About the Section

The Section of Animal Welfare, Epidemiology and Population Medicine at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, NMBU, brings together two complementary, data-based research traditions. One studies animal behavior, cognition, affective states, and physiology, and how these are shaped by the environment, health, management, and human-animal relationships. The other studies the prevalence and causes of disease in animal populations and veterinary public health systems (including biosecurity, herd health, food safety, and responsible antibiotic use, which protect both animal and human health).

The fields share a methodological foundation: large routine and real-time datasets, advanced statistical and computational models, and an ambition to translate evidence into practice. The approach spans from the individual animal to entire populations, herds, and production systems. Our research is organized into three thematically connected main areas: animal welfare, epidemiology, and population medicine.

• Animal Welfare Research

  Our research in animal welfare spans broadly, from applied ethology and physiology to precision animal welfare for production, companion, and laboratory animals. We investigate how complex environments and early life experiences shape animal cognition, behavioral development, and the ability to cope with stress. Furthermore, we study how emotional states and health are affected by environmental enrichment and the human-animal relationship. To document this, we combine established ethological assessment methods with artificial intelligence and advanced sensor data. This interdisciplinary work enables the development of objective, continuous, and scalable tools that improve animal quality of life in practice.

  See details on projects, methods, and researchers in the Computational Ethology and Precision Animal Welfare research group.

• Epidemiological Research

  Veterinary epidemiology is the study of the causes and distribution of diseases in animal populations.

  The Animal Welfare, Epidemiology and Population Medicine Section is responsible for research support within the field of epidemiology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and conducts projects involving animals kept for production purposes on land and in water, as well as sports and companion animals.

  The research group for epidemiology – land animals, conducts applied research particularly concerning issues related to animals kept in land-based food production (pigs, cattle, small ruminants, and poultry). These projects are often conducted in close collaboration with the industry and regulatory authorities. The group also participates in research on horses and dogs, and develops epidemiological methods.

  Through the use of a wide range of statistical and data-based methods, the group develops new knowledge about animal health and welfare. The group has extensive experience in compiling and analyzing large datasets from various livestock registries and field studies, as well as in the validation of data sources and diagnostics. An important focus area is reducing sources of error in research based on data of varying quality. The group has expertise and an active academic environment within cause-and-effect relationships (causal inference) and the investigation of disease occurrence (prevalence and incidence calculation) in animal populations.

  The research group is committed to continuous competence development, actively participates in international conferences, organizes workshops, and collaborates closely with the Bioinformatics and Applied Statistics (BIAS) research group. Feel free to contact our researchers to learn more about the section's work in epidemiology. Separate web pages for the epidemiology research group are under development. Explore the section's overarching work here in the meantime.

• Teaching Overview

  The section has teaching responsibilities throughout the veterinary and veterinary nursing education, from the first year of study up to the PhD level. The subjects of animal welfare and professional studies run as common threads throughout the veterinary medicine program and are integrated with clinical teaching. The section is also responsible for the program's core training in research methodology, statistics, epidemiology, and research ethics. The teaching is student-active (portfolio assessment, colloquia, literature work, and peer review), and the learning outcomes are anchored in the EAEVE Day One Competences (veterinary) and ACOVENE (veterinary nursing).

  The section has teaching responsibilities throughout the veterinary and veterinary nursing curricula, from the first year of study up to the PhD level. Animal welfare and professional studies run as common threads throughout the veterinary medicine program and are integrated with clinical teaching. The section is also responsible for the program's core training in research methodology, statistics, epidemiology, and research ethics. The teaching is student-centered, utilizing portfolio assessments, colloquia, literature work, and peer review, and the learning outcomes are anchored in the EAEVE Day One Competences (for veterinarians) and ACOVENE (for veterinary nurses).

• Animal Welfare Teaching

  Animal welfare is a mandatory course that runs as a common thread throughout the veterinary program. The course covers ethics and animal protection, ethology, as well as physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors that affect animal welfare. Furthermore, it encompasses methods for welfare assessment at the individual and group levels, in addition to matters related to the veterinarian's duties in cases of suspected neglect or violations of animal welfare legislation. The teaching includes a separate module in laboratory animal science and is closely integrated into the clinical training in later parts of the program.

  Animal welfare is a mandatory course that runs as a common thread throughout the veterinary program. The course covers ethics, animal protection, and ethology, alongside the physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of animal welfare. Furthermore, it encompasses welfare assessment methods at both the individual and herd levels, as well as the veterinarian's duties regarding suspected neglect or animal welfare legislation violations. The curriculum includes a dedicated module on laboratory animal science and integrates closely with clinical training in the later stages of the program.

  For a deeper introduction, see the main page for Animal welfare in veterinary education at NMBU.

• Epidemiology Teaching

  The integrated training in statistics, epidemiology, and evidence-based veterinary medicine in the veterinary program leads directly to the international EAEVE competencies (1.9 and 1.11). At the PhD level, the section offers comprehensive and step-by-step training in biostatistics and veterinary epidemiology. This educational track prepares research students within clinical and population-oriented research to design their studies, as well as analyze and interpret their data. In addition, key parts of this training, with a main focus on basic theory, study design, data analysis, and interpretation, are offered as separate continuing education (EVU) courses for practicing veterinarians.

• Research and Methodology Training (Cross-Disciplinary)

  The section bears primary responsibility for the faculty's methodology training, with teaching spanning from the bachelor's to the PhD level. For veterinary and veterinary nursing students, Marit Stormoen and Ingrid Toftaker lead the core courses in research methodology, statistics, and thesis writing (VET320 and DYR210). At the doctoral level, Andrew M. Janczak is responsible for PhD courses in research ethics (VET400), midway evaluation (VET421), and the practical use of artificial intelligence (VET422). The teaching in artificial intelligence, in particular, directly supports the section's unique research profile in precision animal welfare and computational ethology.

  For a deeper introduction to the PhD training, see the main page for Research Ethics and AI in Doctoral Training at NMBU.

• Section Members (Leader at the top, others alphabetical)