CVM News

Jun 1, 2026

Understanding the invisible threats on our plates

Chemicals are everywhere, but we can reduce exposure Many of us are conditioned to guard against food safety risks that we can see and smell – undercooked meat or spoiled leftovers. But, with World Food Safety Day falling on June 7, it’s worth contemplating hidden hazards we likely ingest with regularity – per- and polyfluoroalkyl […]

May 11, 2026

Year-round threat: 2026 Pet Parasite Forecast shows rising tick risk

Auburn University parasitologist Dr. Kathryn Reif is well acquainted with ticks and the many misconceptions that can leave pets and their humans unprotected from a growing, year-round threat. For starters, ticks don’t disappear in the winter. Many species remain active as long as temperatures are above freezing. They’re also just as likely to show up in backyards as in forests or tall grass.

Mar 27, 2026

Boshell Research Day showcases range of diabetes research

Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will host the 17th Annual Boshell Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research Day on Friday, April 17, at the Auburn-Opelika Marriott Resort at Grand National.

Feb 23, 2026

Researchers study swine immunity to unlock better flu vaccines

Since September 2025, more than 24 million Americans have come down with the flu. Most of those cases were caused by a highly mutated version of influenza A, the H3N2 K subclade, that showed up last summer, long after the strains of flu used to formulate this year’s flu shot were chosen.

Jan 30, 2026

Molecular messengers: Decoding a circulatory threat

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) doesn’t typically announce itself in the form of a stroke or heart attack. The signals are far more subtle – feeling the need to rest while climbing a flight of stairs, experiencing a tightening in the calf muscles while taking a walk or a creeping sensation that normal movement is beginning to slip away.

Nov 19, 2025

Doctoral student earns national recognition for diagnostic bacteriology research

Biomedical sciences doctoral student Nneka Vivian Iduu earned high honors at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and the 129th Annual Meeting of the United States Animal Health Association held in October in Aurora, Colo.

Nov 17, 2025

Research spotlight: New directions of parasitology

The newest issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Research highlights the parasitology research of Auburn CVM faculty members Jeba R. J. Jesudoss Chelladurai and Kathryn E. Reif.

Nov 17, 2025

Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day highlights students’ spirit of inquiry

In addition to celebrating academic excellence, Phi Zeta Research Emphasis Day also underscores the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s commitment to offering “One Health” solutions through research. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, The Society of Phi Zeta featured 87 platform or poster presentations by undergraduate, veterinary and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral students, research fellows and faculty members.

Nov 5, 2025

Phi Zeta forum places focus on student research

From a gene therapy-based vaccine for non-surgical sterilization in cats to the potential impact antibiotic residue in pollen may have on honey bees, Auburn University undergraduate, graduate and veterinary medicine students are exploring a wide range of research interests touching animal, human and environmental health.

Oct 22, 2025

Tick Threat Tackled: Auburn faculty member wired into tick research

“Ticks are an omnipresent threat, and they’ve been around for millions of years, since before the time of the dinosaurs,” said Reif. “Many of the most common tick species are equal opportunity biters, so they can be a problem for pets and livestock animals as well as people. They also can carry serious diseases such as ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.”

Oct 21, 2025

From lab to leash: Sullivan’s genetic research offers hope for ending dachshunds’ spinal struggles

Dachshund breeders and owners have long faced a painful reality. The beloved breed’s signature short legs can come with an elevated risk of painful and debilitating spinal disease.

Oct 16, 2025

Three CVM faculty selected as 2025-26 Research Communications Fellows

Faculty members Jeba R J Jesudoss Chelladurai, Amanda Gross and Katharine Horzmann are among the 21-member cohort for Auburn University’s 2025-26 Research Communications Fellows program.

Sep 24, 2025

‘One Health’ in action: Scott-Ritchey Center takes on global threat of rabies

When Dr. Doug Martin describes rabies as perhaps “the world’s oldest infectious disease,” he’s speaking in terms of millennia rather than centuries. “You can find depictions of it written on cave and pyramid walls,” said Martin, director of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Scott-Ritchey Research Center and a professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology.

