About the Section for Animal Welfare, Epidemiology and Population Medicine

The Section for Animal Welfare, Epidemiology and Population Medicine at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, NMBU, educates veterinarians, veterinary nurses and doctoral students, and conducts research that contributes to good animal welfare, good animal health, safe food and protection against transmission of disease between animals and humans within a One Health perspective. We work with animal welfare from the individual to the population level, with the causes and patterns of disease in animal populations, and with the legal and ethical framework for veterinary practice. Our core mission is to translate research-based knowledge into education and a solid foundation for decision-making for industry, regulatory authorities, and society.

The Section 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 two thematically linked main areas: animal welfare on the one hand, and epidemiology and population medicine on the other, where the latter encompasses both the methodological discipline of epidemiology and applied public health work in veterinary population medicine.

• Animal Welfare Research

  Our animal welfare research encompasses both the individual animal and entire populations. At the individual level, the Computational Ethology and Precision Animal Welfare Research Group studies behavior, physiology, and emotional states. The Animal Welfare Research Group studies welfare from a population and herd perspective, sharing data sources and methodologies with the section's epidemiological research. The sections below elaborate on the two approaches.

  Computational Ethology and Precision Animal Welfare Research Group (Individual Level)

  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.

  Computational Ethology and Precision Animal Welfare research group: projects, methods, and researchers.

  Animal Welfare Research Group (Population and Herd Data)

  We study animal welfare using data from populations and herds, where welfare questions meet the data and methods of epidemiology. By combining herd surveys, health registries, as well as production and slaughter data, we examine how housing, management, nutrition, and breeding affect welfare and health, and we develop and validate welfare indicators and protocols for monitoring and risk assessment. This research is supported by small-scale experimental studies. The Animal Welfare Research Group contributes to the welfare-focused work within the section's population-based research, sharing data sources and methods with the section's epidemiological research.

• Epidemiological Research

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

  The Section for Animal Welfare, Epidemiology and Public Health 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.

  We conduct applied research, particularly addressing issues related to food-producing animals (salmon, rainbow trout, swine, cattle, small ruminants, and poultry). We also participate in research on horses and dogs, and develop epidemiological methods. Many of our projects are carried out in close collaboration with industry, other research institutions, and regulatory authorities.

  By utilizing a wide range of statistical and computational methods, the group generates new knowledge on animal health and animal welfare. The group has extensive experience in compiling and analyzing large datasets from various health and production registries, sensor data, and field data, as well as validating data sources and diagnostics. A key area of focus is reducing sources of error in research based on data of varying quality. We possess expertise and an active academic environment in cause-and-effect relationships (causal inference) and the investigation of disease occurrence (prevalence and incidence estimation) in animal populations.

  We are committed to continuous professional development, actively participate in international conferences, organize workshops, and collaborate closely with the research group for Bioinformatics and Applied Statistics (BIAS). Feel free to contact our researchers to learn more about the section’s work in epidemiology.

  Within epidemiology, we have two research groups: one for terrestrial animals and one for aquaculture.

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).

• Animal Welfare Teaching

  Animal welfare VET353 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.

  For a more detailed and broader introduction to this teaching, see the main page for Animal welfare in veterinary education at NMBU.

• Epidemiology Teaching

  The section is responsible for the integrated training in statistics, epidemiology, and evidence-based veterinary medicine throughout the veterinary curriculum, anchored in EAEVE competences 1.9 and 1.11. At the PhD level, step-by-step training in biostatistics and veterinary epidemiology is offered, ranging from basic statistical theory and programming, through epidemiological theory focusing on study design, causal relationships, and the estimation of disease occurrence, to advanced courses focused on data analysis and interpretation. The training aims to bring PhD candidates to a level where they can independently design and conduct epidemiological studies. Key components of this training are also offered as continuing professional development for practicing veterinarians.

  Details are described on dedicated webpages:

  VET410 – Introduction to biostatistics

  VET411 – Veterinary epidemiology I – Fundamental theory and study design

  VET412 – Veterinary epidemiology II – Data analysis and interpretation

• Veterinary public health teaching

  VET352 Professional Theory runs like a continuous thread throughout the entire professional degree program. Veterinary public health covers the legal framework for veterinary practice, professional ethics, and the veterinarian's societal responsibilities within food production and food safety, disease control, animal welfare, environment, and sustainability—with practical meat inspection as part of the clinical rotation. The section also contributes to VET362 Herd Health and Nutrition, which links herd health to production and farm management.

• Teaching in Aquatic Animal Health

  In collaboration with other academic environments at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the section contributes to teaching in fish health and fish welfare throughout the veterinary program. Our teaching focuses particularly on the veterinarian's practical work with fish health, as well as the connection between health, production conditions, and fish welfare.

  Students learn how veterinary knowledge can be applied to prevent and manage health challenges at the herd/flock level, with an emphasis on systematic health management, risk assessment, and preventive herd medicine. The instruction is based on research-driven knowledge and practical issues from the aquaculture industry.

• Research and Methodology Training (Cross-Disciplinary)

  The section has a central responsibility for the faculty’s methodology training, with teaching spanning from the bachelor's level all the way up to the Ph.D. level. This includes statistics and epidemiology, as well as VET381 Literature Study in the veterinary curriculum, along with corresponding courses for veterinary nursing students: DYR210 Research Methodology, Statistics, and Scientific Writing, and the bachelor’s thesis. At the doctoral level, the section is responsible for Ph.D. courses in research ethics (VET400) and the practical use of artificial intelligence in research (VET422). The teaching in artificial intelligence, in particular, directly supports the strategic focus on precision animal welfare and data-driven ethology.

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

• Section members (head/chair at the top, others alphabetically)