DSI 30th Anniversary Celebration

Featured Researcher

• Dr. Björn Lemmer

  Dr. Björn Lemmer has been a great proponent of telemetry use in both rat and mouse studies over the course of his career.  His studies in Chronopharmacology have demonstrated the effects of circadian rhythms on the cardiovascular system and the scientific value of internal blood pressure measurement.  DSI has had the pleasure of working with Dr. Lemmer for the past 26 years, beginning with a meeting at the 1989 International Conference for Chronopharmacology in Switzerland.

  Dr. Lemmer met DSI’s founder, Brian Brockway, at the 1989 conference while Brian was sitting on a bench using a toy rat to demonstrate DSI’s telemetry technology.  A partnership began after a follow-up meeting and resulted in an agreement for Dr. Lemmer to test five of DSI’s telemetry implants.  After a successful performance, Dr. Lemmer conducted a series of telemetry lectures at the University of Frankfurt.  

  Dr. Lemmer has used DSI telemetry in much of his work.  In one of Dr. Lemmer’s pharmacological studies, he was focused on the biological clock in animals and its effect on the cardiovascular system.  By collecting blood pressure data in freely-moving animals using telemetry, he was able to demonstrate just how important the biological clock is to cardiovascular health.  Under research conditions, Dr. Lemmer was able to effectively destroy the biological clock in rats and show the level of control that circadian rhythms have over the function of the cardiovascular system. 

  Dr. Lemmer is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Heidelberg.  In his current research, he is investigating the influence of specific light spectrums on the cardiovascular system. For the past 15 years, he has also conducted a summer school course with participants from all over the world; he will conduct his sixteenth session in July.  DSI would like to thank Dr. Lemmer for his contributions to cardiovascular science and his continued support of telemetry.  

• Dr. Ing. Klaas Kramer

  Dr. Klaas Kramer has a rich history in educating researchers and veterinary research technicians around the world and sharing his knowledge of the surgical techniques needed to most effectively implant DSI’s telemetric sensors.  Dr. Kramer’s 25-year history with DSI began during his time as a Senior Technician at the Department of Pharmacochemistry, Division of Molecular Pharmacology, Free University of Amsterdam in 1989.

  While conducting a cardiotoxicity study using a mouse in vitro model, Dr. Kramer came across a paper by a research group based in Canada that was doing a similar study with large animals. The difference was that the Canadian group was using a dog in vivo model with an implantable telemetric device.  Hoping to develop a  ”mouse-size”   version of this implantable telemetry device, Dr. Kramer sought the help of DSI’s founder, Brian Brockway. While the DSI team focused on the development of the hardware and software of the telemetry system, the work of Dr. Kramer and his animal technician primarily was focused not only on the surgical procedure but also to prove that the mice could cope with a telemetry transmitter implanted in the peritoneal cavity.  Together, they successfully implanted the first mouse with a telemetry implant in Amsterdam in 1991.

  Since Dr. Kramer and DSI’s first meeting, Dr. Kramer has conducted regular international surgical workshops to help train researchers and surgical technicians in the latest techniques, including those needed to most effectively implant DSI telemetry sensors.  In 1994, he started a working group in The Netherlands focusing on veterinary technicians and those conducting implant surgeries.  Dr. Kramer orchestrated and conducted the first AALAS Scientific Meeting Surgical Workshop in Minneapolis in 1996, and continued to do so for the next 16 years. Finally, in 2000 he defended his thesis entitled: “Application and Evaluation of Radio-Telemetry in Small Laboratory Animals” at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

  Dr. Kramer is currently both an animal expert and the Laboratory Animal Welfare Officer at Free University in Amsterdam.  Presently, he is involved in a research study concerning small laboratory animal transportation.  He continues to conduct the telemetry workshop with The Jackson Laboratory.  DSI would like to thank Dr. Kramer both for his support and his contributions to the scientific community.  

• Christian Schnell

  Christian Schnell is a creative thinker and expert at finding new applications for the tools he has at his disposal.  His work in cardiovascular and oncology research has led him to adopt telemetric pressure sensing technology in ways not previously considered.  In both disciplines, Mr. Schnell demonstrated time and again the value of trying new things. 

  In 1991, DSI’s founder Brian Brockway visited Mr. Schnell’s lab to demonstrate blood pressure monitoring in rats using telemetry.  As a result, Mr. Schnell was able to apply the technology to his own research, becoming the first to use telemetry to monitor blood pressure in marmosets.  Because he was able to monitor blood pressure in a minimal stress environment, Mr. Schnell helped bring the first efficacious renin inhibitor to market.  Mr. Schnell’s decision to experiment with telemetry not only enabled him to obtain better study data, but it also significantly increased the welfare of the marmosets in his studies. 

  Mr. Schnell continued to find innovative applications for telemetric pressure sensing throughout his career.  Working with a colleague who wanted to measure ocular pressure in rabbits, Mr. Schnell adapted the blood pressure sensing technology for use in sensing ocular pressure, thus revolutionizing the way intraocular pressure is measured in freely moving rabbits.  Fifteen years later, when he transitioned from cardiovascular research to oncology, he was once again able to find an innovative way to use telemetry.  By implanting a DSI pressure-sensing implant directly into the center of a tumor, he was able to continuously monitor the effects of compounds on tumor interstitial pressure over time, whereas before measurements could only be taken intermittently via a needle.  In Mr. Schnell’s own words, “At the end of the day, it’s always a matter of being creative and trying things out.  Once you have the tools, you can do whatever you want.”

