KAREL “TON” SCHAT
In September 1944 during the Second World War (1939-1945), The Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany. Based on a recently discovered diary written by my parents, I was born in The Hague on September 12th between air raid alarms and the launching of bombs. The Hague was one of the places used by the Germans to send V-1 bombs and V-2 missiles to England which made it a target for the Allied bomber fleet. My family survived all that and also the “Hongerwinter”, the Dutch famine at the end of the war, caused by severe shortage of food and basic supplies. Many people in the western part of the country had to resort to eating tulip bulbs.
I don’t remember much of my very early years. When I was six, my family including my two younger sisters, moved to Zwolle, a city in the middle north-east of The Netherlands. Both my parents became very active in the Labor Party as were my grandparents on my mother’s side. My mother had been a war-time nurse in a Children’s hospital in The Hague but stopped working when she got pregnant with me. Nurses weren’t allowed to work if they were pregnant. My paternal grandfather was a carpenter in construction and my father himself had to start working when he was 16. But he went to evening school and eventually ended his career in the medical insurance system. When he retired, two lawyers had to be hired to complete all the work that he had been doing. He was a very focused person and a teetotaler not given to drinking nor smoking which was inculcated in me as well.
The religious background for my maternal grandparents came from their Roman Catholic education but I remember a family story that my maternal grandmother angrily threw a priest out of the house, saying, “Better get out of here, we don’t want to hear all this.” Early in their married life, my maternal grandparents left the Catholic church and my mother was not religious.
On my father’s side of the family, my grandmother was from the Huguenots of French Protestants while my grandfather was mainstream Protestant. That said, my dad rejected religion in his early 20s. So, I have no religious background as such in my upbringing.
Living in Zwolle and without really knowing why, I developed a romantic feeling for farms and cows. When I was 10, we moved to a house that was next to grasslands with cattle, a small creek and many opportunities to wander around in the fields; this also increased my interest in birdwatching. I got my first pair of binoculars when I was 12 years old and bird watching is still one of my hobbies. Playing chess, fishing, politics and debating were other interests during my high school years.
It was by chance that a veterinarian lived nearby too; he worked for the Provincial Animal Health Service which was the country’s second line of veterinary care. When I was in high school, he would take me along on Wednesday afternoons to work on cases that the primary veterinary caregiver had diagnosed. This work around the province included management and control of cattle with infectious diseases like TB and brucellosis. During my five years in High school, these experiences cemented my desire to be a veterinarian.
With the Dutch educational system of the 1950’s and 60’s, to enter a university you needed to take either a five-year or six-year high school curriculum. To graduate we also had to take the nationally administered final exams. My parents enrolled me in the five-year program. I studied harder for the final high school exam than any other exam afterwards and fortunately passed the national exam as well. That gave me automatic acceptance into the veterinary school at the University of Utrecht. Unlike U.S. veterinary college admission procedures, there was no requirement for practical animal or veterinary experience; many students were admitted but not all successfully completed the program.
During my student days at Utrecht, we were aware of world politics. For example, we talked about the opposition to the Vietnam war including the student revolts in France, Germany and the USA. I was interested in all these global affairs. Most of my fellow students were rather conservative and with those discussions, sitting around a table with five or six other students, I was usually the “left” guy at the table.
In the ‘60s, The Netherlands had a military draft. Every year while I was at the University, I would get a letter from the Defense Department inviting me to do the two-day selection for officer training. I always responded that I was not interested. I also had found out that you could be exempted from this service requirement if you did at least two years of international development work.
My Uncle, youngest brother of my Mother, was an important person in my political development through those years. As a high school student during WW2, he worked with an illegal underground newspaper. After the war, the Dutch wanted to get back to Indonesia and make it a colony again; my Uncle was drafted but refused to go and was jailed for his conviction. I remember him telling me that while in jail, he didn’t have much choice and had to listen to the Christian radio on Sundays. So, he schemed his way into getting a separate cell by telling the guards that he was a Muslim. Hearing his stories, I wondered how I would have reacted if I had been that age under those times? He and I talked a lot about politics.
While I was exposed to the practice of medicine in those years, for the rest of my career, I actually became more interested in other aspects of veterinary research including international development work. During the last two years at the university, I took an International Development course in Amsterdam which was about an hour’s ride away from Utrecht. It was organized by the Universities of the Netherlands and held on Saturdays. The course covered a range of topics from economics and sociology to politics and it further cemented my interest in getting involved and doing this type of work.
In 1969, during my final year at Utrecht, I got a nice opportunity. I received a scholarship from my veterinary college and spent five months at the College of Veterinary Medicine of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Northern Nigeria. This period was just after the 1967 war between Biafra, the Ibo homeland that was trying to break away from Nigeria and the federal government. The secessionist state of Biafra only existed from 1967-1970.
