Center of Excellence in Livestock Diseases and Human Health
The center was created in 1984 to promote interdisciplinary activities designed to improve the quality of human life through better animal health; expand livestock disease research capabilities in the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the Institute of Agriculture; identify and characterize animal diseases that are similar to human disease; and develop new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Since 1984, the center has developed successful programs that affect the understanding, treatment, and prevention of livestock and human diseases. These programs predominately focus on molecular and cellular approaches to research in infectious diseases, toxicology, host defense, molecular genetics, and carcinogenesis.
The center has developed investigative strengths along innovative, sophisticated, and contemporary lines in two general areas:
- Animal Models and Comparative Medicine
- Mechanisms of Disease, Pathogenesis, and Immunity
These areas are each highly interrelated, and the center plays a critical role in developing these focused areas of strength in both the CVM and the Institute of Agriculture.
During 2007, the center supported the research efforts of 18 different faculty who were engaged in research that ultimately will benefit the citizens of Tennessee, the nation, and the world, as well as affect the economy at both the state and national levels. Center faculty have made significant advancements in cancer biology, molecular physiopathology, host defense, and disease transmission. Center faculty have also made significant advancements in the prevention and treatment of infectious and non-infectious livestock diseases that affect agricultural productivity.
Productivity among center faculty was outstanding during 2007. External funding decreased slightly from $20,666,950 in 2006 to $20,412,786, in part because of the decrease in federal funding (the National Institutes of Health are operating below their 2005 budget level). However, despite a $765,886 center decrease in federal funding, center faculty ambitiously sought and obtained $4,165,245 in industry and private/foundation funding (an increase of $511,722 since 2006) to continue ongoing projects and begin new ones. Research expenditures continued to stabilize at $3,430,059 in 2007. The one-year return on the state’s investment in the center (as the ratio of research expenditures to the state’s appropriation) is 6.3:1.
Center faculty continue to garner national and international recognition for their research and scholarship. During 2007, center faculty published 62 peer-reviewed articles and gave 58 invited presentations at regional, national, and international meetings.