  Mr. Schnell is currently Lab Head of Pharmacology in the Oncology Division at Novartis in Basel.  His research is focused in the area of personalized medicine, developing new compounds to target tumors in ways best suited to individual patients.  DSI would like to thank Mr. Schnell for his contributions to both the scientific community and the development of new telemetric applications.  His creative philosophy has allowed us to stretch our own minds in the pursuit of better data and better science.  

• Dr. Robin Davisson

  Dr. Robin Davisson has a wealth of experience in bringing together different scientific disciplines and creating studies that examine the whole organism in ways previously considered impossible.  Since her post-doctorate, her work has been at the intersection of physiology, pharmacology, and molecular genetics.  The necessities of her unique multidisciplinary studies have led her to develop new methods and surgical techniques that are now the standard of the preclinical world.  Although much of Dr. Davisson’s work has been with mice, her early work was with rats.  It was during that time that Dr. Davisson and DSI first began a working relationship.

  During Dr. Davisson’s PhD work, she examined the role of nitric oxide in blood pressure and blood flow regulation in rats.  It was during these studies that she had her first opportunity to work with DSI telemetry.  During her post-doctoral studies, she turned to mice as a model to investigate the molecular genetic basis of cardiovascular disease. In 1998, when she started her own lab as a professor, Dr. Davisson found it imperative to implement radiotelemetry in mice so the questions she had could be answered.  One aspect of Dr. Davisson’s research was focused on preeclampsia, and there was a need to be able to measure blood pressure in freely moving mice before, during and after pregnancy, with very minimal handling of the animals.  At that time, DSI was in the early stages of releasing an implant for mice. Dr. Davisson and her team took the opportunity to work with DSI on modifying and implementing this miniaturized implant for blood pressure recording in both pregnant mice and in non-pregnant mice. 

  That same research also led Dr. Davisson to develop the carotid artery surgical implantation technique in mice for blood pressure measurement.  The common methodology at the time was a highly invasive surgery that involved opening the abdominal cavity.  That technique could not be used for Dr. Davisson’s preeclampsia research because the implant would have interfered with pregnancy.  Instead, she developed a new method for implantation by placing the catheter into the thoracic aorta by way of the left carotid artery.  In 2001, she published a paper on this technique, and it has since become the most utilized technique in mouse implantation surgeries.  Dr. Davisson and her lab have also worked to develop a technique for femoral artery implantation for use when potential blood flow restriction to the brain needs to be avoided.  Dr. Davisson and her lab have made many important contributions to the development of mouse radiotelemetry.

  Dr. Davisson is currently The Andrew Dickson White Professor of Molecular Physiology in Biomedical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University and in Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill Cornell Medical College.  She continues her research in preeclampsia, along with her studies on  the role of the central nervous system in the regulation of the circulation and in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Radiotelemety is also essential for these studies. DSI would like to thank Dr. Davisson for her contributions to the scientific community and for her role in making possible the current use of telemetry in mouse models.

• Dr. Lewis Kinter

  Dr. Lewis Kinter has been a significant force in bringing telemetry to the pharmaceutical industry through his support of telemetry as the gold standard in physiologic monitoring.  Among his other contributions to the field, Dr. Kinter helped found the Safety Pharmacology Society and served as its president in 2005. He was also instrumental in bringing together the diverse disciplines of Safety Pharmacology and Toxicology in pharmaceutical research.  Dr. Kinter’s studies in these areas led to telemetered blood pressure measurement in animals being recognized as an important part of nonclinical pharmaceutical research and development.

  When Dr. Kinter was working on his graduate thesis, it was generally believed that vascular catheterization in conscious rats was not possible, other than in acute situations. However, because Dr. Kinter recognized the cardiovascular response differences in conscious and anesthetized subjects, he made it his mission to use chronic catheterization in conscious rats for more accurate blood sampling and arterial pressure measurements. Dr. Kinter modified his technique over time, first using restraining devices to prevent catheter damage, then moving on to freely-moving rats. Dr. Kinter is also known for his efforts to stave off recurring infections associated with the use of transcutaneous catheters and wires in non-rodent species. Dr. Kinter’s lab pioneered subcutaneous vascular access port technology for blood draws, injections, and infusion, as well as telemetry for blood pressure and electrophysiological monitoring. When these technologies replaced traditional acute monitoring, it resulted in reduced animal use. After the first telemetry implant for measuring blood pressure was brought to market, Dr. Kinter encouraged pharmaceutical R&D organizations to invest in the new scientific tools in order to reduce the number of animals used per study and garner higher quality data. However, a great deal of uncertainty remained as to how the use of telemetry would be treated by various regulatory bodies.  As an industry pharmacologist, Dr. Kinter became regarded as a top subject matter expert on telemetry studies and was frequently contacted with questions.  He presented and published many papers about Safety Pharmacology, the ICH S7A and S7B guidelines, and the ‘3R’ principles to help answer these questions.  Dr. Kinter’s advocacy and support helped telemetry become an accessible tool for industry researchers seeking more accurate data and fewer animals used in their studies.

  Dr. Kinter has spent half of his career in discovery pharmacology and the other half in development toxicology, focusing on the efficacy and safety of new drugs, which he views as ‘two sides of the same coin’.  Dr. Kinter has a wealth of experience in pharmaceutical research and development and comparative physiology and medicine.  His holistic approach to these disciplines has proven to be highly effective in translational research, and in moving considerations of drug safety into drug discovery. 

  Dr. Kinter recently retired from AstraZeneca and is now the owner and principal scientist of Green Lawn Professional Scientific Consulting, LLC.  Dr. Kinter remains active in the scientific community, most recently acting as a Workshop Chairperson and Researcher Sponsor at the 53^rd Annual Society of Toxicology Meeting in March of this year.  DSI would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Kinter for his immense support of telemetry and acknowledge his contributions to the scientific community in support of better data and better science.