My project was on the bacterial causes of infertility in Zebu cows owned mostly by Fulani tribal herdsmen. The research was based on the reported high incidence of Brucella abortus in these cows. On weekends, I played on the volleyball team with the student’s team, but we also had heavy discussions on politics.
The Dutch government had previously sold arms and heavy weaponry to the federal government of Nigeria but had stopped this policy before I arrived. The Nigerian students were upset that the Dutch didn’t support them anymore and no longer provided military supplies. There were also a few students from Ghana; they were also naturally nationalistic but more understanding why the Dutch government stopped the weapons delivery.
Most of the students were strict about their Christianity as either Catholics or Protestants; many were fundamentalists. The Catholic students were mostly of the Ibo tribe and had left Zaria before I arrived due to the Biafran war and many had been murdered in previous skirmishes. At the time, Muslim students were practically non-existent at the University because their education was, in general, not directed toward academia.
When the students asked if I was Catholic or Protestant, I said, “Neither, I’m an atheist.” They replied, “Aah, you’re a communist.”
I was in the lab late one evening and one of my friends said, “I don’t understand why you don’t believe in God.” Tongue in cheek, I naughtily replied, “Thomas, it’s very simple. We are further developed in the West than you are here in Nigeria and we don’t need religion to explain things that you need.” They knew I was pulling their leg but one of the guys asked if he could come to my room later to discuss religion with me. I said, “Sure.” This was two weeks before I was to return home and he came on the last Sunday with his Bible and a piece of paper with notes and started quoting from them. I kept giving him questions and he said after a while, “The problem is that you don’t believe!” I nodded my head and said, “Exactly!” And he left but we remained good friends.
Toward the end of my research work in Zaria, I needed to visit the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom for some library material and to bring back liquid nitrogen because our machine was broken. Although Zaria was far removed from the actual fighting, there were many military roadblocks on that journey which took over 5 hours. Leaving Vom on my return trip, I was stopped by soldiers at a roadblock; somehow, I managed to convince them to let me through without having to open the tank filled with liquid nitrogen!
I have many memorable experiences from that time in Nigeria and I learned that it was fun doing research.
In the ‘60s, the veterinary education in the Netherlands was very practical in its orientation and there was little interest in teaching basic science to the students. Back at Utrecht, I thought I would finish my studies and seriously look for a job that connected to international opportunities. I looked at jobs with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Dutch Government, and other places. I also looked at direct service with the Dutch government’s young development volunteer Peace Corps equivalent; it was set up in 1963 as the “Jongeren Vrijwilligers Programma” (JVP) modeled after John F. Kennedy’s Peace Corps in the U.S.
By chance, I also saw a publication for a research position in Mexico funded by the Dutch State Department; it was to launch a collaborative project on Marek’s Disease (MD), a highly contagious viral disease of chickens. Interestingly, I had met a Dutch researcher, Dr. Rispens, before I went to Nigeria; he had lectured on his research on MD which I found fascinating. At the time, I didn’t know that he would become a key person in my career path just eight to nine months later.
The application process for the Mexico position was rather complex. It had three parts. First, I was interviewed by the State Department’s Directoraat Internationaal Technical Help. Two of the interviewers were former Navy officers; one was a woman sociologist who had done field work in Latin America, and the fourth was my professor in Tropical Diseases.
During the interview, they asked about my experiences. I told them about Nigeria and the students and their questions about the change of the Dutch Government policy in relation to selling military equipment to Nigeria. The lead interviewer looked at me and said, “You should have told them, ‘I do not know’.” I looked at him and said, “I am coming from a University and you are supposed to have some intellectual knowledge. You can’t say to someone, ‘I don’t know.’ You have to explain yourself.” My professor who had also worked in Nigeria added in support, “That is correct, he cannot say ‘I don’t know’.”
From that point on, the interview went downhill!
They asked if I had been in demonstrations and I said, “Yes, I have been in demonstrations that I believe in. My civil rights allow me to do this.” They questioned me further about barricades – it was the time when students often protested and occupied administration offices of universities. I told them I had never seen barricades during these demonstrations. Then they asked if I knew my military record and I laughed and said, “No.” They asked, “Why not? Did you not go through the officer’s selection process?” Again, I said, “No.” Then they questioned me about my religious beliefs, because in their opinion, refusal to serve in the army was only acceptable if God tells you that you cannot kill. I told them that I was educated as a veterinarian and my interest was in helping and feeding people in the world. I wanted to use my training to serve, not to learn how to kill people. With that, the interview basically ended. I did not think it had gone well at all.
