{"id":5417,"date":"2015-06-17T01:18:19","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T23:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=5417\/"},"modified":"2017-01-20T22:02:18","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T22:02:18","slug":"five-questions-to-the-vet-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/five-questions-to-the-vet-professor\/","title":{"rendered":"Five questions to the vet professor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlotte, was 14 years old, when the horse she was looking after, Rusalka, developed eczema. The vet prescribed an ointment and being a conscientious young girl, she rubbed it in good and proper. Only the horse got worse – its fur began to fall out.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I rubbed on more ointment \u2013 because I wanted to help. But the horse lost more and more of its fur, until only its tail and mane were left. It was such a sad sight, a bald horse. Then we took it to the veterinary hospital here at Landboh\u00f8jskolen, where it turned out that it was allergic to the ointment. I promised myself that I would never risk maltreating another animal, \u201c Professor Charlotte Bj\u00f8rnvad confesses while laughing and shaking her head at her 14-year-old self.<\/p>\n

Then she started studying at Landboh\u00f8jskolen \u2013 today Frederiksberg Campus \u2013 VET at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. And she basically never left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI considered studying theology or psychology but then I figured that being a vet is not a hobby, whereas you can explore your spirituality in your free time. I started studying when I was 20 years old, and apart from one year in practice and a few months at an abattoir, I\u2019ve worked here ever since,\u201d the 46-year-old Professor of Internal Medicine explains.<\/p>\n

Animal and human health<\/h2>\n

What drives your research?
\n\u201cLearning something new and making a difference. And the fact that I\u2019m good at it \u2013 I feel comfortable having many different and complex tasks. I practiced for a short while, but I quickly discovered that it was not for me. It was monotonous \u2013 your primary communication was with owners, and you have very little contact with colleagues. You most certainly make a difference for the individual animal, but I missed the professional environment of the university.<\/p>\n

Here our days are varied. We deal with diabetes as well as intestinal and dietary diseases. We treat, teach and conduct research. There are constant challenges to be solved. It\u2019s never boring or monotonous.<\/p>\n

I really like working alongside my extremely talented students and colleagues, who take their profession very seriously. There are many good people here, and we learn from one another. The working environment is really good and people readily help each other out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is your research useful to society?<\/em>
\n\u201cHa ha, that might be a little tricky, arguing that it is decidedly useful to society. However, my research is based on what we call One Health, i.e. that there is a connection between animals\u2019 health and humans\u2019 health. I learn a lot from research into human conditions \u2013 and I hope that there are others who will be inspired by my research.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, I help treat a real problem: obesity, which is a problem for 25-30% of all dogs and cats. It diminishes their quality of life tremendously, because they suffer problems with their joints as well as diabetes \u2013 so for animals, being overweight is not a good thing neither. And talking about it is not easy for owners or vets.<\/p>\n

In Denmark having a good time is often connected to eating. And food also plays a big part in the interactions between pets and humans. Many people find it comforting; they believe that slight overweight is an indication that cats and dogs are well looked after. There is something Garfieldy about it \u2013 you know the fat ginger cat that is also a little naughty. But it\u2019s actually really serious. It\u2019s kind of a luxury mistreatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obesity in cats<\/h2>\n

Tell us about a career high!<\/em>
\n\u201cThat was when I received my postdoc-grant from the Research Council. For three years I was allowed to conduct research into obesity and diabetes in cats. It\u2019s hard \u2013 and there is a lot of competition from people doctors. I guess I worked on my centimetre-thick application for six months. And I was very nervous before the final decision. It\u2019s that type of decision that can determine your future. So it was a very special day, when I finally got the go-ahead.<\/p>\n

I had read an article about the metabolic syndrome in humans. It was about when obesity starts affecting one\u2019s health. Obesity increases your blood pressure and cholesterol and you suffer chronic inflammation. I examined whether or not it was also the case for cats, and it has had great influence on my later work \u2013 it\u2019s a foundation I have worked a lot from ever since\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the best thing about your job?<\/em>
\n\u201cMy colleagues \u2013 I like coming to work. We work together as a team and that makes me feel good. And I\u2019m also happy that I make a difference for animals as well as their owners.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very fond of the varied work I do. I work in the clinic, do administrative work, give lectures and conduct research primarily through my PhD students. I shape the basis of what they will be examining further.<\/p>\n

Son comes up with the names<\/h2>\n

What do you do in your spare time?<\/em>
\n\u201cI spend it with my family. I have two boys, who are 15 and 17 years old. I\u2019m also very fond of exercise. I run and ride a mountain bike. And I like to travel and experience different cultures, among other places I have visited Mexico, Thailand, Tanzania and Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have pets yourself?<\/em>
\n\u201cYes, we have a dog, which actually came here to be put down. I was never really sure whether or not I wanted a dog, but once I saw her, there was no longer any doubt. It\u2019s called Nelly \u2013 my son named it after Nelly Furtado. We also have a cat that simply decided to move in, and it just took us by storm. It\u2019s called Suki \u2013 another name my son came up with.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on the website of the Faculty of Health and Medical Science <\/a>. Read the original interview <\/a>. <\/p>\n

universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n

Like us on Facebook <\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events. Follow us on Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories. Sign up for the University Post weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlotte Bj\u00f8rnvad accidentally mistreated a horse with the wrong ointment when she was a teenager. This eventually proved beneficial to many overweight dogs and cats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nFive questions to the vet professor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/five-questions-to-the-vet-professor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five questions to the vet professor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Charlotte Bj\u00f8rnvad accidentally mistreated a horse with the wrong ointment when she was a teenager. 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Bj\u00f8rnvad accidentally mistreated a horse with the wrong ointment when she was a teenager. This eventually proved beneficial to many overweight dogs and cats","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"Mikkel Andreas Beck, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences","contributor_title":" ","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>Charlotte, was 14 years old, when the horse she was looking after, Rusalka, developed eczema. The vet prescribed an ointment and being a conscientious young girl, she rubbed it in good and proper. Only the horse got worse – its fur began to fall out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I rubbed on more ointment \u2013 because I wanted to help. But the horse lost more and more of its fur, until only its tail and mane were left. It was such a sad sight, a bald horse. Then we took it to the veterinary hospital here at Landboh\u00f8jskolen, where it turned out that it was allergic to the ointment. I promised myself that I would never risk maltreating another animal, \u201c Professor Charlotte Bj\u00f8rnvad confesses while laughing and shaking her head at her 14-year-old self.<\/p>\n<p>Then she started studying at Landboh\u00f8jskolen \u2013 today Frederiksberg Campus \u2013 VET at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. And she basically never left.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI considered studying theology or psychology but then I figured that being a vet is not a hobby, whereas you can explore your spirituality in your free time. I started studying when I was 20 years old, and apart from one year in practice and a few months at an abattoir, I\u2019ve worked here ever since,\u201d the 46-year-old Professor of Internal Medicine explains.<\/p>\n<h2>Animal and human health<\/h2>\n<p>What drives your research?<br \/>\n\u201cLearning something new and making a difference. And the fact that I\u2019m good at it \u2013 I feel comfortable having many different and complex tasks. I practiced for a short while, but I quickly discovered that it was not for me. It was monotonous \u2013 your primary communication was with owners, and you have very little contact with colleagues. You most certainly make a difference for the individual animal, but I missed the professional environment of the university.<\/p>\n<p>Here our days are varied. We deal with diabetes as well as intestinal and dietary diseases. We treat, teach and conduct research. There are constant challenges to be solved. It\u2019s never boring or monotonous.<\/p>\n<p>I really like working alongside my extremely talented students and colleagues, who take their profession very seriously. There are many good people here, and we learn from one another. The working environment is really good and people readily help each other out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Why is your research useful to society?<\/em><br \/>\n\u201cHa ha, that might be a little tricky, arguing that it is decidedly useful to society. However, my research is based on what we call One Health, i.e. that there is a connection between animals\u2019 health and humans\u2019 health. I learn a lot from research into human conditions \u2013 and I hope that there are others who will be inspired by my research.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, I help treat a real problem: obesity, which is a problem for 25-30% of all dogs and cats. It diminishes their quality of life tremendously, because they suffer problems with their joints as well as diabetes \u2013 so for animals, being overweight is not a good thing neither. And talking about it is not easy for owners or vets.<\/p>\n<p>In Denmark having a good time is often connected to eating. And food also plays a big part in the interactions between pets and humans. Many people find it comforting; they believe that slight overweight is an indication that cats and dogs are well looked after. There is something Garfieldy about it \u2013 you know the fat ginger cat that is also a little naughty. But it\u2019s actually really serious. It\u2019s kind of a luxury mistreatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Obesity in cats<\/h2>\n<p><em>Tell us about a career high!<\/em><br \/>\n\u201cThat was when I received my postdoc-grant from the Research Council. For three years I was allowed to conduct research into obesity and diabetes in cats. It\u2019s hard \u2013 and there is a lot of competition from people doctors. I guess I worked on my centimetre-thick application for six months. And I was very nervous before the final decision. It\u2019s that type of decision that can determine your future. So it was a very special day, when I finally got the go-ahead.<\/p>\n<p>I had read an article about the metabolic syndrome in humans. It was about when obesity starts affecting one\u2019s health. Obesity increases your blood pressure and cholesterol and you suffer chronic inflammation. I examined whether or not it was also the case for cats, and it has had great influence on my later work \u2013 it\u2019s a foundation I have worked a lot from ever since\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>What is the best thing about your job?<\/em><br \/>\n\u201cMy colleagues \u2013 I like coming to work. We work together as a team and that makes me feel good. And I\u2019m also happy that I make a difference for animals as well as their owners.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m very fond of the varied work I do. I work in the clinic, do administrative work, give lectures and conduct research primarily through my PhD students. I shape the basis of what they will be examining further.<\/p>\n<h2>Son comes up with the names<\/h2>\n<p><em>What do you do in your spare time?<\/em><br \/>\n\u201cI spend it with my family. I have two boys, who are 15 and 17 years old. I\u2019m also very fond of exercise. I run and ride a mountain bike. And I like to travel and experience different cultures, among other places I have visited Mexico, Thailand, Tanzania and Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Do you have pets yourself?<\/em><br \/>\n\u201cYes, we have a dog, which actually came here to be put down. I was never really sure whether or not I wanted a dog, but once I saw her, there was no longer any doubt. It\u2019s called Nelly \u2013 my son named it after Nelly Furtado. We also have a cat that simply decided to move in, and it just took us by storm. It\u2019s called Suki \u2013 another name my son came up with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This article was originally published on the website of the<a href=\"http:\/\/healthsciences.ku.dk\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Faculty of Health and Medical Science <\/a>. Read <a href=\"http:\/\/healthsciences.ku.dk\/research\/researchprofile\/2015\/the-horse-lost-its-fur\/\" target=\"_blank\"> the original interview <\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Like us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityPost\" target=\"_blank\"> Facebook <\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events. Follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UniversityPost\" target=\"_blank\"> Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories. <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for the University Post weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":46,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":832,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11492,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/charlotte_bjornvald2_0-1280x886.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5417"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32282,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5417\/revisions\/32282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}