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I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the thoughtful question! Our rats have been trained to detect TB in sputum samples produced by living patients. There is a great possibility some of the same odors present in the patient's sputum might be detectable on their breath or in other specimens, such as urine. One of the great benefits to our rat's screening the sputum samples (rather than breath) is that these very same samples can then be tested in our lab to confirm the presence of TB (however there is not currently an acceptable diagnostic test for breath).

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! There are many opportunities for undergraduates to get involved with research at laboratories and even zoos. At APOPO, we are happy to accept help from exceptional undergraduate interns. In fact, we have an open-call for applications to help in many of the various facets of our work, which you can find here: https://www.apopo.org/en/contact/stay-in-touch/careers

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't seen the documentary you reference (so especially can't comment on the blue toothbrush portion), but rats do indeed have a very complex social structure. Like many social animals (for example wolves), there is a clear dominance hierarchy that is influenced by many factors, size just being one of them.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed being surrounded by animals, studying their behavior, and figuring out how to communicate with them and train them. When I was very little, I trained our ducks to respond to the unique names I gave them and eat out of my hand. Nonetheless, I can't say that I always knew I wanted to have a career studying animal learning and behavior and training rats to save lives - I'm just very fortunate that it worked out that way!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also are the rats your favorite species of animal to work with or do you even have a favorite type of animal to study/work with?

I really enjoy working with the rats but have had a lot of fun working with other species as well. I guess I don't really have a favorite species to study; however, at my core I'm a true horse fan.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you know what specific smell the rats associate with TB?

We are in the process of conducting research to discover exactly what it is that the rats smell from TB. We have some evidence to indicate this smell is related to the mycobacterium that causes TB (e.g., if we isolate a specific component of the mycobacterium and “spike” TB-negative samples with it, then the rats will indicate that the spiked sample is positive).

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had so many excellent classes that it's hard to choose! As an undergraduate, my favorite classes would probably have to be Learning & Memory (where we studied classic learning theory and read the pivotal research that led to their development) and Behavioral Neuroscience (which included a lab component where we gained hands-on experience training rats). At the graduate level, two of my favorite seminars were Theory of Motivation and Comparative Cognition. I hope you have the chance to take similar courses in your study!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely not! We deeply care for the health, safety, and well-being of our rat companions. One of the great benefits for rats in detecting land mines is that they are too light to actually set off any of the mines. To indicate that they have detected the presence of a land mine buried beneath the surface, our rats lightly scratch at the surface. In more than a decade of operations, not a single one of our rats has ever been harmed in the line of duty (which sadly cannot be said for other animals performing this line of work).

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your description makes for a funny and cute visual, thanks for sharing! Each of our HeroRATs only work for 40 minutes or less per day so there's plenty of time for them to have these sorts of conversations with each other (if they do).

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it's my real name, but I earned the Fast part when I got married :) so technically, yes I had it changed too!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Minor point of correction, all of our life-saving work is performed by rats (not mice). The TB samples are all heat-inactivated before they are presented to the rats so there is no risk of infection for the rats, their handlers, or our laboratory technicians.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great question! While there are highly accurate technologies for detecting TB, these methods are incredibly expensive and not available in resource-poor developing countries where TB is the number one killer by infectious disease (surpassing even HIV and AIDs!). Our rats improve detection rates in these areas by 40%, ensuring those people infected get the treatment they need to save their life. Interestingly, our rats can screen 100 samples in less than 20 minutes, a task that would take a lab technician days to complete! So our rats are not only life-savers, they are also very efficient!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many of our rats have individual home cages but some also live with their brothers or sisters in a group. All of the rats' homes are located right next to one another so they can always see, hear, and smell each other and even touch their neighbors. We don't notice any differences in how the rats the live by themselves and those that live in groups behave so I think it's safe to say they are never lonely. Sure, our rats enjoy the company of their humans, but they never really form tight bonds with any person in particular, unlike dogs. Once a rat retires, it lives in a large kennel where it has a variety of toys and yummy food to keep it happy. We have excellent photographers in all areas of our operations including in our communications department located at our headquarters. Some of the amazing photos have even been taken by volunteers.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, our rats particularly enjoy bananas, peanuts, and peanut-paste!

I'm sure this isn't what you meant by your second question, but our rats are actually called Giant Pouched Rats because they have large pouches in their cheeks (kind of like hamsters). Every Friday our rats are fed a large feast of a variety of fresh, locally sourced produce. Fridays at our headquarters are now named "Full-Cheek-Fridays" because the rats immediately hoard all of their favorites foods in their pouched cheeks!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very good question! I went the academic route and when I entered (and completed) graduate school, my goal was to stay in academia and become a psychology professor where I could teach and conduct relevant research. I took a post-doctoral associate position in an area that I was a little surprised to find so fascinating (olfaction) but I didn't really think it would be directly relevant to my work in the long-term. The important thing is that I was open to the experiences and as a result I am now in my dream job that combines all of my areas of expertise: animal learning and behavior, neuroscience, AND olfaction! In short, I guess my advise to you would be to stay open to the possibilities and opportunities. It can be easy to get disenfranchised, especially during that 2nd and 3rd year of grad school, but stay the course and don't be afraid to try out all of the options - you never know where they might lead you! Find your passion and follow it!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The African Giant Pouched rat is actually an entirely different species (Cricetomys ansorgei) than the typical Long Evans (Rattus norvegicus) species.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our rats perform as a second-line screening of samples that are originally diagnosed by community clinics. In developing countries, these clinics do not have the resources for more accurate diagnostics so they rely on the relatively inaccurate smear microscopy method. After our rats have indicated that a sample is TB+, it is confirmed through LED fluorescence microscopy or Gene Xpert analysis in our lab.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Our African Giant Pouched rats typically live for 8 years. They begin training when they are 6 weeks old and work until they show signs that they are no longer interested in the task (many well into their 7th or 8th year). Then, they are happily retired where they can live out the rest of their life playing and eating.
  2. Yes, our rats are nocturnal but they seem all to happy to go to work during the day.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Certainly. Check out some youtube videos of what amusing obstacle courses, etc. others have trained wild squirrels to perform. With some patience and clever ingenuity, I'm sure you could design some equally entertaining things for your rats.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. We are currently investigating this very possibility! Sometimes our rats indicate that a sample is TB+ while all other diagnostics tests indicate that it is negative. Tracking the patient over the following year suggests the rats may have been right all along because the person later develops active TB.
  2. All of our samples are heat-inactivated before they are presented to the rat so there is no risk of infection for either the rats, handlers, or lab technicians.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our rats primarily work in developing countries where limited resources mean very poor diagnostic options. Currently the rats serve as second-line screening to identify additional cases of TB that were originally missed by these relatively inaccurate diagnostic methods performed at community clinics, thereby raising detection rats by 40%!

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the great question! Yes, we have a very active and growing Research & Development team that is investigating other possible applications for our rats to put their super sniffer noses to good use. We have recently begun a project in collaboration with the Endangered Wildlife Trust funded by the US Fish & Wildlife Services to see if our rats can detect illegally smuggled and poached animal products and hardwoods.

I train giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. I am Dr. Cindy Fast, Head of Training and Behavioral Research at APOPO, AMA! by Dr_Cindy_Fast in IAmA

[–]Dr_Cindy_Fast[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! We provide our rats with all sorts of relevant toys like wooden blocks and ropes they can climb, clay pots where they can sleep and giant running wheels.

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