The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) invites veterinary professionals to participate in the exchange of research. Below is a list of presentations from the 2022 and 2023 ACVIM Forum.
We encourage you to connect with fellow colleagues and collaborate on research across the ACVIM community.
The ACVIM wants to foster connections between likeminded veterinary professionals who are working on the same research or have similar interests in the field. Please use the dropdown menus to see detailed research descriptions and contact information for project leaders. We highly encourage you to connect on topics of interest.
1 Pulmonary fibrosis is an orphan disease with One Health significance. 2. Most internists see only sporadic cases, and this makes compelling work challenging. 3. The Westie community is highly motivated to assist in this project.
Project Presenter: Ryan Gibson
rmg0064@auburn.edu
In clinical education we frequently use the development of discharges/ client handouts as a means to allow the students to study and become informed about various diseases and conditions. With the advent of AI technology such as Chat GPT students can develop a brief handout in a matter of seconds with little to no input on them. This study evaluates the quality of discharges/handouts developed by AI and by previous students while looking at alternative learning methods utilizing AI technology and discussing pitfalls in their use in education and potentially in practice.
Project Presenter: Albert Jergens
ajergens@iastate.edu
We propose to investigate the current knowledge gap pertaining to the exact pathogenetic cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to dysregulated gene expression (e.g., over-/under-expression of certain genes) in canine CE. Considering that probiotics and/or prebiotics are likely to regulate or modify DNAm patterns, we believe intestinal methylome (DNAm) changes may play an important regulatory role in the molecular mechanism underlying how probiotics and/or prebiotics maintain intestinal homeostasis and reduce intestinal inflammation.
Project Presenter: Devon Hague
hague@illinois.edu
A semester of a veterinary neurosurgery seminar based course is provided to neurology and surgery residents at our institution every three years. The residents' knowledge base was assessed by comparing scores on a multiple choice test before and after the course. This study is relevant to ACVIM in assessing best practices around training residents and preparing them for their board certification examinations.
Project Presenter: Karin Allenspach
allek@iastate.edu
Growing the canine organoid bioarchive will greatly accelerate subtyping of dogs going into clinical trials. The archive will be widely available to researchers across the nation.
Project Presenter: Alison Manchester
alison.manchester@colostate.edu
We employed a multiomics approach to clarify the interactions between the duodenal epithelium and immune system and the local mucosal microbiome. Integrating transcriptomics and microbiome analysis provides important context to microbial constituents and their relationship to host molecular activities.
Project Presenter: Sara Wilkes
Sara.wilkes@bluepearlvet.com
This is a proof of concept study investigating the presence of proteins specific to the prostate found in the urine of intact male dogs that may correlate to the presence of non-neoplastic diseases such as BPH or prostatitis. This could potentially one day lead to a non-invasive biomarker for these diseases
Project Presenter: Marnin Forman
marnin4man@yahoo.com
Veterinary Image Library (abbreviated VIL) is an open-source (no paywalls, no membership), multiplatform(online, phone-based), web-based, case-based teaching tool. VIL contains case material for interesting rare conditions, common conditions, and in between with a standardized, ‘rounds type’ presentation. The information is completely anonymous (all identifying information about the patient, submitting doctor or hospital is removed); however, credit to the submitting doctor is given. The website is fully built, but only a few cases have been uploaded. Cornell Veterinary students are helping me review the cases and upload them to the website. A preliminary version of the website can be viewed here: https://vetimagelibrary.stag.gb-env.us/ (please note if you have any problems accessing the site, please tell me, it is not currently published)
Project Presenter: Lauren Trepanier
lauren.trepanier@wisc.edu
Bladder cancer and lymphoma are often definitively diagnosed by internists. Specialists then need to answer owner's questions about "why this happened" or what they could have done differently. Internists are an excellent resource to obtain information about environmental exposures at the time of diagnosis.
Project Presenter: Kate Creevy
kcreevy@cvm.tamu.edu
The Dog Aging Project is an open-science, nationwide, long-term, longitudinal study of the genetic and environmental determinants of healthy aging in companion dogs. Aging dogs spontaneously develop the diseases at the core of all ACVIM specialties - internal medicine, cardiology, neurology and oncology - and most prior studies of these diseases have unfolded at referral institutions which only see a subset of affected patients. Direct access to the raw data gathered by the DAP, and collaborations with the DAP team on topics not yet under study, will allow ACVIM researchers to advance their research objectives on diverse diseases while minimizing the burden of creating and sustaining the infrastructure required for large-population studies.
Project Presenter: Jennifer Granick
grani003@umn.edu
In 2020, a national Point Prevalence Survey of Antibiotic Use in 14 U.S. small animal veterinary teaching hospitals was performed. Repeating this AU PPS in U.S. and Canadian small animal teaching hospitals will increase representativeness of data and understanding of changes in antibiotic prescribing, identify situations in which antibiotics are used that may be contributing to antibiotic-resistant infections in cats and dogs. These avenue of study is relevant to ACVIM, as ACVIM members from multiple institutions participated in the study, JVIM has published articles focused on antibiotic use, and antimicrobial resistance is an urgent animal and public health threat that requires data than can be used for action.
Project Presenter: Kelly Makielski
makie001@umn.edu
Osteosarcoma is a common cancer of middle-aged large and giant breed dogs, and it has a poor prognosis. We have developed a blood-based test that reliably identifies the presence of minimal residual disease in dogs with osteosarcoma, and we are leveraging that work to develop a blood test for early detection of osteosarcoma in at-risk large and giant breed dogs.
