Finkelstein, Susan I

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A Strong Advocate for Laboratory Animal Medicine

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Bellwether MagazineVolume 1Number 57 Summer 2003 Article 207-1-2003A Strong Advocate for Laboratory AnimalMedicineSusan I. FinkelsteinUniversity of PennsylvaniaThis paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/bellwether/vol1/iss57/20For more information, please contact libraryrepository@pobox.upenn.edu.V.M.D. Notes V.M.D. Notes V.M.D. Notes V.M.D. Notes V.M.D. NotesV . M . D . N O T E S V . M . D . N O T E S V . M . D . N O T E S V . M . D . N O T E S V . M . D . N O T E S V . M . D . N O T E SB E L L W E T H E R  5 7 19by Susan I. FinkelsteinOver the course of his distinguished career,Hilton J. Klein, V’80, has accomplished muchin the fields of critical research and human andanimal drug and vaccine discovery and devel-opment. During its Annual Convention in July2003, the American Veterinary Medical Associ-ation recognized Klein’s contributions to thefield of laboratory animal science by honoringhim with the Charles River Prize, which isawarded by the Charles River Foundation.Currently the senior director of compara-tive medicine and director of the Departmentof Laboratory Animal Resources for MerckResearch Laboratories in West Point, Pa., Kleinprovides strategic planning and direction forMerck’s animal care and use programs and isthe lead auditor for all animal care programsfor Merck worldwide. As Merck’s representa-tive, Klein also played an important part inestablishing a conservation program forneotropical primates in collaboration with thePan American Health Organization.Klein credits his education at Penn’sVeterinary School, with its emphasis on basicscience, for pointing him in the direction of aresearch career. In fact, Klein notes, because ofPenn’s continued research-focused curriculum,“Penn graduates are better equipped than everbefore to understand what’s going on inresearch.” In 1977, as the very first Pennstudent to participate in the Merck SummerResearch Fellowship Program, where he wasmentored by two laboratory animal veterinari-ans, Klein found his initial desire to practicelarge animal medicine gradually giving way toa growing interest in research.After graduating from Penn in 1980, “anopportunity to do research on human infec-tious diseases presented itself,” recalls Klein. Asmanager of veterinary sciences at WhitakerM.A. Bioproducts in Walkersville, Md., Klein,in addition to his duties as clinical veterinarianand laboratory animal care supervisor, helpedresearch and develop diagnostic tests forinfectious animal diseases, including ELISA(Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay), afundamental tool of clinical immunology usedas an initial screen for HIV detection, and theFA (Fluorescent Antibody) Test, which formany years has been used to detect influenzavirus infection in frozen sections of lung. Hiscomparative infectious disease researchencompassed toxoplasmosis, herpes, andcytomegalovirus.In 1985, Klein joined Merck ResearchLaboratories as a staff veterinarian, where hecollaborated with researchers in developinganimal models to establish “proof of concept”and safety for human medicines and vaccines.During his 18 years at Merck, the number ofanimals has more than and the professionalstaff tripled.Klein was recently honored with Merck’s2002 Animal Alternatives Award, along withThomas E. Nolan, D.V.M., recently retired fromMerck’s Department of Laboratory AnimalResources. The award recognizes Merckemployees worldwide whose research and pub-lished work support the animal-alternativesconcept of “3 Rs”—replacing, reducing, orrefining animal models used in laboratoryresearch. Klein and Nolan’s award-winningpaper, “Methods in Vascular Infusion Biotech-nology in Research with Rodents,” appeared in2002 in the ILAR Journal, the publication ofthe Institute for Laboratory Animal Research.The paper describes innovative techniques(with animal welfare in mind) that use minia-turized animal models to facilitate drug discov-ery and development. This novel technology isnow being used in Merck research areas—including obesity, diabetes, cancer, andvaccines—and will ultimately benefit bothhuman and animal health.Because veterinarians trained to conductbasic biomedical research are in short supplyacross the country, many career opportunitiesare available for veterinarians to enter theresearch arena. Klein states, “We asveterinarians shouldn’t consider research as an‘alternative’ career; it’s a good primary careerthat offers lots of opportunities for vets—inagricultural research, biomedical research,human medicine research—for which Penngraduates are uniquely qualified.”Research veterinarians can help shape ani-mal welfare policies and practices at the local,national, and global levels. Klein has workedwith international agencies like the WorldHealth Organization, regulatory agencies likethe United States Department of Agriculture,accrediting agencies like the Association forAssessment and Accreditation of LaboratoryAnimal Care–International (where he served aspresident of its Council on Accreditation), andprofessional/scientific groups like ILAR. He hastraveled extensively throughout the world—including places as diverse as Canada, Italy,France, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Cuba,where he actually met Fidel Castro. At eachstop, no matter how distant or unfamiliar, thecommon thread was always animals andresearch.Klein points to the emerging field of “trans-lational medicine” as another type of researchcareer available to graduates. Knowledge andtechnology are being improved today at anincreasing pace—and with them, our desire tosee a rapid progression, or “translation,” ofinformation from laboratory to hospital, fromtheoretical to practical. This desire generatesthe need for a whole new range of trained pro-fessionals to perform the critical task of mov-ing medical research closer to commerciallyready medical technology. Animals play anintegral part in the two main steps of this“bench-to-bedside” research (first proving aconcept, and then ensuring its safety)—andwhere there are laboratory animals, of course,there is a need for veterinarians. “This is achance to help both humans and animals bydeveloping drugs and vaccines,” states Klein.An adjunct associate professor of laboratoryanimal medicine at Penn, the author orcoauthor of more than 30 scientific articles,and a diplomate of the American College ofLaboratory Animal Medicine, Klein is uniquelyqualified to serve as an advocate for a field thatstrives to advance the health and welfare ofhumans and animals.A Strong Advocate for Laboratory Animal Medicine          

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A Strong Advocate for Laboratory Animal Medicine

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