Research

VetCompass Australia provides a rich source of data with great potential for the number and variety of projects we can support. As this project grows, it will become the definitive companion animal and equine database.

The data collected and stored in a secure database by VetCompass Australia will be used by researchers to investigate diverse disorders and syndromes. Of particular interest is to correlate any prevalence of certain disorders in different breeds of dogs, cats and horses.

At the Royal Veterinary College in London, research already underway using VetCompass data has focused on numerous common disorders, including canine kidney disease, epilepsy, pyoderma and cancer. VetCompass has also reported on the use of antibiotics in general practice and on the mortality of different breeds of dogs.

All research projects will need to comply with the rules set out by the VetCompass Australia Board. These include abiding by the HREC approval and privacy legislation and providing a synopsis of research for publication on this website, in addition to publication within a peer-reviewed publication.

Student Research Projects

Veterinary Science students who succeed in securing one of these projects will have the opportunity to access and interrogate authentic data, helping to build analytical, research and clinical skills and knowledge. Each project will focus on aspects of a particular breed, and will contribute to, or result in, a peer-reviewed publication. Projects are open to any student enrolled in a senior year of their undergraduate veterinary degree or DVM. Using veterinary clinical data from VetCompass Australia, the studies will characterise different factors of individual breeds of dogs, cats or horses under veterinary care in Australia. At certain times, a further set of projects will be offered to determine the most common breeds for each species.

If you are interested in completing one of these projects or finding out more, please go to the Student Research Projects page or contact one of the VetCompass Australia representatives at your university.

Strategic Research Projects

VetCompass Australia recognises the importance of providing opportunities for early- to mid-career, and clinical researchers to conduct research.

If you are interested in completing one of these projects or finding out more, please go to the Strategic Research Projects page or contact one of the VetCompass Australia representatives.

Major Research Projects

The VetCompass Australia Consortium is currently focusing its research efforts on the following projects. Please note that Strategic Projects that overlap with these will not be considered at this time.

• Burden of infectious disease, including prevalence and risk factors
• Antimicrobial usage – factors driving usage; guidelines; how to reduce risk; usage and effectiveness of vaccines in this context
• Dog obesity and co-morbidity, including relationships between weight and other disease (e.g. diabetes)
• Mapping, prevalence, clinicopathological characteristics, treatment and outcomes of elapid snake envenomation in dogs and cats in Australia.

If you would like to contact the Board about this or other potential projects that fall within this category, please contact us.

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