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whether the issue is a cooperative scientific effort between veterinary microbiologists and food 

 scientists (involving veterinary medical schools, veterinary and animal science departments and 

 food science departments), such as occurred at the University of California the day after the 

 foodbome E. coli outbreak began in the Pacific Northwest, or whether the issue is a comparative 

 examination of animal models for the investigation of diseases transmissible from animals to 

 humans, i.e. protection of the public's health regarding diseases such as rabies or tuberculosis, 

 the only functional approach is the team approach, relating basic science data to practical 

 solutions. Veterinary medical researchers are not able to remain cloistered in their ivory towers, 

 far removed from practical hands-on applications, because research and practice exist side-by- 

 side in veterinary medical training facilities. 



As academicians, veterinarians understand the amount of time and effort "peer-review" 

 or "merit-review" involves. With the incredible amount of scientific information being generated 

 daily, accountability reporting, as much of an added cost of time and effort as it may be, is the 

 best way to track animal disease, treatment, response and health. Accountability details 

 effectiveness of basic science applied to public needs, and helps assure those providing the 

 funding that hard work is ongoing. In our veterinary medical colleges and schools, we 

 continually must sort out what scientific research project proposals to accept and what ones to 

 deny. Clinical veterinarians regularly contribute to the scientific literature by writing, editing 

 and re-editing peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. Each of these activities involves deciding 

 where the funds that come to our institutions and facilities will be best spent. We understand 

 what centers of excellence are, because we see the full-spectrum, big-picture of science from 

 basic laboratory research to client histories about their animals' health to practical applications. 



In transference of basic to applied science, the norm is modification of ideas rather than 

 outright acceptance or rejection. Yet, as veterinarians, we realize that scientific claims can only 

 be validated by constant, continuous long-term observations, generating repeatable data to back 

 up those claims. Formula- funded research, as long as accountability is there, can be equally as 

 valid as competitive research, in that often in the course of experimentation and in the process 

 of proving or disproving an hypothesis, we come up with results and practical applications that 

 are not able to be anticipated at the start of a scientific project. The excitement of discovery is 

 what draws us to science, and the satisfaction of applying what we derive in the laboratory to 

 the animals we work with every day sets the profession of veterinary medicine in a distinct 

 category of its own. As veterinarians we are committed to science, animals and people, and thus 

 are uniquely poised to assist in determining research priorities. 



We hope that the Subcommittee on Department Operations and Nutrition will consider 

 our veterinary clinicians, our professional veterinary medical school researchers and 

 academicians, and our Federal veterinary practitioners as expert witnesses should you decide to 

 hold further hearings or meetings on this most crucial and pivotal issue of priority setting for 

 agricultural and extension research programs. Please do not hesitate to call upon us as you 

 continue to examine these important issues. 



