Rethinking Leadership in Veterinary Neurology: Why Europe now leads [An opinion piece] (#441)

For much of the late 20th century, veterinary neurology and neurosurgery were disciplines dominated by the United States, driven by large academic centers, NIH-funded comparative studies, and the early establishment of the Neurology Specialty of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM).

Yet, over the past two decades, a quiet but unmistakable seismic shift has occurred.

Europe has not only caught up but now appears to lead the world in research productivity, innovation, and training capacity in veterinary neurology and neurosurgery.

This transformation is measurable, multifactorial, and philosophically intriguing.

The Data: Europe Ascends

A bibliometric analysis of veterinary research output from 1996 to 2010 already hinted at a narrowing gap. Western Europe and North America together accounted for 61% of all veterinary research papers and 73% of citations. But Western Europe’s output grew faster, especially in small-animal and equine specialties.

Since then, the trend has accelerated.

Contemporary publication metrics show that the Frontiers in Veterinary Science platform, established in Switzerland and edited by many European veterinary neurologists (notably Andrea Tipold of Hannover), has become a dominant publishing venue in the field.

The proliferation of open-access European journals has amplified visibility, accessibility, and collaboration across EU member states.

A 2024 Frontiers in Veterinary Science survey of European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN) residents reported 252 active diplomates and 108 residents in training. A doubling since 2013.

By comparison, the ACVIM (Neurology) currently lists roughly 470 active diplomates in North America, but the U.S. growth curve has plateaued.

More importantly, European diplomates now publish more frequently, lead more multicenter studies, and sustain collaborative networks that transcend national borders.

Training Culture and Academic Ecosystem

The European system of specialty training, anchored in the ECVN and the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS), has been strategically structured for collaboration.

A 2024 European survey found that nearly half of neurology residents train in academic institutions and half in private referral centers, with both settings producing comparable research output.

However, the same study revealed a striking trend: 80% of new ECVN diplomates plan to work in private practice, driven by higher salaries and better work-life balance.

This mirrors the U.S. exodus from academia, but with a critical difference. In Europe, private specialty practices are often research-active, frequently publishing clinical studies and hosting residents under approved supervision. The walls between academia and private referral practice are porous, fostering innovation.

Contrast this with North America, where academic neurology units face chronic faculty shortages, declining state funding, and reduced NIH or corporate grants.

The Journal of Small Animal Practice 2025 survey comparing American and European specialists showed a disproportionately higher clinical caseload among European neurologists, with 48% managing over 100 surgical disc cases annually - twice the proportion of their North American counterparts. This sheer clinical volume may translate directly into research productivity.

Collaboration and the Hannover Model

Europe’s ascendancy owes much to a culture of structured collaboration, typified by institutions like the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, where Professor Andrea Tipold has championed multicenter clinical studies, translational research, and consensus development.

Tipold’s Grand Challenge editorial called for exactly this approach, uniting veterinary neurology with translational medicine, genetics, and advanced imaging.

The result is a network of European centers - Bern, Hannover, Zurich, Utrecht, Toulouse, and Liverpool, and more - that exchange residents, standardize protocols, and jointly publish multicenter clinical trials. Their translational scope is broad. From canine epilepsy as a spontaneous model of human disease to MRI-based spinal cord mapping and neuroimmunology studies in autoimmune encephalitides.

As Tipold emphasized:

The challenge for the future will be to bring together all the new information, make it applicable for daily life and examine enough patients to evaluate the power of the newly modified method.

This statement encapsulates Europe’s pragmatic philosophy. Bridging clinical relevance with scientific rigor.

The American Plateau

Meanwhile, the U.S. model, once the benchmark, has become constrained by structural and economic forces.

The corporatization of specialty practice, consolidation of referral hospitals under private equity, and the exodus of clinician-scientists from academia have thinned the intellectual pipeline.

The Frontiers in Veterinary Science editorial Women in Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery (2021) highlighted the growing representation of women in the field, especially in the U.K. and Europe. Yet, in the U.S., gender parity has not translated into leadership in publication or research funding.

Furthermore, the American academic climate has become increasingly regulatory and financially constrained.

With most ACVIM neurology residencies housed in universities dependent on tuition-driven budgets, research time has eroded. Many promising clinician-scientists are drawn into clinical service or corporate employment, leaving fewer engaged in experimental or translational work.

Innovation at the Interface

European veterinary neurology has thrived precisely because of its integration with human neurology and translational science.

The European model embraces comparative neurology as a two-way exchange rather than a one-way aspiration toward human medicine. The rise of diffusion MRI, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and molecular neuroimaging, all cited in Tipold’s 2015 Grand Challenge article, illustrates how European centers have adopted cutting-edge methods early and adapted them for veterinary application.

This translational ethos is supported by EU research frameworks (e.g., Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe), which encourage cross-disciplinary projects linking veterinary schools, human hospitals, and basic science institutes.

In contrast, U.S. veterinary colleges, siloed under agricultural or state university systems, often lack access to comparable funding streams.

A Cultural Shift in Scientific Identity

Perhaps the most profound difference is philosophical.

European veterinary neurology increasingly identifies itself as a research discipline with intrinsic scientific value. Not merely a clinical specialty serving patients.

The ECVN’s training requirements demand active participation in peer-reviewed publication and conference presentation. European meetings (ECVN/ESVN Congresses) have become global hubs for data exchange, often surpassing the attendance and scope of the ACVIM Forum.

The U.S., by contrast, has emphasized certification, clinical proficiency, and service delivery, often at the expense of research immersion.

As a result, while American clinicians remain among the best-trained surgeons and diagnosticians, Europe now leads in generating new knowledge.

The Future: Convergence or Divergence?

Will this transatlantic imbalance persist?

Possibly not.

There are signs of renewed American engagement. Collaborations between North Carolina State, UC Davis, and European centers on canine epilepsy genetics, and multinational clinical trials coordinated through the ACVIM and ECVN.

Yet, unless the U.S. reclaims its academic mentorship pipeline and funds early-career clinician-researchers, the European lead will likely widen.

The Hannover, Bern, and Liverpool groups continue to attract global trainees, while American residents often look abroad for advanced fellowships. A reversal of the 1980s and 1990s pattern.

Conclusion

Veterinary neurology and neurosurgery have entered a new epoch.

Europe’s model of open-access publishing, collaborative networks, translational scope, and pragmatic integration of academia and private practice, has proven more resilient and productive than the increasingly fragmented American system.

What began as a regional rebalancing has become a paradigmatic shift in global veterinary neuroscience.

The United States, once the unquestioned leader, now finds itself learning from its European colleagues, just as it once inspired them.

In the end, this shift may serve both sides well. A healthy, competitive, and interconnected global neurology community advancing animal and human health together.

References

Christopher & Marušić, BMC Vet Res (2013). https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-6148-9-115

Tipold A., Front. Vet. Sci. (2015). https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2015.00013/full

Gonçalves R., Front. Vet. Sci. (2024). https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1487124/full

Moore S. et al., J Small Anim Pract (2025). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.70029

De Risio L., Front. Vet. Sci. (2023). https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1147908/full

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