Spring 2020 CHF-Funded Canine Health Research Grants to Improve Veterinary Practice

The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) recently awarded several canine health research grants, the results of which may directly influence veterinary practice. Stay tuned for outcomes from these important studies and explore all CHF-funded studies in our searchable Research Grants Portfolio.

Grant 02773: Histotripsy for Treatment of Canine Appendicular Osteosarcoma
Principal Investigator: Joanne Tuohy, DVM, PhD; Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Histotripsy is an image-guided, non-invasive, non-thermal focused ultrasound therapy that uses cavitation to disrupt targeted tissue within the body. It may also stimulate an immune response to tumor antigens. Researchers are evaluating the efficacy of histotripsy in treating canine osteosarcoma (OSA) in hopes of developing a limb-sparing treatment option for primary OSA and immunotherapy for metastatic OSA in dogs.

Grant 02758: Optical Coherence Tomography for Margin Evaluation of Canine Skin and Subcutaneous Neoplasms
Principal Investigator: Laura Selmic, BVetMed, MPH; The Ohio State University
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an imaging tool that functions like ultrasound, but uses light waves instead of sound waves to generate real-time, high-resolution images of tissue at a microscopic level. It has been studied and used in the detection of human cancers, and researchers at the Ohio State University are studying its use for imaging surgical margins of canine skin and subcutaneous tumors. If successful, this imaging tool could provide real-time surgical margin information to veterinary surgeons, decreasing the need for repeated surgical interventions in canine skin cancer patients.

Grant 02797: Do Dog Breeds Differ in Pain Sensitivity?
Principal Investigator: Margaret Gruen, DVM, PhD; North Carolina State University
Survey results indicate that veterinarians and members of the public believe that different dog breeds differ in their sensitivity to pain. Researchers will now assess pain sensitivity in different dog breeds and study if dog breed influences how veterinarians address pain in their patients. If breed-specific differences in pain sensation do exist, we need to understand them. If they do not exist, we need to understand and manage how human perception affects the treatment of pain in dogs.

02686-A: Pattern of Thyroid Function Tests during Recovery from Acute Nonthyroidal Illness
Principal Investigator: Timothy Bolton, DVM; Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinarians are familiar with euthyroid sick syndrome – a condition where non-thyroidal illness lowers thyroid hormone levels. However, there is little data to show how long it takes thyroid levels to recover after resolution of the underlying non-thyroidal disease. This study will establish the approximate thyroid hormone recovery time following illness resolution, allowing veterinarians to more accurately diagnose and manage hypothyroidism in the presence of additional disease.