That was just the first part, and the second part of the process for the job in Mexico was a day long psychology test. I asked some of the Psych students what to expect and they said, “There are many tests, it’s hard to say what they’ll use. Anyway, if they ask you to draw a tree, draw in the middle of the paper with a big trunk and big branches and use the whole page. Also, at the end of your interview, ask them how they evaluate, and whether they have had anyone who had gone out of the country and come back, and how they were evaluated?” I did this at the interview and the psychologist said, “No, no, good question! We will evaluate you the same as with the biologists and medical doctors.” I said adamantly, “Sorry, but I’m not a medical doctor or a biologist, I’m a veterinarian.”
I passed that Psych test and indeed had to draw a tree.
The third part of the interview process was with four doctors including Dr. Rispens. When this interview was over, Dr. Rispens told me that as far as he was concerned, I could do the project in Mexico. He was my first big mentor in research. As I got to know him better over the next few years it was clear that he was a person who didn’t follow the rules and followed his own judgment and conscience.
The waiting period started. Finally, I got the offer just prior to graduation. I also got married in 1969 and we started to prepare for our move to Mexico after the job contract was signed.
We did an immersion course in Spanish and I had 5 months of training at the Central Veterinary Institute including working with Dr. Rispens; we really worked well together. My wife and I left for Mexico City with my dog and we had a wonderful four years. That said, I found I was way too direct in my interactions and answers to the Mexicans. This led to many conflicts including with the Chair of my department but all in all, I got a lot done.
One month after arriving in Mexico City, I was asked to give a lecture on recent research on MD in The Netherlands; it was a conference on poultry diseases that also had international attendees. I decided to give the lecture in Spanish rather than in English, which generated a lot of goodwill. The lecture contained a lot of new, unpublished information from many sources as provided to me by Dr. Rispens. After my lecture, another scientist from the UNAM university presented a lecture on MD where he basically stated that his lecture was out of date compared to the information I had presented. Afterwards, the chair of my department at the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Pecuarias (INIP) told me that I had dealt a major blow to the University group; I later learned that there were political controversies between the two organizations. Thankfully, the other speaker told me not to worry too much about the issue.
Another topic was with publications. My contract said, “You have to publish.” And when I had a manuscript ready, the Chair said, “Why’s my name not on the paper? I made some phone calls on your behalf.” And I said, “Was that enough to be listed as a co-author? Do I then have to also include the name of the Minister of the Dutch State Department on the paper since he pays my salary?” With that, he kept quiet.
Another time, I requested some new equipment to be taken out of the storage area and into the lab. I sat in the secretary’s office and waited and waited for the order to be signed. Finally, I said, “I’m not moving. What do I tell the Dutch government in my next report if the Director won’t sign the order?” After an hour, I got the Director’s signature. And yet another time, the power went off and the emergency back-up power came on in the office of the secretary pool but not to my chickens in the research facility. I had to again tell them, “I cannot report to the Dutch government that my chickens
have died,” and five minutes later, I had power. Those are some of the things I experienced in addition to other situations like corruption.
For example, I needed sera for my research from a specific supplier who was good about keeping it frozen and getting it safely to me even if it was in the middle of the night. He was reliable but through a friend of a friend of a friend, I heard, “People think I work with you because I get kickbacks.”
I played soccer as the goal-keeper on the Institute’s team, learned a lot about Mexican culture, got much better in Spanish and also learned a lot about myself. I had kept in touch with colleagues in the Netherlands and plans were made to start a PhD project with Dr. Rispens after my return from Mexico. Things didn’t go as planned, however. Sadly, Bart Rispens passed away from cancer on November 11, 1973.
In 1974, the last year of my project in Mexico, I was at a conference at the University of Davis in California and met Dr. Bruce Calnek. I had met him at another conference once before and this time, he asked me if I was interested in being his graduate student. I said, “Let me travel to Ithaca and see.” The town was small and quiet, traffic jams were maybe 3 cars in front of you; the air was clean compared to Mexico City. I decided to apply.
The only thing that was difficult was the TOEFL test for English. My education in the Netherlands had been in Dutch. The English test was on a Monday and that prior weekend, I had planned to join a Dutch-Mexican group to climb the Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico. We had already climbed the other major peaks but I knew that if I climbed 6000 meters, I wouldn’t be in good shape to do any test on Monday. To my regret, I never got to climb the Pico.
In 1975, we moved lock, stock and barrel to Ithaca and I started at Cornell to do my PhD with Bruce. We’re still very good friends. Bruce was very supportive during that time both professionally and personally. Our research went very well and the MD vaccine that we developed based on my PhD research is still being used.
When I started my PhD, I didn’t expect that I would remain at Cornell University for the rest of my career. After my PhD, I became a Senior Research Associate and over time, a tenured Professor. The years were filled with good science and camaraderie with visiting scientists, students, research associates and postdoctoral fellows. When I matriculated in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Utrecht in 1962, it was with the goal of becoming a dairy veterinarian in The Netherlands. I never thought about becoming a professor or moving to the US to Cornell University and certainly not about doing research in poultry diseases.
