Funding Highlights
The SVM Office for Global Programs supports faculty through new initiatives and existing partnerships. Here are a few recent highlights from Global Affairs Seed Grants for International Activities researchers.
Building Microbiome Research Capacity to Support Eastern Gorilla Conservation in Rwanda
With support from a UC Davis Global Affairs Seed Grant, faculty from UC Davis, UC Berkeley, the University of Rwanda, and Gorilla Doctors held the first microbiome capacity-building workshop at the Gorilla Doctors Regional One Health Laboratory in Musanze, Rwanda. Co-led by Drs. Jonathan Eisen, Tierra Smiley Evans, and Julius Nziza, the workshop offered lectures and hands-on training in microbiome methods—culturing, DNA extraction, sequencing, and bioinformatics—with applications to mountain gorilla health and conservation. About 15 participants, including graduate students, veterinarians, and researchers from Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC, representing institutions such as the University of Rwanda, Makerere University, and the Rwanda Development Board, attended. Outcomes included new regional microbiome research projects, expanded laboratory capacity, a UC Berkeley postdoctoral position to support the work, and Dr. Eisen’s appointment to the Gorilla Doctors advisory council, strengthening long-term partnerships critical to eastern gorilla conservation.
Improving Clinical and Diagnostic Skills for Equine Neurological Diseases of Veterinarians and Veterinary Medicine Students in Colombia
As part of the project “Improving Clinical and Diagnostic Skills for Equine Neurological Diseases of Veterinarians and Veterinary Medicine Students in Colombia,” Dr. Monica Aleman and UC Davis veterinary students Hanna Morton and Maddie McDougal visited Colombia in June. Working with Dr. Claudia Valderrama (former UC Davis intern and current faculty at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá), they conducted a theoretical neurology course and a practical workshop covering neurological examinations, neuroanatomical localization, and cerebrospinal fluid collection. As part of the research component, neurological exams and blood samples were collected from 90 horses to study the presence of antibodies against pathogens associated with Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis in Bogotá and surrounding areas. The course and workshop were attended by students from multiple universities and veterinarians nationwide, who expressed appreciation for the training.
Developing novel diagnostic assays and conducting extensive surveillance for two tick-borne intracellular parasites in rhinoceros
With support from the Global Affairs Seed Grant, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, our team developed novel diagnostic assays and conducted extensive surveillance for two tick-borne intracellular parasites (Theileria bicornis and Babesia bicornis) in rhinoceros. Blood was collected from animals in the Eastern Cape’s Addo-to-Fish Biodiversity Corridor, and a total of 146 white and 21 black rhino were tested using traditional and novel diagnostic approaches. Theileria bicornis was found to be highly prevalent in both white and black rhinos (~79% and ~65% PCR positive, respectively), while Babesia bicornis infection was more commonly found in black rhinos (~28% PCR positive) compared with white rhino (~4% PCR positive). These findings and potentially improved diagnostic assays help to lay the groundwork for improved health screening strategies during rhino translocation efforts to enhance overall rhino population health and species survival.