Making Difference in Animal and Human Health at NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Research at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) makes a powerful difference in people’s lives.

CVM research programs involve 100-plus faculty representing some 25 disciplines working with more than 20 species. Researchers address critical issues in biomedical, agricultural, and biological sciences through a variety of experimental approaches and techniques ranging from basic discovery in molecular biology to application of new technology in one of the Veterinary Health Complex centers or in herds and flocks of the state’s livestock industry.

Research discoveries are not arrived at in a vacuum, but arise from collaboration and partnership of faculty, student, and staff.  The members of these centers recognize that complex issues involved in human and animal health are better addressed by interdisciplinary “One Medicine” approaches that combine both clinical and non-clinical expertise.  This includes interactions between different laboratories as well as interactions with private groups.  NC State research centers provide one mechanism of bringing faculty from different disciplines together.

Research centers housed at the CVM represent some of the premier facilities for education and investigation in comparative medicine and translational biology, chemical toxicology and pharmacokinetics, and marine sciences.  Each of the research centers has dual and equally missions: research and teaching.  Center faculty are dedicated to providing outstanding educational and training opportunities for graduate students and other scientists.

CVM research centers also have a public service commitment.  For example, researchers within the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics (CCTRP) created and maintain the national USDA-supported Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) and the Food & Agriculture Organization-United Nations (FAO) supported global FARAD.  FARAD performs the residue avoidance data analysis, and provides assistance to those who have a question about how to prevent residues in animal-derived food.

These research centers also draw upon collaborations with off-campus organizations.  The Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) provides a focal point for citizen contact with NC State University’s marine science and extension faculty.  This facility, located on the Carteret Community College campus, is an innovative educational partnership between state universities and the community college system.

Partnerships with industry and other stakeholders is another feature of the centers.  The Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research (CCMTR) is a recipient of a gift from Novartis Animal Health U.S. to help support the development of a clinical trials program involving patients in NC State’s Randall B. Terry, Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center.

The clinical trials program enables clinical investigators to evaluate novel approaches to diagnose and treat disease and deliver innovative solutions that enhance animal and human health. It also promotes research collaboration by serving as a liaison between clinical investigators, basic researchers, referring veterinarians, pet owners, and industry scientists.

The overall goal of the CVM research program is to provide solutions to problems of particular importance to North Carolina and to address problems of importance to society at large.

[section_subtitle] Listing of research centers, labs, consortiums, programs[/section_subtitle]

• Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research
• Center for Marine Sciences and Technology
• Environmental Medical Consortium
• Marine Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy
• North Carolina Animal Cancer Program
• Aquatic Epidemiology and Conservation Laboratory
• Pharmacology Analytical Lab
• Mycoplasma Diagnostic and Research Laboratory (MDRL)
• Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Laboratory
• Gnotobiotic Animal Core of the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease
• Histology Laboratory
• Poultry Health Services Laboratory (PHSL)
• Poultry Tumor Diseases Laboratory (PTDL)
• Thakur Molecular Epidemiology Lab
• Clinical Studies Core
• Clinical Immunology Laboratory
• Clinical Pathology Laboratory
• Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory
• Clinical Virology Laboratory
• Canine Spinal Cord Injury Program
• Comparative Ophthalmology Research Laboratory
• Comparative Pain Research Laboratory
• Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory
• Intestinal Pathogens Research Laboratory
• Leukocyte Biology Laboratory
• Tick-transmitted Diagnostic Laboratory
• Colic and Digestive Diseases Program