Because domestic species have enormous value both to biomedicine and agriculture and may be underutilized as biomedical models, this workshop has four objectives:

• To provide a forum for exchange of ideas among scientists that use domestic species as biomedical models, officials at NIH and USDA, and university administrators at land grant intitutions.
• To emphasize the scientific importance of deomestic species as biomedical models that contribute to human and animal health and well-being, and aminalm agriculture.
• To identify high priority research areas that could be advanced by enhanced use of domestic animals as biomedical models.
• To explore the potential need and justification for an interagency program that would be co-funded by one or more instiututions within the NIH and by USDA-CSREES and perhaps others (industry, state governments) to support research in high priority areas that could be advanced by the use of domestic species as comparative animal models.