I retired in 2011. I had great experiences and if I had to do it over, I would do it the same way. Poultry disease research is important in ensuring there is quality meat and eggs to a growing population. There is a global need for research. This need has provided me with experiences in many parts of the world not only in the research arena but also in my personal life with many new friendships around the world.
It’s an interesting question to contemplate the definition of “science.” I didn’t plan to become a scientist. As I said earlier, I wanted to be a dairy practitioner in the Netherlands. But then I went to Mexico and I really enjoyed the research. Those four years made me decide to continue with PhD training.
Science for me is having ideas on how things work, testing them and either rejecting the hypothesis and charting new ones, without falling back on the mystique that there is a God and that’s how it is. I was curious with questions about how things work in my field, how chicken immunology works – that’s what I wanted to investigate and learn about with improving production, preventing and reducing disease and the pragmatic benefit of food for people.
In the current situation in the US (July 2020), that certain groups are against science, is very disturbing. The denial about climate change, the Covid pandemic, the spread of hoaxes, and not believing in science and scientists, is disturbing. For instance, the attacks on Dr. Fauci who is a highly respected scientist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It is disturbing that his leadership on approaches to combating Covid-19 is being attacked by Government sources. Yes, Dr. Fauci made unintentional mistakes but that was because we didn’t know much about Covid early on. With science, you modify your conclusions and views as you get more information, that’s part of the process of science, you learn from the errors and mistakes and you go on.
Religion, does it fit into that? For me, it does not. Yes, I can talk with someone who has a very liberal opinion about religion. But if someone is not flexible about what is written in the Bible, it’s ridiculous to me and I can’t have a discussion. If someone believes in some God, some power that shaped things, I may not agree but I can at least discuss things with them.
My parents were not religious and neither of my two sisters are religious. There were three types of schools in the Netherlands supported by the Government including Catholic and Protestant schools in addition to public schools which we attended. The latter did not provide religious education. With my parents being active with the Labor movement, we participated at a young age, carrying red flags and walking with them during Labor Day demonstrations on the first of May. We were also interested in nature and went camping even when we were still living in The Hague. My mother made our first camping tent with her sewing machine. I remember this vividly because during my first camping experience we got invaded by wasps and I remember walking around with my food to get away from the wasps without much success. My Dad didn’t have a car so when we were a little older, we would bike to more distant places. We would go as much as 60 to 70 km per day with one sister on my mother’s bike, the other sister on my Dad’s bike while I had my own bike. I remember the time we biked to the Friesian Barrier Islands in the north and camped. My parents gave us freedom of education, and I was the first one in the family to go to college. They encouraged me whole heartedly to go to Veterinary school and also supported the education of my two sisters. The older one became a nurse and afterwards an acupuncturist and the younger one went to college to become a Physical Education teacher, though she dropped out to get married but later also became a nurse.
While my Uncle was a strong influence in my life, he was involved with the Socialist Pacifist Party which was to the left of the main-stream Labor Party. He actually served in the Dutch Senate for this party. His influence on me led to some minor conflicts with the Labor Party interests of my parents. All those discussions added to my learning and knowledge.
My other Uncle married to my Mum’s older sister, became a humanist counselor in the Dutch Army, a position comparable to chaplains and priests in the army. He also has some influence in my life and development. When he turned 80, his daughter published a book with his stories and reading this book recently, I realized his role in the development of my views. He said things like, “Think for yourself, decide for yourself and live with those decisions. Don’t be led by the words of a priest or a Nazi or a fascist or a communist dictator tell you what to do.”
If I look back now over time, the real impact of my research and academic career was the opportunity to educate and help young people develop their own interest and their careers. I’m proud of my many achievements but what I value more is that I have helped people to develop and become full members of society and be productive. That’s the mixture of science at a university versus at an institute; at an educational organization, you can help people make choices in their lives and be supportive without telling them what to do. With veterinary students, there was good open communication. I was less involved with people who wanted to do small animal medicine versus those who wanted animal production medicine, public health or research tracks. I have counselled a number of students and kept in touch with them over the years and that gives me great satisfaction.
I’m also very proud about the MD vaccine still being used. I’m also proud about having supported students and setting up an endowment for the Expanding Horizons program at Cornell that gives veterinary students the opportunity to experience the world outside of the US. While few of these students have ended up working in a developing country, the travel and work abroad has impacted them and changed their world view.
With the Covid pandemic, things have changed. I was active with consulting and teaching worldwide throughout my career and after retirement. Recently, I was scheduled to travel to India and Mexico and then to Peru and Columbia. If the Covid outbreak gets controlled and we can travel safely next year, I will continue with these projects and plan on new ones. I am currently editing a book on avian immunology. I am also looking forward to spending more time with my granddaughters once it becomes safe to travel.
~ July 2020 ~