Ana Costa, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVIM

Ana Costa, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVIM (Grant 02656-E)
Mentors: Nicolas Villarino, Med.Vet.; Michael H. Court, BVSc, PhD; and Katrina L. Mealy, DVM, PhD; Washington State University

Dr. Costa earned her veterinary degree from the Escola Universitária Vasco Da Gama in Portugal. She then moved to the U.S. to complete a small animal internship followed by a combined internal medicine residency and master’s degree at Washington State University. She is board certified in small animal internal medicine and is currently working toward a PhD in Veterinary Clinical Sciences (Pharmacogenomics) at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Costa’s work focuses on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics – the complex interaction between drug(s) and patient which determines drug efficacy and/or toxicity. Specifically, she will evaluate plasma protein binding of drugs in vitro  in the face of uremic toxins, mimicking  the conditions of canine chronic renal failure. Altered drug binding to plasma proteins secondary to increased uremic toxins is well documented in humans with renal failure and thought to contribute to a high occurrence of drug toxicity. Exploration of this phenomenon in dogs may be used to improve treatment of canine patients.

Dr. Costa works with three mentors in the Program in Individualized Medicine (PrIMe) at Washington State University. They have each received CHF funding to study veterinary pharmacogenetics. Read more about their research below.

Nicolas Villarino, Med.Vet. - 02366-A: Individualization of Pharmacological Interventions in Diabetic Dogs
Michael H. Court, BVSc, PhD - 02529: Understanding the Genetics of Adverse Drug Reactions in Sighthounds: Phase II
Katrina L. Mealy, DVM, PhD - 00752: Tissue Expression and Breed-Related Pharmacogenetics of Cytochrome P450 3A12

See all Clinician-Scientist Fellows here.