While helping to keep Mystic Aquarium's animals healthy, scientists are also gathering novel data on the thyroid function of beluga whales. Pro bono laboratory work being conducted for Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut by scientists within Worldwide Research and Development (WRD) has contributed to the well-being of all manner of aquatic life at the institution, from sea turtles and African penguins to Steller sea lions and beluga whales.

Led by Rich Giovanelli, Clinical Pathology Manager, Drug Safety Research and Development, a team in Groton, Conn., handles all clinical pathology testing for the aquarium's animal population. This comprises a battery of lab panels that examine kidney and liver function, electrolytes and blood counts to provide a complete picture of an animal's health.

"We do similar things to what a doctor's office would do during a routine physical," explained Giovanelli. "We are like an on-call laboratory for them. We provide either same-day or next-day results, so they're really happy about that."

Giovanelli's team in clinical pathology handles all of the laboratory work and analyses and works closely with Allison Tuttle, Staff Veterinarian and Director of Animal Care at the Mystic Aquarium and her staff.

"Working with the team in the clinical pathology lab at Pfizer has been exceptionally rewarding for Mystic Aquarium and has been of tremendous support to the aquarium's animal health program," said Tuttle, noting that prior to partnering with Pfizer, the aquarium used an outside lab for all complete blood counts and serum chemistry panel assessments. "This was very expensive and it took several days to get results back."

Novel Area of Science

Although 90 percent of Pfizer's pro bono work consists of routine health testing, Giovanelli is also collecting novel information about the thyroid function of beluga whales. Pfizer is partnering with the aquarium for a future publication of the results, which could be of interest to the broader scientific community.

"We are examining the thyroid function of whales in captivity to see if those levels change as the animal ages, as well as comparing the results to samples collected from 50 to 60 wild belugas in Alaska," said Giovanelli. "Thyroid hormones play a critical physiological role in regulating protein synthesis and metabolism. The data looks very interesting. This is information that's never been worked on before."

Tuttle elaborated: "This is part of a research project in which we are attempting to develop reference ranges for thyroid hormones in beluga whales, both those maintained in an aquarium population and in the wild, so that this can be utilized as part of a complete animal health assessment," said Tuttle. "To date, because no ranges exist for reference, thyroid hormones in beluga whales have been poorly explored and underutilized. The data we are gaining from this project, run by Pfizer, is an important first step in our understanding of thyroid hormones in belugas."

Providing laboratory support to a community partner is another avenue to fulfill Pfizer's third imperative — be respected by society.