Advice from Nobel Prize Laureate Peter Doherty

This photo was taken about eight years ago when I met Professor Doherty at a book signing. He very good-naturedly posed for a photo, possibly for the 50,000th time that day. (Mind you, how does he manage to look so relaxed and professional while I look like "Nerdsville: Population - Anne"? I think its the backpack full of library books).

It isn’t every day that one gets to converse with a Nobel laureate, but I had the opportunity to interview immunologist, author and Nobel prize-winner Peter Doherty this week for The Veterinarian Magazine. 

Professor Doherty has a long-standing interested in infectious diseases and zoonoses (diseases that can be transmitted between humans and animals). He is also passionate about pandemics (understanding and preventing them, that is).

In July this year he will be addressing the AustralasianSociety for Infectious Diseases (ASID) Zoonoses Conference.

Professor Doherty trained as a veterinarian then did an MVSc at the University of Queensland and worked as a veterinary officer before moving to Scotland to pursue a PhD at the University of Edinburgh Medical School.

In 1996, Professor Doherty and colleague RolfZinkernagel (Switzerland) shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of the way the immune system recognises virus-infected cells.

Professor Doherty has over 20 honorary degrees and has published 397 peer-reviewed papers. (I had to change the toner in my printer just to print his CV!!!)

As I learned in his biography, “The Beginner’s Guide toWinning the Nobel Prize: a Life in Science”, with big prizes come huge responsibilities. Dinners with prime ministers and dignatories, public lectures, school visits, honorary degrees. In 1997 he became Australian of the Year, a title which came with more responsibilities. In addition to that Professor Doherty continues to read and write about immunology and infectious disease, including most recently “Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know” and “Sentinel Chickens: What Birds Tell Us About OurHealth and The World”.

Sadly, Professor Doherty doesn’t currently have pets as commuting across the world and working as a tireless ambassador for science requires too much time away from home to make it work, but he did have some great advice for veterinarians, vet students and scientists: TALK ABOUT SCIENCE. You don't need a Nobel Prize to do it (and - not his words mind you - if we all did our bit, it might give the actual Nobel Prize winners the odd moment off to tend to their houseplants and get to the supermarket).

Science can only work well when people are convinced of its value, and we are ethically charged with the duty of promoting science. Particularly when the science sector is facing challenges from every which way.

Vets need to think of themselves as scientists…there are so few people in the community who have real scientific training. By that I mean taking an evidence based view of the world, not just belief. Anyone that deals with diagnosis has to take evidence based view…they have to be good observers and come to rational based conclusion.

Everyone who has got some sort of science training – and I keep saying this when I talk to professional groups – can be an ambassador. Learn how to talk about it in simple and clear terms, talk about it at school board meetings, stick up for science, and try to explain to people how things work.

Clear communication about the risks and the risk perception around infectious diseases can be particularly important. Needlessly scaring the socks off people can lead to harmful consequences, while failing to inform them can have just as dire consequences. 

Professor Doherty is also passionate about citizenscience. 

The citizen science movement…is powerful. Vets might think about that in terms of getting citizens involved in observations that are important. We’re already seeing citizen science working with the bird community, looking at beaches, marine animals and pollution. If you can get people organised – they all have cell phones with cameras – they can collect data. We need to involve people, not tell people. We not to stop lecturing and start involving, if we can do that will do a lot better job of communication.

If you’d like to hear more about Professor Doherty’s concerns about zoonotic diseases, sign up for the ASID conference in July.

You can register, and read about the 2012 Zoonoses Conference, here.

Building a business to help animals

Michael McTeigue left the rat-race to set up a business that helps rescue dogs. Here he is with his Lab aka Chief Tasting Officer Buddy. (Note to self: write pets into business plan!!! Genius).

Here at SAT we like to try to help animals every which way. We support various animal causes, we aim to provide info for vets/vet students/pet owners, we volunteer our time, and we try to shop ethically. Heck, we even adopt them sometimes (in a sign of just how helpful we are, one is warming his little tushy against the computer as we type). The philosophy we try to live by is one of harm minimisation/benefit maximisation in life, and we're always interested in different approaches people take to help animals.

So we were interested to learn about a guy who threw in a major corporate job to put his eggs into the basket of a startup company to support rescue dogs. SAT spoke to Michael McTeigue about his company, SavourLife, and how it all works.