Project Presenter: Robert Backus
backusr@missouri.edu
Recently published findings of our laboratory indicate that blood taurine concentrations are not sensitive indicators of taurine deficiency of dogs when the deficiency results from prolonged consumption of diets low in methionine and cystine. Our study will quantify novel biochemical indicators of poor bioavailability of dietary sulfur amino acids in dogs diagnosed with diet-associated DCM.
Project Presenter: Jenessa Winston
winston.210@osu.edu
CHIRP is comprised of a team of basic research and clinician scientists at the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovative study design. CHIRP was developed to streamline multidisciplinary research with a specific focus on team science. The axis of our program centers on the advancement of knowledge pertaining to gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic diseases in dogs and cats coupled with dedicated enhancement of animal and human health through translational scientific discoveries.
Project Presenter: Jenessa Winston
winston.210@osu.edu
Currently the Companion Animal FMT Consortium is comprised of 18 international investigators and clinicians currently performing FMT in dogs and cats. Investigators that are interested in participating in and/or conducting a FMT clinical trial could benefit from the expertise of the consortium. Additionally, the Companion Animal FMT Consortium acts as a catalyst for multi-institutional FMT clinical trials/proposals in companion animals.
Project Presenter: Albert Jergens
ajergens@iastate.edu
Dysbiosis and disturbances in BA metabolism are well recognized associations in humans and dogs with CE. Data regarding BA dysmetabolism are lacking in cats with CE, but changes in fecal BA previously have been documented in cats administered antibiotics. Our research goals are to characterize BA profiles in cats with CE and determine how they are impacted by commonly recommended treatments. Gastroenterology comprises an increasing proportion of internal medicine case referrals, making our research study exceedingly relevant to ACVIM.
Project Presenter: Lauren Bookbinder
bookbin1@msu.edu
This study aims to broadly define contemporary pathogens of equine neonatal bacteremia and their antibiograms across a wide geographic area (contiguous United States) and practice types (hospital, ambulatory, university, private practice). Antibiograms are known to be geographically and regionally specific, and understanding these patterns influences individual patient care and population health.
The long term goal of this project is to determine the impact of extracorporeal cytokine adsorption as an adjunct therapy in neonatal sepsis. Short term, the study has three goals: 1. Determine whether a novel extracorporeal cytokine adsorption device significantly attenuates cytokine concentrations in LPS-stimulated equine whole blood (ex vivo). 2. Determine the impact of a novel extracorporeal cytokine adsorption device on plasma concentrations of medications commonly used for treatment of equine sepsis (ex vivo). 3. Provide proof of concept data for an appropriate anti-coagulation protocol for healthy adult horses undergoing extracorporeal therapy with a novel cytokine adsorption device (in vivo).
Project Presenter: Amy Johnson
amyjohn@vet.upenn.edu
Participants will collect and report the outcome of cerebrospinal fluid collection in horses with the intention to determine the incidence of complications, and various associated risk factors such as collection site, method used, etc. This is pertinent to ACVIM members as they commonly utilize this technique.
Project Presenter: Michael Levy
mlevy@ucalgary.ca
Treatment of equine CNS diseases requires medications that can penetrate this protected site; however, few studies have examined the distribution of therapeutics to the CNS because of the difficulty of sampling this region. We have developed a model that allows serial sampling of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the conscious standing horse by implanting a subarachnoid catheter attached to a Vascular Access Port (VAP) located under the skin. The development of a reliable and stable large animal model for a minimally invasive serial sampling of CSF will provide many potential opportunities for further study of central nervous system diseases and therapeutics.
This research investigating clinical anaplasmosis and chronic A. marginale infection status in breeding bulls paves the way to investigate short- and long- term impacts of the pathogen in multiple populations, as well as the efficacy of BSE technique among veterinary observers when investigating bulls that are carriers and whether or not PI status truly affects BSE outcome. It calls into question two things: 1. The spread of A. marginale in bull populations and its impact on bull fertility, and 2. The technical expertise of veterinarians performing BSEs.
Project Presenter: Cris Navas de Solis
navasdes@vet.upenn.edu
The program seeks to develop strategies that decrease the unacceptable incidence of exercise associated deaths and injuries in sport horses. The main goal of the project we will elaborate on is to establish the logistics of an injury prevention program in equine athletes based on mobile health and data analytics. It is incumbent on veterinarians and the equestrian community to protect horses’ health and welfare.
Project Presenter: Breanna Sheahan
bjsheahandvm@gmail.com
Cases are recruited for two major components of the project: 1) a case series describing findings and outcome in cases with severe complications secondary to nasogastric intubation; and 2) a retrospective record-based search to determine the frequency and type of nasogastric intubation complications in a referral population. Having two components to the project allows both small and large/academic practices to contribute to the literature. This project is relevant to the ACVIM as nasogastric intubation is commonly performed on equines.
Project Presenter: Katie Offer
katie.offer1@gmail.com
This is a retrospective study comparing two treatment protocols in the treatment of equine sarcoids and their influence on sarcoid recurrence. Variables associated with sarcoid recurrence rates and time to sarcoid recurrence are also identified. Knowledge of optimum clinical protocol should aid management of this common condition in the future and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Project Presenter: Fauna Smith
flsmith@ucdavis.edu
This study if focus on identifying clinical characteristics and bacterial isolates from clinical cases of mastitis is small ruminants. The goal of this study to to provide clinically pertinent information for clinicians to aid in improving treatment and outcomes for small ruminants with mastitis.