College of Veterinary Medicine

Presented June 7, 2008
Oath and Hooding Ceremony
Mershon Auditorium

Cynthia M. Otto, DVM, PhD

Dr. Cynthia Otto is a 1986 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her post graduate training began with a small animal internship at the University of Pennsylvania and continued at the University of Georgia where she completed an internal medicine residency in 1990 and received her PhD in 1994. She is currently a tenured associate professor of Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, and board certified by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care.

Dr. Otto is a leader within the clinical discipline of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. She lectures internationally on emergency medicine and has been involved in training over 30 emergency and critical care residents. She has been active in disaster medicine as a member of the Pennsylvania Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1 since 1994. She was an integral member of the team who cared for search and rescue dogs following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in New York City. In addition she was deployed with the Veterinary Medical Assistant Team 2 for the disaster relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Otto's research has contributed to our fundamental understanding of the deadly syndrome of sepsis in both human and veterinary patients. Her laboratory focuses on control of inflammation by oxygen with applications in acute lung injury, sleep apnea and sepsis and has been funded by the National Institute of Health and the American Heart Association. Dr. Otto has produced over 45 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to her basic research, she has conducted numerous clinical studies and is the director of the Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center. The Center conducts clinical trials in companion animals with spontaneous disease for the development of novel therapies that will benefit both animals and humans.

Dr. Otto is a distinguished scientist and researcher, an active and skilled clinician, and a giving humanitarian who has volunteered her skills and energy to many worthy causes. She was named Pennsylvania’s 2002 "Veterinarian of the Year" and also received our College's Veterinary Alumni Society Alumni Recognition Award in 2006.