Atlantic Veterinary College Awarded $6 million in Research Funding
The Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) was recently awarded $6 million in research funding through ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF). The two highly innovative research and development projects that received funding and#150; the Maritime Quality Milk project and the creation of the Atlantic Centre for Bioproducts Valuation and#150; further demonstrate AVC's leadership within PEI's growing expertise in bioscience, nutrisciences and health research.
"Researchers at the Atlantic Veterinary College are world-class," says Dr. Tim Ogilvie, Dean, AVC at UPEI. "Their research is leading edge and has direct benefits for animal health, human health, and the strength of various industries. We are grateful for ACOA's investment in these exceptional projects." Under the leadership of principal investigator, Dr. Greg Keefe, Department of Health Management, AVC at UPEI, and co-investigators, Drs. Herman Barkema and Ian Dohoo, AVC's Atlantic-wide Maritime Quality Milk (MQM) project will help strengthen the competitive position of the region's agriculture and agri-food industry through extensive milk quality research. "This project is designed to provide an integrated approach for development and marketing of milk-based diagnostics for disease surveillance and help develop indicators of dairy productivity. By providing non-invasive testing methods and processes targeted at lowering the levels of antibiotics used in the industry, this initiative will result in higher returns to producers and improved quality dairy products," explains Keefe.
The integrated research and service capacity of MQM will be unparalleled in the Canadian diary industry. The project will also provide enhanced animal health and disease surveillance services to the Atlantic dairy industry. This world-class research will support the training of highly qualified personnel in the areas of product quality, animal health and disease surveillance, integrating all research and service activities at one site. The successful completion of this project will ensure that information generated is directly relevant to the needs of dairy farmers and the industry in general.
The creation of the Atlantic Centre for Bioproducts Valuation (ACBV) will also contribute to the growth and impact of PEI's evolving bioscience cluster. ACBV will operate in the niche area of preclinical studies by providing services to researchers and companies, regardless of location, with biologically-relevant animal models of disease and new tools to screen compounds. "This work will be used in developing treatments for strokes (neurodegeneration), neuroinflammation, and metabolic disorders," says Dr. Tarek Saleh, Department of Biomedical Sciences, AVC at UPEI; principal investigator for the project; and project leader for the stroke research and development platform.
"This new centre will fill the critical gap between pre-clinical laboratory studies and local phase one clinical testing. It will also help in developing high-value intellectual properties by delivering client services for testing molecules, compounds and formulations of interest to pharmaceutical and other companies," explains Saleh. Through interaction with regional medical and/or agricultural schools and institutions, opportunities exist to collaborate on research in human and animal clinical trials.
The development of the ACBV is a partnership between the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI and the National Research Council's Institute for Nutrisciences and Health (NRC-INH). In addition to Saleh, several NRC researchers who hold adjunct appointments within AVC departments at UPEI also play key roles in the development and operation of the ACBV. These researchers include Drs. Jeff Zidichouski, James Johnston, Michael Mayne, Yanwen Wang, and Bob Chapman.
Funded by the four Atlantic provinces, the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI is committed to excellence and innovation in education, research and veterinary service. Over the past 20 years, the College has graduated approximately 1,000 doctors of veterinary medicine, has become known around the world for its research capabilities, and is the Atlantic region's only full service veterinary referral hospital.
