Veterinary medicine is in transition. Pet ownership in the United States is at an all-time high creating a greater demand for services. At the same time, career options for Doctors of Veterinary Medicine are also growing, especially in the areas of public health and translational medicine, which seeks to better connect medical research with clinical treatment.
As a veterinarian specialized in pathology and preventive medicine, it’s impossible for me not to draw connections between the state of the environment and diseases of animals. Over the course of my career I’ve been fortunate to work with everything from pets to livestock and wild animals; I’ve seen the effects of human activity on nonhuman residents of the planet firsthand.
When West Nile virus first came into the state, Larimer County and areas toward the plains along the South Platte River basin quickly became the dominant spot for West Nile, said Brian Foy, a Colorado State University professor who studies insect-borne diseases in his Foy Lab in CSU’s Center for Vector Borne Infectious Diseases.
“We all know that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are among the most common conditions humans can encounter as they age,” said Stephanie McGrath, associate professor of neurology at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “What people don’t realize is that our pets — dogs and cats — can get it, too, and it’s probably also very common.”
Luke Montrose is leading a research study to see how fires are affecting air quality for residents. He’s an environmental toxicologist, and used to be based at Boise State University; now he’s an assistant professor at Colorado State University. Montrose recognized that those over 65 are at greater risk from wildfire smoke due to pre-existing heart and lung conditions.
Launched in 2019, the 5-year Vaccine Against Canine Cancer Study (VACCS) successfully enrolled 800 dogs in less than three years, allowing for a fully enrolled double-blind study of the Calviri vaccine. During clinical trials, scientists found that the vaccine was doing two things: as expected, it’s protecting patients from cancer, but surprisingly, it’s also protecting them from non-cancer diseases.
Adam Schuller, an environmental toxicologist at CSU, has described three ways pollutants might reach the brain: particles travel in oxygenated blood from the lungs directly to the brain; particles directly enter the brain along the olfactory tract; or inflammatory factors triggered by an inflammatory response in the lungs invade the brain. Just as you might check the weather before heading out for a hike or other activity, “it’s getting people in the mindset that they should look at the air quality before they go outside to know whether they should be outside at all,” CSU environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose says.
Nadia Saklou first heard the term “clinician-scientist” while attending veterinary school at Colorado State. Now, with experience as both a clinician and scientist at Virginia Tech, she has become a clinician-scientist herself with a fellowship in hand that completes the circle back to Colorado State.
Ask the experts: Jessica Rubin, J.D., professor of animal law at the University of Connecticut School of Law, and Jane Shaw, D.V.M. and Ph.D., professor of veterinary medicine at the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. They were college roommates three decades ago and have had parallel careers serving animals in animal law and veterinary medicine, respectively.
“Many people have the misperception that food which is good for humans is also good for dogs, but that is not necessarily the case. Dogs eating a grain-free diet experiencing symptoms of lethargy, cough or difficulty breathing should be examined by a veterinarian.” -Dr. Bruna Del Nero