Research

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Annual Research Day Highlights Scientific Discovery in College of Veterinary Medicine

April 24, 2026

Purdue Veterinary Medicine celebrated veterinary medical and One Health scholarship during the 2026 PVM Research Day – an annual event hosted in April by the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Omicron Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, which is the Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine. Held Friday, April 10 in Lynn Hall, the event gave faculty, residents, postdoctoral fellows, and students the opportunity to present clinical and basic research findings, and hear lectures on topics important to animal and human health. Another special feature of the day was the Research Poster competition and the closing reception when awards were presented.

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PVM Cancer Research Scholar Honored at Purdue Institute for Cancer Research Recognition Awards Ceremony

April 17, 2026

Dr. Deborah Knapp, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology, Dolores L. McCall Professor of Comparative Oncology, and director of the Evan and Sue Ann Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center, was recognized this month at the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research 2026 Recognition Awards ceremony. The program April 3 honored faculty, trainees and staff advancing cancer research across the institute.

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Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery Honors PVM Clinician Paulo Gomes as a Top Co-Author

April 10, 2026

Dr. Paulo Gomes, clinical associate professor of dermatology in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, recently was recognized for co-authoring one of the most widely read articles of 2025 in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. The publication is an online, open access, international, peer-reviewed journal.

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USDA Funding Fuels Purdue Veterinary Medicine Research Seeking Answers to Costly Cattle Production Mystery

April 10, 2026

A four-year, $650,000 New Investigator Award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) will support research led by Dr. Viju V. Pillai, a faculty member in Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology and pathologist at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL), aimed at solving a persistent and costly mystery in cattle production. Dr. Pillai’s team wants to answer the question of why so many pregnancies fail before they are even recognized? The project will focus on the earliest stages of fetal–maternal communication and on a little-understood family of proteins called trophoblast Kunitz domain proteins (TKDPs), whose functions in pregnancy remain largely unknown.

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Beautiful Spring Lilies Pose Serious Danger to Cats

March 27, 2026

Spring weather heralds the arrival of the beautiful blooms of true lilies (Lilium sp.) and daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.). Unfortunately, many cats have been poisoned by these lovely plants. The poisoning is so severe and the possible consequences so dire (even death) that in 2021, the FDA issued this warning:

“Lilies in the “true lily” and “daylily” families are very dangerous for cats. The entire lily plant is toxic: the stem, leaves, flowers, pollen, and even the water in a vase. Eating just a small amount of a leaf or flower petal, licking a few pollen grains off its fur while grooming, or drinking the water from the vase can cause your cat to develop fatal kidney failure in less than 3 days. The toxin, which only affects cats, has not been identified. Dogs that eat lilies may have minor stomach upset but they don’t develop kidney failure.”

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Fourth Purdue AMR Conference Promotes Collaboration to Address Global Health Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance through PVM’s One Health Initiative.

March 13, 2026

Purdue University served as the place where local, national and international experts came together in-person and online recently for concentrated sharing of research, expertise and insight targeting the threat of multi-drug-resistant infections. The fourth annual AMR Conference February 25-26, 2026, held in Stewart Center, attracted more than 100 attendees from across the U.S. and six other countries.

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Contraceptive vaccine reduces fertility in animals to address wildlife overpopulation

March 6, 2026

A Purdue University contraceptive vaccine seeks to address animal overpopulation by markedly reducing fertility in feral horses, deer, swine and other animals. Dr. Harm HogenEsch, distinguished professor of immunopathology in Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Raluca Ostafe, director of Purdue University’s Molecular Evolution Protein Engineering and Production Facility, both members of the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, have designed the vaccine based on the IZUMO1 mammalian sperm protein. It induces a robust and long-lasting immune response and infertility in female mammals.

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Elegant Evening in Indianapolis Spotlights ADDL’s Importance to Poultry Industry

February 13, 2026

It’s called “An Evening Under the Stars with the Indiana State Poultry Association” because the yearly event is a celebration of the poultry industry that’s held in downtown Indianapolis at the iconic Indiana Roof Ballroom. Purdue Veterinary Medicine was a Silver sponsor for this year’s January 20 event, which attracted a record turnout and provided an important opportunity for Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) representatives to showcase ADDL services and the laboratory’s important role in supporting the state’s poultry industry.

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Purdue Veterinary Medicine Contributes to Purdue’s Top Seven National Ranking for U.S. Patents Received

February 13, 2026

An innovation to detect heart rate, respiration and oxygen saturation. An adenoviral vector system for gene delivery. A protein-based adhesive. These are among the 172 innovations created by Purdue University researchers for which the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) received patents in the 2025 calendar year from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, reflecting Purdue’s status as a global leader in protecting and promoting intellectual property.

PVM’s Upcoming Coppoc One Health Lecture to Focus on Dogs as Sentinels of Environmental Exposure

February 6, 2026

The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine brings a leading One Health scholar to campus each year to address vital health issues from a One Health perspective as part of the Coppoc One Health Lecture series. This year’s presentation, scheduled for February 26 in Lynn Hall Room 2026, is on the engaging topic, “One Health at Home: Dogs as Sentinels of Environmental Exposure.” The speaker will be Audrey Ruple, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVPM, MRCVS, the Dorothy A. and Richard G. Metcalf Professor of Veterinary Medical Informatics at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.