Interdisciplinarity in veterinary science – a recipe for success

– Like any field, veterinary medicine is constantly evolving. In the past it was mainly for men who treated farm animals. Today the situation is very different. Most of the students and doctors are women, and attention has shifted from farm animals to smaller animals, including exotic ones. We treat rabbits, lizards, parrots, and even fish. Various diagnostic methods have also become widely available. Nowadays, no one is surprised by the fact that animals are examined using CT or MRI scans – says Dr Sylwia Prochowska from the Department of Reproduction’s Clinic for Farm Animals.

Breakthrough moments

– One of the greatest achievements of today's veterinary medicine was definitely sequencing of the dog genome. This lead to the dynamic development of comparative medicine, and above all, comparative oncology, which made it possible to use the study of a dog suffering from cancer as a model for the study of human cancer – explains Prof. Aleksandra Pawlak, adding that working with a patient whose cancer developed spontaneously and who lived with a human allows scientists to observe the disease almost in a mirror image. – We know the dog genome, so we can compare it to the human genome and then clinically compare which changes are the same in humans and animals. Dogs live shorter lives, so all the processes are faster. In a relatively short time, the dog's cancer, from diagnosis, through treatment, to possible post-mortem examinations, becomes a valuable source of information – explains the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology expert.

She emphasises that in the treatment of dog cancer you can use drugs and therapies that are in the experimental phase, which in the case of breakthrough results could accelerate the introduction of a new drug into human medicine

– A great milestone for today's veterinary medicine (and medicine in general, although most research is first carried out on animal models) is, among others, the possibility to work on cell and tissue cultures. We have gained incredible potential to manipulate cells outside the body, including making modifications at the DNA or RNA level. We are now therefore able to develop new forms of targeted therapies, restore organs and obtain almost any tissue using stem cells. We can also recreate species, obtaining offspring from material frozen even several dozen years ago. Science goes even further, reaching the molecular level: for example, attempts are being made to enrich the genome of the endangered black-foot ferret with genes of specimen from museum exhibits – says Dr. Sylwia Prochowska, who deals with reproductive biotechnology on a daily basis. Together with her team, she is developing protocols, methods and techniques for assisted reproduction on a domestic cat model, and then applying them to endangered wild felines.

The future of veterinary medicine

Dr. Prochowska and Prof. Pawlak agree on the direction in which modern veterinary medicine is heading. According to them, it will move away from the model of the lone vet who treated each animal species from every angle, but often in a very basic way, towards openness, interdisciplinarity and cooperation.

– I believe that we will be heading towards a more specialised approach. It can already be observed that vets dealing with small animals are starting to choose to treat either cats or dogs. There are also animal cardiologists, nephrologists and anaesthesiologists, and they even set up clinics where their patients are comprehensively examined by a team of experts in various fields – says Dr. Prochowska, who specialises in the reproduction of felids.

Prof. Pawlak still sees her future in experimental oncology, admitting that the only thing that has changed is her view on science. – At the beginning I focused on what I could achieve myself, but now I am convinced that the basis of success is interdisciplinary and international cooperation. Problems should be viewed holistically and physicians should work together to achieve better results. Today's science knows no barriers. Here is an example. The new canine NK-cell lymphoma (Natural Killers) cell line that we have developed, which is a unique tool for in vitro research, can be used in studies by experts from all over the world. Shortly after the publication of an article describing our line, we were contacted by scientists from the United Kingdom and the United States, asking to make it available for research. These teams will be able to do more advanced research than we can, so an international reach and cooperation is really important.

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