Introduction for Clinical Veterinary Medicine Discipline (CVMD)

CVMD was authorized to recruit master’s students from 1978, and to offer master and doctor degrees from 1981 and 1986, respectively. CVMD was awarded as Key Discipline by Shaanxi province and Ministry of Agriculture from 1996, and by Ministry of Education from 2001. Nowadays, a teaching and researching group has been formed, in which dominant directions are Animal Embryo Engineering& Transgenic Technology, Animal Histological Engineering, Animal Reproductive Physiology& Diseases, and Steppe Poisonous Plant Toxicosis Comprehensive Control. There are 37 teachers in CVMD, including 9 professors and 15 associate professors. There are scientific research platforms such as "Ministry of Agriculture Animal Biotechnology Key Laboratory" and "Shaanxi Animal Embryo Engineering Research Center". In addition, Shaanxi Key Scientific Technology Innovation Group entitled "Cattle and Goat Embryo Engineering& Transgenic Innovation Group" is located in CVMD, as well. Recent years, over 100 research programs were undertook, such as National Transgenic Organism New Species Breeding Key Program, National Supporting Program, Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education Key Program, and other provincial and ministerial research programs. A great number of high-level research articles were published in international journals, such as “ Nature Communications ”, “ PNAS ”, “ Genomes Biology ”, “ Cell Research ”. Moreover, 26 National Invention Patents were approved, in which one gained second-class prize of National Award for Technological Invention, three gained first-class prize of provincial and ministerial Award for Science& Technology.

Currently, CVMD is recruiting students in four directions: Animal Embryo Engineering/ Animal Transgenic Technology, Animal Reproductive Endocrine, Animal Toxicosis& Toxicology, and Animal Clinical Diseases. Our discipline persists in the philosophy of “striving for excellence” and the mission of “morality and personality establishment” all along, surrounding the requirement of top-notch innovative talents, promoting the cooperation and communication with international leading institutions of the field, reinforce nurturing postgraduates’ comprehensive quality, constructing convenient environment for talents standing out, and promoting the educational quality improvement. Since 2007, over 300 postgraduate students were nurtured by our discipline. At present, there are almost 200 postgraduate students. Three doctoral dissertations have been awarded as Provincial Excellent Doctoral Dissertations.

CVMD focus on major diseases research, such as bovine mastitis, foot-mouth disease, tuberculosis, brucellosis, PRRS, swine fever, and so on. Researches are concentrated in disease-resistance gene exploration and function verification, gene precise editing and function verification, high-efficiency transgenic and transgenic cattle/ goat/ swine biology safety evaluation system establishment, disease-resistance transgenic cattle/ goat/ swine new strain development, and cattle/ goat mammary gland bioreactor for refined vaccine production. Rely on Livestock Biological National Key Laboratory (Nurture) and Ministry of Agriculture Animal Biotechnology Key Laboratory, the mechanisms of animal reproductive endocrine and immune regulation were deeply studied; pathogenesis of animal reproductive disorders and dairy cow mastitis were revealed; rapid, convenient and specific diagnostic methods were established; practical clinic diagnostic kits were developed; control methods for cattle/ goat/ swine reproductive diseases under modern breeding conditions were explored. In front of the key problem of animal husbandry sustainable development restricted by western steppe poisonous plant, studies on poisonous plant population distribution, ecology& biology, toxic compositions& pathogenesis, and grazers’ toxicosis integrated control technique are being studied. In addition, studies on ruminant nutrition metabolic disease pathogenesis, metabolic biomarker screen, population monitoring and warning technology are ongoing. Rely on Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, researchers are screening and evaluating active nature products and compositions; performing pharmaceutical, pharmacological, toxicological and formulation studies; systematically studying the formula design, preparation technology, quality control, pre-clinical trial, and safety evaluation system of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine; enhancing cooperation with Lanzhou Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine; exploring therapeutic mechanism of acupuncture and its application in pets.