Penn Vet News

Rae Thudium Named Head of Penn Veterinary Libraries

Rae Thudium has been selected to serve as head of veterinary libraries at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), effective January 8, 2025. In this role, Thudium will oversee the operations and staff at the Steven W. Atwood Veterinary Medicine Library on campus and the Jean Austin du Pont Veterinary Medicine Library at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa.

Research on key host pathways has implications for Ebola and beyond

Mortality rates from Ebola outbreaks can be as high as 90%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 55 people died in the most recent outbreak in Uganda in 2022. The virus continues to evolve, but currently approved vaccines and therapeutics remain limited. And Ronald N. Harty, professor of pathobiology and microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and Jingjing Liang, a research associate in the Harty Lab, still have a lot of questions.

Collaborating on agricultural climate solutions, from plants to animals

The new Penn Plant Adaptability and Resilience Center brought together faculty speakers from five schools for its Climate Solutions for the Living World symposium.

Innovation and Collaboration Shine at 30th Annual Penn Vet Research Retreat

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) celebrated its history of groundbreaking research during the 30th Anniversary Research Retreat, held at the Inn at Swarthmore on November 1, 2024. 

Penn Vet Student Spends Semester in Malawi as Part of New Educational Partnership

As a student in the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s (Penn Vet) VMD-PhD program, Ashley Vanderbeck’s educational path has been a long one.  

Penn Vet Holds Ribbon Cutting for New $2.8 Million Richard Lichter Advanced Dentistry and Oral Surgery Suite

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) commemorated the official re-opening of the newly named Richard Lichter Advanced Dentistry and Oral Surgery Suite at Ryan Hospital with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held November 7. The ceremony celebrated the effort to fund and renovate a state-of-the-art clinic for comprehensive oral and restorative small animal patient care, clinical instruction, and research. 

Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine Named Winner of 2024 Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence

What to know about the current avian influenza outbreak

Louise Moncla and Aliza Simeone of Penn Vet and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center share helpful information for the public.

Uncovering a way for pro-B cells to change trajectory

Researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Perelman School of Medicine have found that YY1 knockout pro-B cells can generate T lineage cells helping B cells produce antibodies.

University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Biomedical Sciences Researcher Named 2024 Packard Fellow

Andrew Modzelewski, PhD, Receives $875,000 in Support from David and Lucile Packard
Foundation for Work on Genome Regulation.

Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program Launches Habitat Initiative for Philadelphia Bats

In an effort to support local bat populations, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's (Penn Vet) Wildlife Futures Program (WFP) has facilitated the design and construction of a collection of wooden bat boxes to be installed in campus parks.

An integral T cell pathway helps regulate female gene expression

Penn Vet researchers have revealed a connection between NF-κB signaling pathways and X chromosome inactivation, which has implications for understanding sex-based immune responses during infection.

Penn Vet and Penn Medicine Researchers Receive Nearly $6 Million in Renewed NIH Funding to Study Epigenetics of Reproduction in Animals and Humans

A multidisciplinary group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) and the University’s Perelman School of Medicine (Perelman) have received $5.95 million in renewed funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study male and female reproduction in animals and humans.

Penn Vet Working Dog Center researchers have identified a field-applicable way to help dogs cool down after exercise

As the director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, Cynthia Otto sees that, because working dogs are selected for high motivation, their drive can override physiological signs that they’re getting too hot. She says a search dog working in a humid environment or a police dog tracking a criminal could be at risk of exertional hyperthermia, an exercise-induced increase in core temperature above the baseline.

Andrew M. Hoffman reappointed dean of Penn Vet

Hoffman’s second term as the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine will extend to June 30, 2030.

Erin Gibson, DVM, DACVS-SA, Named to Pamela Cole Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine

Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM, Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Vet) has named Erin Gibson, DVM, DACVS-SA, an assistant professor, clinician-educator track, in the department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, the Pamela Cole Career Development Chair of Small Animal Minimally Invasive Surgery. The Pamela Cole Professorship supports promising, early career faculty engaged in companion animal research.

A modified peptide shows promise for fighting tumors

Researchers in Penn Vet led a collaborative study that demonstrates how a modified peptide normalizes tumor vasculature and enhances various cancer treatments.

A summer researching equine osteoarthritis and a potential treatment

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Announces Two New Associate Dean Appointments

[August 7, 2024; PHILADELPHIA] – The Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM, announced the appointment of two new associate deans at the School’s veterinary hospitals. These new appointments signify the invaluable impact hospital services have on the School’s three-part mission. 

Understanding how a red seaweed reduces methane emissions from cows

Methane emissions from livestock are a leading contributor to climate warming. In a collaborative study testing the diets of cows, Dipti Pitta (pictured) and Nagaraju Indugu of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues looked at how a red seaweed diet reduces methane emissions as part of an effort to address climate change.