Science & Research News

Identifying a proliferating repairman for tissue in damaged lungs

Veins in the lungs, or pulmonary veins, play a critical role not only in lung functioning but also in maintaining sufficient oxygen in tissue throughout the body. When a person sustains pulmonary injury from an illness like influenza or COVID, repair of blood vessels and the creation of new ones is vital to meet oxygen demands; however, research in these areas remains underexplored.

Penn Vet Scientist Receives Grant to Study Unconventional T Cell Response to Advance Potential HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development

Michael J. Hogan, PhD, assistant professor of Pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), has been awarded a one-year grant from the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust. The grant will fund Hogan’s investigation aimed at gaining a clearer understanding of a particular type of immune response that could pave the way for developing a safe and effective HIV/AIDS vaccine using pioneering mRNA technology.

Penn Vet Researcher Named Winner of Veterinary Pathology Editor’s Choice Award

Joy Tomlinson, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) assistant professor of large animal medicine, has received the inaugural 2024 Veterinary Pathology Editor’s Choice Award for an Observational Study for the 2023 manuscript "Naturally acquired equine parvovirus-hepatitis is associated with a wide range of hepatic lesions in horses." Tomlinson was honored with the award during the Annual Meeting of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists on November 19th in Seattle.

Penn Vet’s Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases Hosts Inaugural Fall Research Retreat

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) School of Veterinary Medicine’s (Penn Vet) Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases (IIZD) hosted its inaugural research retreat on November 15 in Chadds Ford, Pa. The retreat gathered more than 50 leading infectious disease experts, students, fellows, and key stakeholders from Penn Vet, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM).

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kotaro Sasaki, MD, PhD, Named Richard King Mellon Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine

[July 11, 2024; Philadelphia, PA] – 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 Kotaro Sasaki, MD, PhD, the Richard King Mellon Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences.

Early-Career Scientist from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine Named 2024 Pew Biomedical Scholar

The Pew Charitable Trusts has named Louise Moncla, PhD, an assistant professor of Pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), a 2024 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences.

Kotaro Sasaki and his team unveil the genetics of testicular cancer

How deadly parasites choose to be male

Penn Vet researchers reveal the gene expression across the life cycle of Cryptosporidium and identify the determinant of maleness.

Exploring wildlife medicine in a summer externship

Two graduating Penn Vet students reflect on their Rocky Mountain Wildlife Veterinary Externship experience last summer, researching black-footed ferrets, bighorn sheep, and elk.