Introduction
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has a proud heritage of innovation in veterinary science, clinical practice and education, and an established network of international scientific partnerships. RVC has three large academic departments: – Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, and Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences. International development research and teaching can mostly be found in the first two of these.

Research
Research within the College is co-ordinated through a single cross-departmental Research Division fostering multi-disciplinary research. The Infection and Immunity programme contains many researchers involved in international development research from different academic departments.

The Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, contributes academics with expertise in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health many of whom are involved in research of relevance to international development. The VEPH group consists of a multi-disciplinary mix of academics with backgrounds in epidemiology, evidence-based medicine, food safety and economics. They have specific methodological strengths in risk analysis; design and evaluation of surveillance systems; spatial analysis; social network analysis; animal health economics. Research projects on tropical diseases have included epidemiological studies of Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever, Peste des Petites Ruminants, and Rift Valley Fever. Research links exist with groups in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, including the Centre for Epidemiology and Risk Analysis within the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (Rome), Institute for Animal Health (UK), CIRAD (France) and ARC- Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (South Africa).

The Department of Pathology & Infectious Diseases contributes academics with expertise in Immunology, Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology to research on infectious diseases in animals of relevance to international development. Laboratories working on novel vaccines against bovine pestiviruses and on the pathogenesis of prion diseases collaborate internationally. Research on diseases found predominantly in developing countries includes work on the molecular basis of pathogenesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and research on the cellular immune mechanisms against the tick-borne protozoan Theileria parva, which causes East Coast Fever in cattle.

The new Centre for Emerging, Endemic and Exotic Diseases (CEEED) is a state-of-the-art facility for multidisciplinary infection and immunity research to tackle infectious diseases on a national and global scale. CEEED also aims to attract international research collaboration into diseases which have an impact on human and animal health, and it provides a consultancy service on infectious disease and public health matters. Current programmes include research on the control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), work on the epidemiology and control of bovine tuberculosis, and evaluation of the impact of bovine cellular immune responses on Theileria parasites.

The RVC Undergraduate Research Team has the goal of understanding the prevalence and effect of animal disease in developing countries in order to improve the ability of farmers to support their families and communities through healthier stock.

Teaching
Besides providing the professional BVetMed qualification, the RVC also provides a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, some of which have elements relating to international development problems, and has significant numbers of PhD students.

MSc Degree programmes related to international development include:

• MSc Wild Animal Health and Wild Animal Biology (in collaboration with the Institute of Zoology, London),
• MSc Veterinary Epidemiology (in conjunction with LSHTM )
• MSc Control of Infectious Diseases in Animals (MSc and Postgraduate Diploma)
  

By distance learning, the RVC offers MSc/Pg Diploma and Pg Certificate courses and a series of short courses for Continuing Professional Development (CPD):

• MSc/Pg Diploma/Pg Certificate in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health
• Livestock Health and Production short courses
• Spatial Epidemiology short courses
  

The eMedia Unit at RVC uses communications technology to build capacity to manage and control zoonotic diseases.

Highlighted initiative
To improve local and global and capacity for making evidence-based decisions on the control of highly pathogenic avian influenza HPAI (and other diseases with epidemic potential), RVC researchers are involved in an international DFID-funded project 'Pro-poor HPAI risk reduction' in partnership with FAO and others.

Participation in LIDC
RVC is involved with LSHTM in Wellcome Trust and Rockefeller Foundation projects in the "one health" Southern Africa Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS) programme. RVC also participates in LIDC’s Emerging and Zoonotic Disease and Agri-Health Working Groups and is a partner in the new Agri-Health Initiative funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Both staff and students at RVC are also involved in the Students as Global Citizens project led by the Institute of Education’s Development Education Research Centre (DERC) and LIDC. The three-year initiative will develop curricula for students from The School of Pharmacy, Royal Veterinary College and the Medical School of University College London on the social, economic and cultural aspects of international development relative to their profession. Staff from RVC have also taken part in a wide range of cross-College workshops.