Four colleges score top marks for diversityOctober 8, 2020This year, Purdue, LSU, Texas A&M, and OSU’s veterinary schools all set the gold standard for inclusion in higher education.
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Service dogs may help children with ASDSeptember 23, 2019Researchers at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine are set to evaluate the therapeutic effects of service dogs on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Service dogs can lead to a better life for ownersMay 21, 2019Service dogs improve the quality of life for their owners, according to a new study. Due to an increase in demand for service dogs, researchers at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine determined a need for using standardized measures to look at the relationship between the human-animal bond and psychosocial outcomes among people with service dogs over a four-year period. Elanco Animal Health funded the study. "Our goal was to apply strong science in quantifying the effects these dogs can have on well-being," says Maggie O'Haire, PhD, associate professor of human-animal interaction at Purdue University. "The research also reveals the distinctive role a service dog may have in the lives of the families of those individuals." Of the 154 recruited participants, 97 people who used a mobility or medical service dog displayed better psychosocial health, including higher levels of social and emotional functioning, and better functioning at work and/or school in comparison to the 57 who were on a waiting list. "Previous smaller and chiefly qualitative studies have found preliminary evidence service dogs can have psychosocial benefits among individuals with physical disabilities, but the research has been limited," said Tony Rumschlag, DVM, director, consulting veterinarians, U.S. companion animal business …
Purdue University to get new veterinary hospitalMay 1, 2019Pending formal approval, Purdue University is set to move ahead with the construction of a new Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The $108-million project will comprise small- and large-animal facilities, including new hospitals for equine and farm-animal patients. The current small-animal hospital will be renovated to modernize its facilities. "With this support, we can say Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine's dream of having a new state-of-the-art hospital facility will become a reality," says its dean, Willie Reed. Purdue has committed $35 million to the project and Indiana recently approved a $73-million appropriation. Currently, the facility serves more than: 16,400 patients through the small-animal hospital; 1,800 patients in the large-animal hospital; and 23,000 food animals and horses through on-farm visits conducted by the Food Animal and Equine Ambulatory Services.
Purdue awarded $3M grant to expand DVM diversity, opportunitySeptember 18, 2018Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine has been awarded a $3.18-million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand access to the veterinary profession for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds and address the need for more rural/food safety veterinarians. The Vet Up! National Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) Academy for Veterinary Medicine will address the national shortage of veterinarians in public health and rural/food animal practice in the state and beyond, as well as the lack of underrepresented individuals entering the veterinary profession. Vet Up! will leverage the university's history of diversity programming and partnerships with high schools as well as historically black colleges, universities, and state entities to design and deliver curricula that provide otherwise-inaccessible opportunities to students. Purdue's Evaluation and Learning Research Center will assess the impact of the programming on participants and the veterinary profession. The Vet Up! National Academy consists of three areas: Vet Up! Champions is a yearlong program to prepare high school students, working adults, and undergraduate students to attain their next level of education on the path toward a veterinary medical degree Vet Up! College is a summer immersion program to prepare undergraduate students to competitively apply to a …
New research for canine, human Type 1 diabetes holds promiseAugust 24, 2018Reversing Type 1 diabetes in dogs and humans without the use of daily insulin injections or pumps may become a reality, thanks to a collaboration between Purdue University and the Indiana University School of Medicine. In a preclinical study, researchers developed a mixture of collagen and pancreatic cells and engineered a delivery method that successfully reversed Type 1 diabetes within 24 hours and maintained insulin independence for 90 days. A clinical study in dogs with naturally occurring Type 1 diabetes in collaboration with Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine is next. "We plan to account for differences from mouse to human by helping dogs first," said Clarissa Hernandez Stephens, first author on the work and a graduate researcher at Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. "This way, the dogs can inform us on how well the treatment might work in humans." Because diabetes in dogs and humans occurs the same, both potentially could benefit from the same cure: A new set of pancreatic cells to replace islets (clusters of cells) that aren't releasing insulin to monitor blood glucose levels. Islet transplantation isn't new, and it poses challenges: It requires multiple donors, it's invasive, and large numbers of transplanted …
Purdue vets perform total hip replacement on Bengal catJuly 25, 2018 The orthopedic team at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine had high hopes for Fridgey, a two-year-old Bengal cat brought in by his owner in 2017 for left hip issues. The orthopedic team performed a femoral head ostectomy (FHO), but Fridgey's problems then shifted to his right hip, and his owner again brought him to Purdue. This time, Mark Rochat, DVM, MS, DAVCS, clinical professor of small animal orthopedic surgery, department of veterinary clinical sciences, and Sarah Malek, DVM, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery, performed a total hip replacement. The procedure had never been performed on a feline patient at Purdue. Hip replacements have been performed on larger dogs for almost 40 years, but smaller dogs and cats had to hold off until the last 10 to 15 years, waiting for the technology to catch up, according to Dr. Rochat. "The technology has been around for years; it's just that the availability of the systems and training for the people performing the procedures weren't as commonplace in the past," Dr. Malek said. "Now it's much more commercially available and technically feasible." The first human hip replacement was inspired …
Purdue CVM expands after-school 'This Is How We Role' nationwideNovember 14, 2017 This Is How We "Role," an after-school role-modeling program aimed at diversifying the veterinarian-scientist workforce, is expanding with the help of four veterinary schools and colleges that received grants to partner with the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. The program, which focuses on elementary school students and is designed to increase awareness of the important role veterinarians play in keeping people and their pets healthy, is supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a part of the National Institutes of Health. Purdue developed interactive science and math experiences for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, with a focus on those who are educationally disadvantaged due to socioeconomic status, race, or ethnicity. Now the program will be expanded beyond Purdue University to additional regions of the country through grants of $5,000 each. The grants were awarded to Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Purdue's CVM and Evaluation and Learning Research Center provide grant recipients with …
Purdue CVM receives Higher Education Excellence in Diversity AwardNovember 3, 2017The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine recently was awarded the 2017 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The award is a national honor recognizing U.S. veterinary medical, medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing, and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. "This recognition spotlights the tremendous effort that our faculty, staff and students have put forward in creating a climate and educational setting that truly supports all aspects of diversity and inclusion," said Dr. Kauline Cipriani, Purdue Veterinary Medicine director for diversity and inclusion. "It is no small achievement to be one of the first veterinary colleges nationally to receive the Health Professions HEED Award." The award is open to all colleges and universities across the US. Applications cover all aspects of campus diversity and inclusion. One of the goals of the application process is to help institutions of higher education assess their diversity efforts in order to build on their success and improve where necessary. "This award makes an important statement about the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine being …
Pet trade exhibit co-sponsored by Purdue CVMSeptember 28, 2017The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette in Indiana is hosting an art exhibit titled "Caged: The Illegal Pet Trade." The exhibit, by Justin Ladoux, hopes to shed light on this important but often neglected subject. "Animal health and well-being is our specialty, and everyone in the college of veterinary medicine encourages responsible ownership," said Willie Reed, DVM, Ph.D., dean of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. "The illegal pet trade is a cruel, inhumane business, and this outstanding art exhibit is an excellent means of educating people about this issue." Educating the public First of all, the internet fuels exotic ownership by making it easier for people to shop for various wildlife species, said Lori Corriveau, DVM, pet wellness veterinarian in the college's Small Animal Community Practice. "Many people are unaware of where exotic pets are from and how the pet trade affects world populations," she said. "Some exotic pets are bred from captivity, and some are taken directly from the wild. Sadly, many of those taken from the wild will die in transit." Further, many owners don't have the knowledge, money, or ability to adequately replicate a natural habitat for an …