You left a successful corporate career for a startup venture designed to help dogs in need. What was your previous job and did anyone suggest you were crazy at the time? 

I was a marketing executive at one of Australia’s biggest companies, it was a great job working at a great company, working with some very talented people. I’m sure people still think I’m crazy (!), but I’m doing something I’m passionate about and I think we are really making a difference. The bigger we get, the more we’ll be able to help and that really excites me. 

There are plenty of good causes worthy of our attention. What is it about rescue dogs that inspired you to take action? 

I grew up with dogs and have always been a big softie when it comes to them. I guess I’ve been really affected by the innocence of rescue dogs. They are there through no fault of their own and are powerless to change their outcome. I wanted to be able to do something to change that situation. 

A happy rescue dog.

Why did you make the leap instead of donating cash to an animal charity? 

From a personal perspective, I thought I could use my own money to create a business that could eventually deliver many more donations than I, as an individual would ever be able to. Kind of like planting a seed for someone and watching it grow. I wanted to build a business that would continually be able to generate donations for animal welfare groups. From a wider perspective, not everyone has the means to donate cash to animal charities, so I thought if I could create a way for people to lend a hand to a great cause just by buying something awesome for their own dog, then everyone would win. 

How big a risk is it for a startup to donate 50% of profits? 

It’s a big risk, we are a family company, we are not backed by some big investors with lots of money, and like every start-up, yes sometimes it’s a struggle. But we are in this to help rescue dogs, so really that’s what it’s all about and I feel very strongly that we are doing a really unique and great thing. The support from people we don’t even know has blown me away; we just love it when people help us spread the word. I know we’ll be successful with the help of people just like the ones reading this blog; they’re the kind of people who are going to make us a success. 

How does SavourLife help rescue dogs? 

We partner with four, medium-sized pet rescue organisations throughout the country, you can check them out in detail on our website. We chose them very carefully, all are no-kill organisations, which was important to us. They are the experts in their fields, I just hope to facilitate them in doing their work even better. 

So there’s a few way we help. There’s the direct assistance we give in the form of donations to our partners, that goes to things like vets bills for example which make sure the dogs have the best health, no matter what background they’ve come from.

We also give them our products for them to use with their dogs, whether it be for playing, training, feeding or just simply for rewards. Which really helps makes rescue dogs a great choice as the new addition to your family, you know that they are in good health and they even get basic obedience training!

[Ed - if anyone doubted the trainability of rescue dogs, check out this article about the fantastic display courtesy of Dave Graham and the Australian Canine Sports and Training Centre in The Australian].

And then lastly we help promote the dogs through the unique “See Who You Helped” code on each of our packs. The 7-digit code from your SavourLife pack is your key to seeing the picture and profile of a real-life rescue dog, just like the ones your purchase is helping. You can sign up for updates on how your dog is doing and even share his profile with your friends. You never know, by sharing him you might help us find him a new home! By doing this we are getting these dogs in front of thousands and thousands of people who would otherwise not have seen them, so we know that helps drive more adoptions. 

Are there any non-humans in your life and can you tell us a bit about them? 

Ah, yes our CTO (Chief Tasting Officer), Buddy! He takes his work very seriously! He was the inspiration behind SavourLife and you can see him on the back of every one of our bags of treats. He is an 11 year-old yellow Lab and the world most perfect dog, he has the best nature of any dog I have ever met, I could be biased though….He’s hilarious, or at least I think he is, he’s got a very funny personality and loves his routine. I know what time of day it is, literally, by looking at him and what he’s doing. He is my mate, he’s been with me through thick and thin. 

Here's Buddy again in case you missed him.

How do you spend time together? 

He comes with me pretty much everywhere. He’s with me all day in the office which is great; but when I am not working (which is not very often at the moment!) we love walking as a family, so we’ll all go out and just wander for a couple of hours around where we live. He’s a Lab, so he loves the water, so I take him for a swim at least once a week. He’s also got the most incredible tennis ball radar, he’ll smell one from 50 metres away, I swear, so he loves playing fetch with those. 

What could we all do to improve the lives of non-human animals in Australia? 

There’s so many things you can do. You can volunteer at your local shelter, you can donate goods or money, you can be a foster carer for an animal. I know people are time poor, so simple things like telling your friends what a great option a rescue dog is instead of purchasing one from a pet shop is a great thing to do. When you buy SavourLife, just the simple act of buying something awesome for your own dog, will in turn help rescue dogs across Australia.

