2024-2025 VPRF/AVMF Pharmacology Research Grant

AVMF & VPRF celebrate the power of research

The AVMF and the Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation (VPRF) have chosen two veterinary researchers to receive the 2024-2025 research grants. These grants aim to fund research projects dedicated to enhancing the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in animals.

Congratulations to the 2024-2025 VPRF/AVMF pharmacology research grant recipients!

Western University of Health Sciences

Dr. Maisie Dawes

Dr. Maisie Dawes, Associate Professor of Immunology and Large Animal Internist at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded an AVMF-VPRF pharmacology grant. Her research, reflecting a One Health approach, will examine the effects of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) and lactoferricin B (LFcin B) on chickens. These nutraceuticals, already widely used in human products, are being investigated as safe alternatives to antibiotics in poultry.

 

The study will use three randomized, repeat dosing trials to analyze the relationship between drug exposure and its effects. Employing physiological and bioinformatic methods, Dr. Dawes and co-investigators will assess the kinetics of bLF and LFcin B, and their impact on the gastrointestinal health, growth, and overall well-being of Cornish Rock broiler chickens.

 

The findings will help determine the most effective treatment approach and guide future research. This research aligns with VPRF/AVMF objectives and could contribute significantly to mitigating the global antimicrobial resistance crisis.

University of Georgia

Dr. Kelsey Hart

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is part of many critical illnesses in horses (and in people). SIRS occurs when an uncontrolled immune response to infection or injury leads to massive inflammation throughout the horse’s body. Complications from SIRS include problems with metabolism, organ damage, organ failure, laminitis, and even death.

 

There are very few effective treatment options for SIRS in horses. One concept gaining attention in human SIRS is a drug called metformin, which is traditionally used to treat diabetes in people and equine metabolic syndrome in horses. In addition to helping manage the metabolic problems that develop in SIRS, metformin also appears to help regulate the out-of-control immune response in SIRS.

 

If metformin has similar immune modulating effects in horses, it might offer a new approach for treatment of SIRS in horses. Dr. Hart’s team’s research aims are to determine the safety, circulation, metabolic, and immune effects of intravenous metformin in horses with simulated experimental SIRS.