Biography

Dr. Juan Pablo Damian is Doctor en Medicina y Tecnologia Veterinaria (Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay). He has a master's degree in biological sciences, where he studied the social rank of rams and the stress response to different stressors. It was characterized by a comprehensive approach (from endocrine and biochemical aspects to behavior) of some stresors. Dr. Damian carried out the doctorate evaluating how the presence and bond with the mother during the lactation period affects the reproductive development, the sexual behavior and the stress response in rams. In recent years, Dr. Damian has published scientific papers related to behavior, stress and animal welfare in different species (from laboratory animals to pets and farm animals). He is Professor of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Veterinary, where does he teachteaches biochemistry in the course of Molecular and Cellular Biology and has been responsible for several teaching projects. He is a member of the Governing Board of the Facultad de Veterinaria, Director Holder, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay (2010-2014, 2014-2018). He was appointed by the Governing Board as a member of the Committee on the Use of Experimental Animals (CEUA) - (CHEA) Faculty of Veterinary, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay.


Research Interest

He works in the following lines of research: 1) Behavior, Stress, Animal Welfare, Reproduction and Social Factors in Small Ruminants. We evaluated in sheep the effect of presence and bond with the mother during lactation on reproductive development, sexual behavior and stress response in rams. The link between social hierarchy and the stress response was also studied. The stress response to social and painful stimulus in sheep has been characterized in detail and the main characteristics of vocalizations as an indicator of stress and animal welfare have been analyzed. Studies have also been carried out to evaluate the action of progesterone on the stress response in sheep. In caprines, the effects of social hierarchy, transport stress and stress of the grouping of animals of different origin have been studied. In all of these studies, behavioral, physiological, reproductive, biochemical, hematological and hormonal variables were analyzed in the different situations. 2) Clinical Ethology in pets: Our group has carried out the first scientific work on clinical ethology and canine aggression in Montevideo. We have studied the effect of breed and sex on canine aggression. It was reported casuistic of reasons for consultation and causes of euthanasia of dogs in Montevideo. One last work has focused on the veterinarians' perception about canine aggressiveness. We think about the future to continue working and deepening in the human - animal link from different approaches. 3) Cell signaling, pathologies and behavior in laboratory animals: The properties of certain substances (eg, Resveratrol) were evaluated in mice under different pathological conditions and their effects on the behavior, physical characteristics of the cell, as well as on the expression of genes and proteins. Recently, our group presented original information on how treatment with Resveratrol affects anxiety and stress behavior in diabetic mice.