Thanks Michael. I love this idea for a business and I like the idea of a business based on giving back. 

Speaking of rescue dogs, this is a beautiful account about a dog named Bran who was rescued by some compassionate and dedicated peeps.

Oh, rats!

Hi everyone. 

Today's big job at the Sydney Royal Easter Show (at least for the small animal vets) was the vetting of around 475 rats and mice before breakfast. This was a somewhat challenging task, on account of the fact that most exhibitors entered multiple animals - presented in groups like this.

The rats were relatively easy to count. But mice? Not so much [NB these are not the containers the mice and rats were displayed in - they were just used to hold during the vetting process].

We were checking for general health concerns - dermatophytes, lice, traumatic injuries or respiratory tract disease. The condition of the entrants was excellent. Clearly the exhibitors are passionate about their pets. One observation is that naming pets when you have 30 or 40 becomes an excercise in creativity. Entrants clearly trawl TV and movie credits, novels and the bathroom cabinet to come up with names like "Moriarty" and "Midnight Mojo".

Containing the entrants was at times tricky as a few wanted to explore.

Vetting mice before the show.

As a vet I can declare that I've never met such a number or variety of rats and mice in one session. 

Every one of these mice had an individual name and exhibition number which had to be cross-checked.

This kind of set up made identifying and catching mice much easier.

Dr Chris Tan and veterinary student Jess Graham inspect some rats prior to the show.

It was another educational day. Professor Rosanne Taylor and veterinary neurologist Dr Georgina Child attended to observe the vet student program (if you are a vet student and have the opportunity to volunteer at the show, take it up!). Its always interesting discussing conditions like syringomyelia and neuronal ceroid lipofucinosis with the experts (even if one's own participation is more at the listening end of the spectrum).

Professor Rosanne Taylor (far left) with Dr Chris Tan (second from right) and neurologist Dr Georgina Child (far right).

The big shock of the day was a meeting in the dog pavillion with a representative of the breed that Phil most closely resembles, according to a DNA test. The Maltese. Believe it or not, Dr Phil is related to this lady (pictured below), although his haircut wouldn't suggest that.

Indiana the Maltese.

Dr Phil. See the resemblance? Neither did I!!!

Visiting the Sydney Royal Easter Show

"Do NOT pat this bull! ...he does not like it at all!!!" - looks like someone patted before checking first. (Ascertaining an animal's preferences about patting or not - whatever the species - is always good practice).

This week I am fortunate enough to be a member of a team of veterinarians and vet students volunteering at what is effectively one of, if not the largest, veterinary "clinics" in the Southern Hemisphere - The Sydney Royal Easter Show.

The best thing about being a part of something like this is the opportunity to mix with colleagues in different areas within the veterinary profession - large animal vets, mixed animal vets, rural-based vets, city-vets - and to learn more about the husbandry and welfare of species I engage with less commonly. It is also an opportunity to meet the widest variety of dog and cat breeds and breeders.

At the show veterinarians and veterinary students have multiple roles: swabbing (testing competition animals for banned substances), first-aid and veterinary care (for example, in the event of a calving, a colic or lameness), overseeing veterinary treatment of animals, assessing that animals are fit to be shown and addressing husbandry issues that can arise when multiple animals and humans conglomerate in one area.

Its one of the few places in inner-Sydney where one might cross paths with horses.

Everyday the veterinarians meet for rounds, and the amount of planning and attention to detail is far beyond what I think most people would expect for an event that runs two weeks.

Dr Robert Johnson shows a third-year veterinary student how to vet the cats before the show.

Aside from the volunteer duties, the show is an opportunity for the non-rural based to see domestic species normally relegated to properties well beyond the bounds of the city. And its a nice chance to see one's patients in action. It was great vetting the agility dogs this morning and watching their absolute delight as they checked out the course and peed on designated hay bails.

Its also an opportunity to check out some of the more impressive cakes you'll ever see (unless you are in the cake decorating game). This cat-vs-yarn entry by Erin Lidbury was awesome.

On another topic altogether, SAT reader Mick sent a link to a series of beautiful photos - although I should warn that they are attached to a sad story. Have a look at the work of Jessica Trinh here.