BRD research needs in the next 10–20 years

Despite numerous advances in bovine infectious disease research, bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains a significant disease threat and a cause of tremendous loss. Renewed efforts and innovative strategies are required to build on the successes of the past to achieve the successes of tomorrow. Continued and improved support of BRD research will prove to be a worthwhile investment. To achieve better coordination and more efficient use of resources, the following supportive actions should be considered. There should be coordination of integrative teams through an over-arching agency (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)) to provide peer review and priority review for available public research funds. This would include use of development grants (as seed and matching funding) available to public/private partnerships. Testing and validation of new procedures in production settings (providing more than cost analyses) should be strengthened. Publication of studies should be promoted and old links between clinicians, diagnosticians and basic researchers should be re-established. Sets of ‘best practices’ should be published. Programs to support both basic and applied research through graduate fellowships, residencies, workshops and start-up funding for young research scientists should be strengthened. Sustained funding to train the next generation of research investigators should be addressed as a critical need.