other federal funding agencies, and USDA.

Seek joint NIH-USDA support for symposia to identify novel uses of agricultural animals in biomedical research

Establish NIH-USDA databases for central sharing of resources.

Institutions must strongly encourage faculty to apply for more NIH grants.

Scientists need to publicize/promote better animal models to colleagues in agriculture and biomedicine.

Develop advocates in agriculture and biomedical communities: include and inform commodity groups, animal industry, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Joint NIH-USDA training grant program to integrate biomedical and animal sciences.

Organize meeting with USDA, NCRR and NHGRI to develop the strategic plans and research priorities necessary to develop key reagents and “tools” to advance research with agricultural animals as biomedical models.
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Table 5.  Long-term goals.
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Organize inter-agency program for new alternative models to rodents for high priority areas of biomedical research.

Ensure the “agricultural perspective” is maintained at land grant institutions. Either USDA officials must be engaged/convinced to increase dramatically the USDA budget allocation for competitive grants in animal research and/or political support must be garnered to create a new funding agency (e.g., National Institute of Agriculture and Food Science [6]). 

Develop alternative high margin markets for animal products to re-invigorate industry support for animal research.

Develop interagency support for training, sabbaticals and career development for scientists to use agriculturally important animal species as models for high priority problems in agriculture and biomedicine.
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