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School of Veterinary Medicine
9/11, 20 years later
9/11, 20 years later
Experts across the University share their thoughts on how 9/11 transformed their field, their research, and the world.
Forging healthy bonds with canine companions
Forging healthy bonds with canine companions
School of Veterinary Medicine postdoc Lauren Powell’s research illuminates how the personalities of both dogs and their owners influence the pairs’ ability to overcome behavioral challenges.
Tracking the earliest steps in parasite infection
Tracking the earliest steps in parasite infection
The parasite Cryptosporidium, a leading global cause of diarrheal diseases in children, injects host cells with a cocktail of proteins. Using powerful video microscopy, School of Veterinary Medicine researchers tracked the process in real time.
First African American Olympic gold medalist was a Penn grad
First African American Olympic gold medalist was a Penn grad
John Baxter Taylor Jr. of Philadelphia, a superstar on Penn’s track & field team in the early 1900s, won gold at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
The search for the culprit behind songbird deaths
The search for the culprit behind songbird deaths
Across the United States, songbirds are dying from a mysterious condition. Working with long-established partners, researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine are striving for a diagnosis.
Pandemic preparedness, three years early
Pandemic preparedness, three years early
In a Q&A, team members behind the outbreak simulation PennDemic discuss how the exercise, now in its fourth iteration, equipped an interdisciplinary group of grad students for COVID-19 and beyond.
Protein’s ‘silent code’ affects how cells move
Protein’s ‘silent code’ affects how cells move
A School of Veterinary Medicine-led study shows how, despite having nearly identical amino acid sequences, two forms of the protein actin differ in function due their distinct nucleotide sequences.
A tale of two surgeries at Penn Vet
A tale of two surgeries at Penn Vet
Penn Vet is known for pioneering veterinary surgical procedures. Two recent, complex cases put that expertise on display, with joyful results.
With remarkable similarities to MS, a disease in dogs opens new avenues for study
With remarkable similarities to MS, a disease in dogs opens new avenues for study
Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine led by Jorge Iván Alvarez and Molly Church found that the canine disease granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis shares many of the same pathological and immunological features as MS.
Penn Vet dual degrees: The student experience
Penn Vet dual degrees: The student experience
The expansion of the dual degree program is timely, given the recent perfect storm of a pandemic; growing awareness of social, racial and economic inequity; and increased impact of climate change .
In the News
The New York Times
The dogs of 9/11: Their failed searches for life helped sustain it
Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine is quoted on the experiences the rescue dogs at ground zero faced during their search.
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Discover Magazine
We’re not alone: Animals suffer from mental health issues too
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said, that while dogs certainly experience mental health issues like anxiety, their experiences differ from humans’ because they can’t plan for the future. “They’re not worrying if their buddies at the dog park are making fun of them,” he said. “Dogs aren’t obsessed in their thoughts like humans—as far as we know. They’re unlikely to be depressed in human terms.”
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Salon.com
Your dog has a rich interior life it's not telling you about
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about how dogs interact with and interpret the world around them, from barking to licking to sniffing. “While we derive most of the information about the world around us through our eyes and ears, dogs can access an additional layer of information via their noses that we are essentially ‘blind’ to,” he said.
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WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)
More than 1,000 cases of mysterious bird disease reported in Pennsylvania
Scott Weber of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Penn’s Wildlife Futures Program said wildlife veterinarians are concerned about the numerous reports of sick or dead songbirds in the Mid-Atlantic region. “It does seem to be spreading through the U.S. pretty quickly, and spreading to a fairly wide geographical area,” he said.
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NPR
A mysterious illness is killing Mid-Atlantic songbirds
Lisa Murphy of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about the Wildlife Futures Program’s research on the illness killing songbirds in the Mid-Atlantic region. "I think what's especially challenging about this is that it's not localized ... to one specific geographic area [and] it's not localized to one particular bird species,” she said.
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