Navigating the current COVID-19 challenge demands ingenuity, compassion, empathy and spirit. We must work together across communities, combine expertise and create new ways of thinking to deliver solutions — at an unprecedented scale. College of Veterinary Medicine students, faculty and staff have always been focused on creating a healthy and sustainable world for animals and people. This one health approach is even more essential during this rapidly changing crisis.
One health research plays a vital role in the identification and prevention of diseases like COVID-19. College of Veterinary Medicine laboratories are at work during the current pandemic. These are just a few examples how we are embracing the college’s ambition to Be The Model® comprehensive college of veterinary medicine in the world while combatting this new challenge.
Learn more about our research and discovery.
COVID booster shots likely provide increased, broad protection against new Omicron variant in human patients with cancer. Researchers at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) report that the two-shot mRNA vaccination regimen against COVID-19 is “woefully inadequate” to provide durable protection in immune-compromised patients and urge cancer patients to get booster shots as soon as they are eligible. Learn more.
COVID-19 infection detected in deer in 9 Ohio locations. Scientists unsure if wild deer could be SARS-CoV-2 virus reservoir. The fact that wild deer can become infected “leads toward the idea that we might actually have established a new maintenance host outside humans,” said Andrew Bowman, DVM, PhD, associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University and senior author of the paper. Learn more.
Veterinary researchers are working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to encourage everyone who is eligible to get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. The Animal Influenza Ecology and Epidemiology Research Program (AIEERP) in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine is leading a campaign to increase vaccination rates. Learn more.
A new treatment that might keep COVID-19 patients off the ventilator is being 
tested by college researchers led by Ian Davis, DVM, PhD. It is among the first known to reduce the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by the flu in animals, according to a new study. Learn more about a study published online in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.
Researchers are using environmental surveillance to identify future pandemic threats. A university wide program led by the College of Veterinary Medicine brings veterinarians, microbiologists and epidemiologists together to identify whether COVID-19 exists in different animal populations and the likelihood that those animals could harbor mutations and potentially pass COVID-19 back to humans in a new form.
Learn more about eSCOUT: Environmental Surveillance for COVID-19 in Ohio: Understanding Transmission, here.
COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed at the college capitalize on the measles vaccine’s successful history to protect against SARS-CoV-2. Learn more about the research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences here. Read about the license agreement for this same technology here. The laboratories of Jianrong Li, DVM, PhD (pictured left), and Stefan Niewiesk, DVM, PhD (pictured right), are responsible for this development, see the story in the Columbus Dispatch here.
Tricking the novel coronavirus with a fake “handshake.” Scientists have develop
ed protein fragments – called peptides – that fit snugly into a groove on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein that it would normally use to access a host cell. These peptides effectively trick the virus into “shaking hands” with a replica rather than with the actual protein on a cell’s surface that lets the virus in. Read more about how these peptides could inactivate coronavirus here.
A new lab test developed by a team led by Shan-Lu Liu, MD, PhD, clarifies the potential protective effects of COVID-19 antibodies and the recently published study that shows range of antibody levels based in part on disease severity. Learn more here.
Dr Liu in the news: Nature, Emerging Microbes & Infections, Columbus Dispatch
As a virologist and immunologist, Linda Saif, MS, PhD, 
has spent four decades researching animal coronaviruses and their interspecies transmission. Following the new COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019 in China, she is providing expertise about this new coronavirus, vaccines and strategies to control its spread. Learn more.
Dr. Saif in the news: Nature, Prevention, JAVMA News, The Ohio State University Alumni Magazine
As
a virologist, Michael Oglesbee, DVM, PhD, has led a 25-year research program focused on host determinants of viral virulence that uses animal models to examine infection outcomes relevant to a broad spectrum of human and animal viral pathogens. As the Director of Ohio State's Infectious Diseases Institute, he is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic from multiple perspectives. Learn more.
Dr. Oglesbee in the news: Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio State News
Jeanette O’Quin, DVM, MPH, is lending her expertise in animal shelter medicine, veterinary public health, disaster response and disease prevention to aid in efforts to combat COVID-19 and ensure pets are able to receive the care they need. Learn more.
Dr. O'Quinn in the news: BG Independent News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Fourth year veterinary student Emily King is applying what she’s learned in the classroom to now research the COVID-19 virus during a summer research project. Her project is comparing specific genes between the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 with the coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak of 2003. Learn more.
Learn how we have Come Together as Buckeyes to adapt teaching, learning and clinical care.
Class of 2021 prepares for clinical rotations
Fourth-year veterinary students now have their white coats in hand, ready to start hands-on clinical rotations in the Veterinary Medical Center on July 6. Read more here.
Veterinary Medical Center hospitals provide front-line care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
We have adapted our operations to maintain the excellent care the community and our clients expect. Learn more here.
College uses 3D printing to conserve PPE resources
With 3D printers, it’s possible to print anything imaginable. Whether it’s a replica of a bone from a CT scan or even life-saving personal protective equipment (PPE). Learn how the college is using 3D printing to protect employees at the Veterinary Medical Center and conserve PPE for human use. Read more.
Adapting teaching and learning in during COVID-19 pandemic
The Curriculum Re-Design Team was formed earlier this year to facilitate the College’s effort in defining what skills a graduate will need to succeed in all professional areas and identifying innovative ways for students to develop those skills. Two members of this team, Ramiro Toribio, a tenure track professor of Equine Internal Medicine in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and Ryan Jennings, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences, discuss how COVID-19 has forced an even deeper dive into evaluating what competencies students should have upon graduating in a post COVID-19 world and implementing new modalities to best deliver that curriculum. Learn more.
College participates in collaborative effort to sterilize testing swabs
To continue efforts to reopen the State of Ohio, large scale testing for Sars-Cov 2 infected individuals is necessary. The College of Veterinary Medicine is part of a collaboration between the health science colleges and other groups across The Ohio State University helping to support this effort. Learn more.
