School of Veterinary Medicine

Two women stand in front of a trailer with the words "Penn Vet Shelter Medicine" emblazoned on it and pictures of dogs and cats on the front

Shelter medicine is on a roll

The School of Veterinary Medicine’s Shelter Medicine Program just got a lot more nimble. They’ve unveiled a state-of-the-art mobile clinic that will expand their services to the animal shelter community.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

Goliath the dog on a farm with his canine buddy behind a fence with two farmhouses in the background

Specialized surgery gets Goliath back to the farm

Diagnosed with an abnormal blood vessel in her liver, Goliath, a Great Pyrenees farm dog, underwent a successful specialized procedure at Penn Vet to correct her blood flow and get her back to work on the farm.

Penn Today Staff ・

Two square panels, the left labeled "vehicle" and the right labeled "resperine." The vehicle panel has both blue and green dots and markings throughout, while the resperine panel has only blue markings.

Hindering melanoma metastasis with an FDA-approved drug

A drug approved by the FDA 65 years ago for blood pressure control may aid in preventing cancer from spreading to distant organs. New research led by Serge Fuchs revealed that this drug disrupted formation of a fertile environment for metastasis by protecting healthy cells from harmful vesicles released by tumors.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

With a microphone between them, Enrique Lin-Shiao and Kevin Alicea-Torres sit for an interview with one of the subjects of their podcast.

Podcast series charts a path for Latin Americans in science

Concerned about the scarcity of Latin Americans in scientific careers, doctoral students Kevin Alicea-Torres and Enrique Lin-Shiao took action to prime the pump. On their Spanish-language podcast, “Caminos en Ciencia,” they chat with Latinx scientists who discuss their career paths and provide advice for young scientists-to-be.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

Ranger the dog wearing sunglsses seated while a doctor and nurse apply therapeutic laser therapy

Physical rehab helps ‘rock star’ Ranger walk again

After successful surgery to relieve spinal compression, four-year-old Australian cattle dog Ranger faced just a 50 percent chance of ever regaining use of his back legs. Penn Vet's rehab team aimed to get the pup back on his feet.

Penn Today Staff ・



In the News


The Washington Post

Dogs may be able to communicate by pressing buttons, research suggests

Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs use buttons as a trained behavior to try and get the things they want.

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Popular Science

Dogs really are communicating via button boards, new research suggests

Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs are using button boards to communicate non-randomly and with intent, although they don’t necessarily have formal language ability.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Saving Philly’s bats, one DIY condo at a time

The Wildlife Futures Program at the School of Veterinary Medicine has facilitated the design and construction of wooden bat boxes to be installed in campus parks, with remarks from Julie Ellis. The project is the brainchild of Penn undergraduate Nick Tanner.

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Voice of America

Can honeybees and dogs detect cancer earlier than technology?

Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center are training dogs to recognize certain cancer odors.

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The Scientist

Dogs engage in scent-sational science to sniff out staphylococcus bacteria

Meghan Ramos and Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues are training dogs to detect infections that accumulate on orthopedic implants after surgery.

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