RIAES PROGRAMS: Health and Well-being of Fish and Animals

People whose diet includes protein from fish and domestic animals want those animals to be healthy and for them to be raised under humane conditions.

We seek techniques to minimize animal pain and discomfort, and stress-related diseases. Similar biological reactions to stress in farm animals and in cultured fish provide a unifying theme to our animal and fish research programs.

We place increasing emphasis on use of biotechnology for disease recognition, for vaccine development, and for genetic enhancements of cultured species.

Finally, we have a great deal of strength in research and outreach on vector-borne diseases, including national leadership in monitoring tick-borne pathogens (e.g., Ixodes scapularis carrying Lyme disease) and on biological control of ticks on deer and cattle.

	GOAL: A safe and secure food and fiber system.
	Key Program Components:
	Physiological and behavioral analysis of stress reactions in domestic animals to standard animal management practices.
	Physiologic and endocrinologic analysis of stress response mechanisms in salmon to hear and osmotic shock; analysis of functional proteins involved in induced reactions and responsible genes.
	Biotechnological methods for disease agent identification.
	Biotechnological methods for disease prevention.
	Laboratory for invertebrate pathology.
	Laboratory for vector-borne disease diagnosis.
	Laboratory for biological containment.