careers and recruitment
A laboratory animal science pioneer
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© 2014 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nikolaos Kostomitsopoulos, DVM, PhD, Head of Laboratory Animal Facilities and Designated Veterinarian, Center of Clinical, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece Dr. Kostomitsopoulos discusses his successes in implementing laboratory animal science legislation and fostering collaboration among scientists in Greece. At the beginning of your veterinary career, you spent 3 years working as a field veterinarian for the Greek Ministry of Agriculture. Tell us more about this experience. I was blessed to start my professional career in a small village in northern Greece working mainly with dairy cattle, sheep and goats. This was the most exciting p eriod of my life. Working in difficult weather conditions, especially during winter, taught me firsthand the important scientific and personal roles a veterinarian plays both in the local community and in the livestock e conomy. My experiences during that time also i ntroduced me to the concept of animal welfare. The greatest benefit of my service in the field, however, was that I came to u nderstand the problems and the difficulties that a field veterinarian faces in everyday practice, which helped me when I worked for the Central Veterinary Service of the Ministry in making realistic proposals c oncerning the livestock policies to be implemented by the Regional Veterinary Services. I still use this practical knowledge today as head of a l aboratory a nimal facility in order to determine w hether the tasks I assign to my veterinarians and animal technicians are realistic and how they can be achieved. As a national expert of the Ministry on Laboratory Animal Welfare issues, you were tasked with helping to implement Directive 86/609/EEC in Greece. What were some of the major challenges you faced in this role? LAB ANIMAL
The main challenge I faced was the implementation of the new national law in harmonization with Directive 86/609/EEC. I believe that the best way to promote animal welfare legislation is to primarily change people’s mentalities rather than to insist on strict bureaucratic enforcement and p enalties. So, my priority was to inform leading members of the scientific c ommunity of the benefits of the new law to animal welfare but also to their scientific work. I also wrote articles in relevant scientific journals to explain that animal welfare goes hand in hand with the quality of experimental results, and I was invited to give presentations at national biomedical congresses. With the support of the European Commission, I organized two workshops to inform the scientific community about the new law but also to discuss the problems that arose with implementing the law. I also prepared all of the necessary d ocumentation for the new legislation (e.g., application forms, licenses and statistical reporting systems).
needs or new technologies. A more c ommon problem a facility manager faces is lack of space; if arrangements for expansion are made in advance, this problem can be handled. Finally, money is difficult to come by, especially today, so prudent management of available sources is essential.
Your scientific interests are focused on the proper housing of laboratory animals and design of animal facilities. What do you think are some of the most important considerations when designing housing facilities for animals? In 1996, I had the opportunity to meet C. Max Lang, who was then Director of the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health, and I asked him the exact same question. His answer can be summarized in three words: flexibility, expansion and cost. The c onstruction of an animal facility is a very extensive project; not only present but also future research needs must be accommodated. Flexibility provides the possibility to change, for example, the function of a room, depending on current
What are some of the ways in which you are working to promote laboratory animal science in the Balkans and the East Mediterranean? In this part of the world, different c ultures, civilizations, religions and temperaments are mixed. I realized that although l aboratory animal science was not well developed in the area, there was a strong will among s cientists to move forward. First efforts included e stablishing a n etwork of laboratory animal scientists based on mutual trust and friendship. That starting point provided the opportunity for close collaboration; exchange of laboratory animal scientists between l aboratory animal facilities in different countries; establishment of consortia and common applications for articipation and co-organization of grants; p scientific events like workshops, seminars and courses; and common publications in scientific journals. The network was also beneficial for these countries’ establishment of national laboratory animal science associations and inclusion in European and international organizations.
Volume 43, No. 11 | NOVEMBER 2014 419
A laboratory animal science pioneer
npg
© 2014 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nikolaos Kostomitsopoulos, DVM, PhD, Head of Laboratory Animal Facilities and Designated Veterinarian, Center of Clinical, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece Dr. Kostomitsopoulos discusses his successes in implementing laboratory animal science legislation and fostering collaboration among scientists in Greece. At the beginning of your veterinary career, you spent 3 years working as a field veterinarian for the Greek Ministry of Agriculture. Tell us more about this experience. I was blessed to start my professional career in a small village in northern Greece working mainly with dairy cattle, sheep and goats. This was the most exciting p eriod of my life. Working in difficult weather conditions, especially during winter, taught me firsthand the important scientific and personal roles a veterinarian plays both in the local community and in the livestock e conomy. My experiences during that time also i ntroduced me to the concept of animal welfare. The greatest benefit of my service in the field, however, was that I came to u nderstand the problems and the difficulties that a field veterinarian faces in everyday practice, which helped me when I worked for the Central Veterinary Service of the Ministry in making realistic proposals c oncerning the livestock policies to be implemented by the Regional Veterinary Services. I still use this practical knowledge today as head of a l aboratory a nimal facility in order to determine w hether the tasks I assign to my veterinarians and animal technicians are realistic and how they can be achieved. As a national expert of the Ministry on Laboratory Animal Welfare issues, you were tasked with helping to implement Directive 86/609/EEC in Greece. What were some of the major challenges you faced in this role? LAB ANIMAL
The main challenge I faced was the implementation of the new national law in harmonization with Directive 86/609/EEC. I believe that the best way to promote animal welfare legislation is to primarily change people’s mentalities rather than to insist on strict bureaucratic enforcement and p enalties. So, my priority was to inform leading members of the scientific c ommunity of the benefits of the new law to animal welfare but also to their scientific work. I also wrote articles in relevant scientific journals to explain that animal welfare goes hand in hand with the quality of experimental results, and I was invited to give presentations at national biomedical congresses. With the support of the European Commission, I organized two workshops to inform the scientific community about the new law but also to discuss the problems that arose with implementing the law. I also prepared all of the necessary d ocumentation for the new legislation (e.g., application forms, licenses and statistical reporting systems).
needs or new technologies. A more c ommon problem a facility manager faces is lack of space; if arrangements for expansion are made in advance, this problem can be handled. Finally, money is difficult to come by, especially today, so prudent management of available sources is essential.
Your scientific interests are focused on the proper housing of laboratory animals and design of animal facilities. What do you think are some of the most important considerations when designing housing facilities for animals? In 1996, I had the opportunity to meet C. Max Lang, who was then Director of the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health, and I asked him the exact same question. His answer can be summarized in three words: flexibility, expansion and cost. The c onstruction of an animal facility is a very extensive project; not only present but also future research needs must be accommodated. Flexibility provides the possibility to change, for example, the function of a room, depending on current
What are some of the ways in which you are working to promote laboratory animal science in the Balkans and the East Mediterranean? In this part of the world, different c ultures, civilizations, religions and temperaments are mixed. I realized that although l aboratory animal science was not well developed in the area, there was a strong will among s cientists to move forward. First efforts included e stablishing a n etwork of laboratory animal scientists based on mutual trust and friendship. That starting point provided the opportunity for close collaboration; exchange of laboratory animal scientists between l aboratory animal facilities in different countries; establishment of consortia and common applications for articipation and co-organization of grants; p scientific events like workshops, seminars and courses; and common publications in scientific journals. The network was also beneficial for these countries’ establishment of national laboratory animal science associations and inclusion in European and international organizations.
Volume 43, No. 11 | NOVEMBER 2014 419
