By Dr. Becker
Recently the AKC’s Canine Health Foundation Oak Grant program awarded 17 research grants totaling $1.7 million to various institutions and universities for research into canine health concerns.
The AKC’s foundation was started in 1995. Its sponsors include Nestlé Purina PetCare and Pfizer Animal Health.
AKC Foundation Grants Contain One Health Components
According to Veterinary Practice News, many of the 2013 grants include a One Health component. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the One Health initiative, the following is the organization’s mission statement:
Recognizing that human health (including mental health via the human-animal bond phenomenon), animal health, and ecosystem health are inextricably linked, One Health seeks to promote, improve, and defend the health and well-being of all species by enhancing cooperation and collaboration between physicians, veterinarians, other scientific health and environmental professionals and by promoting strengths in leadership and management to achieve these goals.
Dr. Shila Nordone, the foundation’s chief scientific officer, points out that “Naturally occurring disease in dogs is emerging as the most rigorous model for breakthroughs in treatments and therapies.”
For example, one of the 2013 grants will evaluate a new procedure to treat brain tumors in dogs – a procedure that might at some point also be used in the treatment of human brain tumors.
Funded Projects
I thought readers here at Mercola Healthy Pets might be interested in learning about the types of dog health research the AKC’s foundation and its partners fund.
The 2013 grants will fund the following projects:
| Identification of Genetic Factors that Alter the Severity of Canine Cardiomyopathy |
$51,500 |
| Use of Gene Therapy to Treat Dilated Cardiomyopathy |
$146,800 |
| Defining the Elements of Successful Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair |
$75,800 |
| Use of Plasma-Derived Growth Factors to Heal Cruciate Rupture |
$160,200 |
| A Novel Approach to Understanding How Meningoencephalomyelitis Develops In Dogs |
$31,100 |
| Further Investigation of the Genes Controlling Canine Leukemia to Properly Diagnose and Control the Disease |
$131,300 |
| Beyond the Genome: The Intersection of Genes and the Environment in Canine Cancer |
$29,900 |
| A Novel Treatment for Brain Tumors Using a One Medicine Approach |
$119,100 |
| Disrupting the Differentiation of Cancer Stem Cells to Prevent the Spread of Hemangiosarcoma |
$248,000 |
| Clinical Advancement of a Cancer Vaccine in Dogs |
$96,700 |
| A Novel Virus-Based Anti-Tumor Treatment for Canine Osteosarcoma |
$118,900 |
| Identification and Validation of the Genes That Define Abnormal Development of the Kidney in Dogs |
$25,000 |
| Treatment of Urinary Incontinence with Multipotent Muscle Cells: A Regenerative Medicine Approach To a Common Canine Health Problem |
$116,200 |
| Defining the Unique Genetic Markers in Dogs That Define Immune Function, Disease Resistance and Tissue Transplantation |
$178,200 |
| Defining the Mechanism by Which Ticks Locate Dogs In Order To Better Prevent Disease Transmission |
$104,900 |
| Defining the Specific Species of Bacteria That Contribute To Canine Periodontal Disease |
$31,000 |
| Filling the Gaps in the Canine Genome |
$108,000 |
Projects involving canine cancer account for 6 of the 17 grants and 41 percent of the funding.
For more details on each of the funded projects, you can download the PDF report here.