Comparative Medicine Signature Program

Comparative medicine and animal models of human disease are crucial to the promotion of public health and the advancement of medical knowledge in veterinary and human medicine. The College of Veterinary Medicine has a rich tradition in developing and studying animal models of human disease, from basic biology to induced disease, spontaneous genetic mutations, transgenic animal models, gene knock-out models, and spontaneous animal models of human disease. Our core strengths include oncology; inflammatory and chronic diseases; and molecular and genetic models of animal disease. Our research programs span the continuum from basic to clinical and translational research. Some components of this program are designed to investigate basic biology and underlying mechanisms of disease, while other components focus on diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of disease.

The Comparative Medicine program emphasizes interdisciplinary and collaborative research with investigators across all three academic departments in the College and the College's centers; other units in the Academic Health Center; the College of Biological Sciences and the College Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences on the St. Paul campus; and several other University centers and institutes. The recent advent of translational medicine provides the CVM with an additional opportunity to test cell-, small molecule-, and gene therapies in animal models of the human condition.