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Veterinary Medicine

NIH-funded canine immunotherapy data center charts a path toward transformative therapies
happy looking golden retriever in a clinic's kennel area

Researchers have learned much from treating dogs like Fantine, a golden retriever owned by Penn Vet supporter Richard Lichter, with immunotherapies for cancer, in part because tumors in dogs can closely resemble those in humans. With new support from the National Institutes of Health, a Penn-led team is ensuring such lessons can effectively translate into new therapeutic approaches. (Image: John Donges/Penn Vet)

NIH-funded canine immunotherapy data center charts a path toward transformative therapies

With support recently granted for five more years, Nicola Mason of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Qi Long of the Perelman School of Medicine hope their work leads to new insights in cancer care for people as well as pets.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Meeting a ‘generational challenge’: Feeding the world and doing it sustainably
cows in new bolton center pasture

(Homepage image) Cattle contribute a quarter of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, yet animal protein can be an invaluable source of nutrition and way of combatting malnutrition around the globe. The new Center’s work is stepping into this tension, says Parsons, to address “a generational challenge.” (Image: Penn Vet)

Meeting a ‘generational challenge’: Feeding the world and doing it sustainably

With the launch of the Center for Stewardship Agriculture and Food Security, the School of Veterinary Medicine is working “to make animal agriculture part of a solution to a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable future.”

Katherine Unger Baillie

Making ‘true’ equine IVF a reproducible success
Three foals and two mares in a pasture

Making ‘true’ equine IVF a reproducible success

A new method developed by Katrin Hinrichs and colleagues in the School of Veterinary Medicine resulted in the birth of three healthy foals, opening the door to new insights in the basic biology of horse reproduction.

Katherine Unger Baillie

A decade of advancing working dogs for the greater good
new litter of penn working dogs

(Homepage image) Puppies at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, like these black Labs of the “U litter,” begin their formal training at the tender age of 8 weeks, an unusual feature of the program. Playtime is an important part of that preparation, building confidence and improving physical and social skills.

A decade of advancing working dogs for the greater good

Inspired by her experience caring for working dogs following 9/11 at Ground Zero, Penn Vet Working Dog Center Director Cynthia Otto’s initial vision has grown into a thriving organization with a mission to use science to improve the breeding, training, care, and effectiveness of working dogs.

Katherine Unger Baillie

T cells that ‘nibble’ tumors unwittingly help cancer evade the immune response
Fluorescent microscopic image of three T cells surrounding a cancer cell

Tcells surround a cancer cell to finish it off, but such interactions do not always end with the T cells victorious. Researchers from Penn detail how cancer cells can prompt T cells to ingest bits of cancer cell membrane, a process known as trogocytosis. The cancer may evade immune detection as a result. (Image: Alex Ritter, Jennifer Lippincott Schwartz and Gillian Griffiths, National Institutes of Health)

T cells that ‘nibble’ tumors unwittingly help cancer evade the immune response

Blocking this process, known as trogocytosis, improved the ability of a CAR T cell therapy to treat cancer in mice, according to research led by School of Veterinary Medicine scientists.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Cooler temps and northern climes associated with increased diabetes diagnoses in dogs
A reclining dalmatian dog is examined by a provider with a stethoscope

A team from Penn Vet has identified an association between colder weather and climates and diabetes diagnoses in dogs. A parallel link is seen in diagnoses of Type 1 diabetes in people. 

Cooler temps and northern climes associated with increased diabetes diagnoses in dogs

Mirroring a finding in humans, diabetes diagnoses in dogs were more common in colder areas of the U.S. and during winter, according to a new study led by School of Veterinary Medicine researchers.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The Gambia Goat Dairy builds sustainability through community
A woman takes the heartbeat of a goat while two men secure the goat.

Abby Seeley (center) of Penn Vet does a health check up on a goat with the assistance of Sulay Camara (left) and Sainey Badjie (right). (Image: Courtesy of Brianna Parsons)

The Gambia Goat Dairy builds sustainability through community

Since its founding by Penn Vet students in 2016, the Gambia Goat Dairy has worked in partnership with Gambians to serve its community. The research and teaching farm also gives current students the opportunity to use their veterinary skills for social good.

Luis Melecio-Zambrano