School of Veterinary Medicine

Penn Study Identifies New Trigger for Breast Cancer Metastasis

For years, scientists have observed that tumor cells from certain breast cancer patients with aggressive forms of the disease contained low levels of mitochondrial DNA. But, until recently, no one was able to explain how this characteristic influenced disease progression. 

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn Science Café: Dogs Leading the Fight Against Cancer

The University of Pennsylvania’s Nicola Mason, an assistant professor of medicine and pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, studies the immune systems of dogs, which happen to share many traits with those of humans.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn Researchers Take First Step Toward a Macular Dystrophy Gene Therapy

Vitelliform macular dystrophy, also known as Best disease, is one of a group of vision-robbing conditions called bestrophinopathies that affect children and young adults. Caused by inherited mutations in the BEST1 gene, these diseases cause severe declines in central vision as patients age.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Fish Skin Immune Responses Resemble That of the Gut, Penn Study Finds

Fish skin is unique in that it lacks keratin, the fibrous protein found in mammalian skin that provides a barrier against the environment. Instead, the epithelial cells of fish skin are in direct contact with the immediate environment: water.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Two Penn Students Awarded HHMI International Research Fellowships

Two doctoral students from the University of Pennsylvania, Nam Woo Cho of the Perelman School of Medicine and Maryam Yousefi of the School of Veterinary Medicine, have received International Student Research Fellowships from the Howar

Katherine Unger Baillie, Karen Kreeger



In the News


Nature

Bird flu virus has been spreading in U.S. cows for months, RNA reveals

Louise Moncla of the Veterinary School of Medicine says that the bird flu virus is clearly being transmitted to cows in some way.

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San Francisco Chronicle

Fentanyl overdoses hit a surprising group of San Franciscans: the city’s dogs

Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that fentanyl can be absorbed across the mucous membranes in canine noses, causing dogs to face a life-threatening overdose.

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The Washington Post

How to (responsibly) let your cat outside

James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that some cats are perfectly happy within the confines of the home, while others have a greater desire to wander, explore, and investigate.

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The Washington Post

Cats aren’t jerks. They’re just misunderstood

James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the domestic cat suffers from its legacy of being a not-quite-wild animal on the margins of society.

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Newsweek

Dog respiratory illness map update: Mystery disease spreads to more states

Deborah Silverstein of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the dogs most at risk for respiratory illness are those with low immunity, such as young puppies, the unvaccinated, or older dogs, and potentially short-nosed breeds.

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