Bart Broeckx

Professor Broeckx graduated as a vet in 2011 and obtained his PhD in 2015. After a short postdoc, he was appointed as professor at the Laboratory of Animal Genetics at Ghent University in Belgium in 2018. He authored or co-authored around 100 publications and currently is chairholder of both the chair “Assistance Dogs Purpose Dogs” and the “Advice Center of Clinical Genetics” (http://akgg.ugent.be/). He is the founder of the dedicated small animal clinical genetics/genetic counselling facility at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University, a service dedicated to helping owners, breeders and vets with questions linked to hereditary diseases.

GENETIC IMPLICATION IN HIP DYSPLASIA

For decades already, hip dysplasia has led to frustrations, disappointed owners and breeders. Why is it so difficult to achieve progress? Is there nothing we can do? In this presentation, we will address the genetic background of canine hip dysplasia, discuss consequences and strategies, and, illustrate with examples how this disease can be tackled. Canine hip dysplasia, the battle is all but lost.

HOW GENETIC MAY HELP OUR WORK

As so many diseases have a hereditary background, a part of the solution lies in prevention in its earliest form. Even earlier than conception, it starts with choosing the most optimal partner. It is more complex than choosing thé top performing animal as an individual is characterized by more than one phenotype (e.g. a dog is more than a hip) and nobody is perfect genetically and phenotypically. Furthermore, a top 1%-strategy would actually lead to exactly that what we are trying to avoid: animals suffering from disease. The cause? Genetic diversity is at stake. From breeding programs to individual advice, the strategy depends on the scale, but solutions are possible. Genetic diversity, selection and optimal combination: the answers to (a sometimes gradual) improvement!