Aug 26, 2025

Picture of health: How feline obesity diagnosis may change in the era of AI

Type the social media hashtag “fatcat” into an Instagram search and you will be greeted by more than 3 million photo and video posts featuring felines in varying stages of roly-polyness. One photo depicts a pet owner straining to lift a 38-pound orange marmalade-colored bundle of joy. Another video shows the fabric seat of a lawn chair collapsing beneath the weight of a chonky black-and-white cat.

Aug 19, 2025

A leg up for giraffes: Auburn researcher explores hoof health

In contemplating the wonder and complexity of the natural world, the late author Kurt Vonnegut found metaphorical utility in stilt-legged, flexible-necked vegetarians capable of balancing 2,500 pounds of body weight on four feet the approximate diameter of dinner plates. “Evolution is so creative,” Vonnegut wrote. “That’s how we got giraffes.”

Oct 23, 2024

NIH grants for groundbreaking research on alcohol-induced organ damage transferring to Auburn

Paul Thomes, a new faculty member in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, conducts research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol-associated organ damage — with a particular emphasis on autophagy, a major intracellular recycling process that plays a critical role in health and disease.

Oct 21, 2024

Driving for a Cure to Breast Cancer

The big pink bus that the Gene Machine once called home is hardly inconspicuous. If you’ve traveled Wire Road at any point over the last seven years, there’s a good chance you spotted the vibrant 2002 Ford Super Duty F-250 from the road, even if you weren’t aware of its connection to Auburn.

Aug 20, 2024

One Health, Infinite Possibilities: Scott-Ritchey Research Center

Perhaps no other area of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine embodies the One Health concept quite as effectively as the Scott-Ritchey Research Center, a state-of-the-art, interdepartmental and interdisciplinary molecular medicine research program focused on next-generation therapies to treat and even cure diseases in both humans and animals.

Jun 24, 2024

Charvet Seeks to Understand Comparative Aging

To Christine Charvet, age is only a number. But it is a number she absolutely, positively wants to pin down as precisely as possible. It’s a number that will elucidate how human development and aging compare with other species. Charvet, an Assistant Professor in the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Anatomy, Physiology […]

May 28, 2024

Alumna Pushes for Positive Change Through One Health

For Dr. Shaina Craige, a 2018 alumna of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, positive, proactive change in the world of veterinary and human health is more than a wish. It’s a passion that’s driven her work for the past six years.

Mar 5, 2024

Auburn researcher aims to help prevent, control avian influenza

Since 2022, avian flu — a rapidly circulating Influenza Type A virus — has affected over 81 million poultry, as well as the industries that depend on them. In Alabama alone, poultry generates more than 80,000 jobs and $15 billion in revenue. In the past two years, a disease-causing strain of avian flu, known as H5N1, has impacted 1,046 […]

Mar 5, 2024

15th Annual Boshell Research Day set for March 15

The annual Boshell Research Day event brings together experts from around the U.S. to present current topics related to diabetes and the role of obesity in its development. The meeting is highlighted by research presentations throughout the day and evening.

May 25, 2023

Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine researcher developing novel immunotherapies to treat canine cancer with potential to improve human cancer therapeutics

Throughout their careers, veterinarians care for many canine cancer patients and witness the devastating effects of this disease. Dr. Maninder Sandey is among these ranks. His experience treating dogs with cancer has turned into a determination to learn more about how cancer works at the molecular level while finding better ways to treat it that could help both dogs and people.

May 23, 2023

Merner Studies Genetic Cancer Risk Factors in the African American Community

A team of researchers in the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine is working to identify and study genetic factors associated with hereditary breast cancer in the African American community. According to Dr. Nancy Merner, team leader and assistant professor of pathobiology, it is an area where further research has been badly needed.