Department of Animal Science Advantages of Domestic Species As Dual Purpose Models

Research on domestic species (cattle, swine, sheep, goats, poultry, horses, and aquatic species) at land grant institutions is integral to improvement of the global competitiveness of U.S. animal agriculture and in resolution of complex animal and human diseases. However, as outlined in our publications in Science (Science 24 April 2009: Vol.324 no 5926 pp. 468-469), and the Journal of Animal Science(J Anim Sci 2008, 86:2797-2805), long dwindling federal and state budgets, years of stagnant funding from USDA for the NIFA-AFRI competitive grants program, the relative minor support for use of domestic species compared with rodents as biomedical models at NIH, and declining enrollment for graduate studies in animal science and in veterinary medicine are diminishing the financial and human resources necessary to conduct research on domestic species. The purpose of this web site is to highlight the advantages of domestic species as novel comparative animal models and to provide the details of the past workshops including the stakeholders’ findings and recommendations to resolve obstacles impeding use of domestic species as dual-purpose models that benefit animal agriculture and biomedicine, and to highlight new funding opportunities for the use of domestic species as dual-purpose models for research in agriculture and biomedicine.