Programs and Activities Highlights
- Alumni Panel at the Veterinary Scholars Symposium
An ORIP staff member participated in an alumni panel during the Veterinary Scholars Symposium and Combined Degree Colloquium, held August 5–8, 2026, at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event highlighted the contributions of veterinary scientists to translational research. During the panel, the ORIP staff member shared insights with trainees and answered their questions.
- Career Panel at the Veterinary Scholars Symposium
An ORIP staff member participated in the career panel at the Veterinary Scholars Symposium and Combined Degree Colloquium, held August 5–8, 2026, at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event highlighted the contributions of veterinary scientists to translational research. The staff member shared his career journey and answered questions from more than 800 veterinary students and their mentors from across the country.
- NIH Update at the Veterinary Scholars Symposium
ORIP staff participated in the Veterinary Scholars Symposium and Combined Degree Colloquium, held August 5–8, 2026, at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event highlighted the contributions of veterinary scientists to translational research. An ORIP staff member provided NIH updates during the meeting on August 6, 2026.
- NIH T35 Program Directors Meeting
An ORIP staff member presented NIH updates to Program Directors on ORIP-funded T35 grants at their meeting on August 7, 2026, in Raleigh, North Carolina. The T35 Summer Programs for Veterinary Students supported by ORIP provided research training experiences for selected veterinary students for 2 to 3 months.
- Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
ORIP released two K01 career development awards—Lymphatic Regulation of Neutrophil Phenotypes in Wound Healing: A Microphysiological Approach with Microbiome-Based Therapeutic Insights (1K01OD040624-01) and Neutrophil-Targeted Therapy for Severe Asthma (1K01OD039838-01A1)—in July 2026 to support the early-career development of veterinary scientists and advance research aligned with the NIH mission. These awards provide protected time, mentoring, and research support for promising investigators to build independent research programs focused on neutrophil biology, inflammation, tissue repair, and immune-mediated disease. By supporting such innovative approaches as microphysiological systems, microbiome-informed therapeutics, and targeted interventions for severe asthma, ORIP is helping to strengthen the veterinary scientist workforce and promote translational research that improves the understanding of living systems, informs new therapeutic strategies, reduces the number of animals in scientific experimentation, and ultimately contributes to better human health outcomes.
Read more in the archive.
ORIP-Supported Research Highlights
- Prefrontal–Medullary Circuitry Is Necessary for Sex-Specific Responses to Metabolic Stress in Rats
Chronic stress can raise the risk of diseases, including diabetes. The brain pathways involved in regulating the connection between chronic stress and glucose levels remain unknown. In this study, researchers used a rat model (both sexes used) for chronic stress and selectively blocked neurotransmitter release (the way cells communicate with each other) from neurons (nerve cells) in two regions of the brain—the infralimbic cortex (IL) and rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). In female rats, blocking the IL–RVLM pathway impaired blood sugar control with or without stress, and stress worsened this problem. In male rats, blocking the IL–RVLM pathway caused problems with controlling blood sugar levels only after chronic stress. These findings highlight sex-dependent differences in regulating blood sugar levels after chronic stress through the IL–RVLM pathway.
- Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Human H5N1 Infection from Consumption of Fluid Cow’s Milk
H5N1 is a form of bird flu that can infect dairy cows; this raises public health concerns about milk safety. Although no human cases from dairy cow’s milk have been reported, infected milk has spread disease across animals. In this study, researchers used a risk assessment model to estimate the chance of infection from drinking pasteurized (processed to destroy harmful microbes) or raw (unprocessed) milk in the United States. Results showed that H5N1 risk from pasteurized milk was low and the risk from raw milk was much higher, although still small per serving of milk. Researchers highlighted that testing milk from farm tanks would lower the overall risk of potential H5N1 infection from raw milk. These findings emphasize the need for additional research on H5N1 infection through milk consumption and dietary habits that include raw milk to minimize potential foodborne exposure and outbreaks.
- Efficient Replication of Influenza D Virus in the Human Airway Underscores Zoonotic Potential
Influenza D virus (IDV) primarily infects livestock, but it can be transmitted from animals to people (zoonotic transmission). The ability of IDV to infect people remains poorly understood. From 2011 to 2020, the researchers collected IDV isolates from cattle and swine (sex not stated). In this study, researchers tested IDV’s ability to infect human and pig airway cells. Results showed that IDV grew in airway cells and tissues to similar levels as influenza A virus (IAV). IDV triggered a weaker innate immune response compared with IAV. When cells were pre-treated with interferon, IDV replication (the ability to make new copies of the virus) was blocked. These findings highlight that IDV can infect a person’s respiratory system while evading the body’s immune response to the infection, emphasizing the need to enhance IDV surveillance to minimize zoonotic transmission.
- Perceptions of Voluntary Horizontal Confidential Food Safety Data Sharing: An Exploratory Interview Study with Food Industry Leadership
Companies can share private food safety data with each other to find problems, improve safety, and make better decisions, which is especially useful for rare events. However, food industry companies are hesitant to share data. In this study, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 food industry leaders. Results showed that companies are cautious about sharing data because of a loss of control once distributed; uncertain trust in industry peers, regulatory bodies, customers, and data safety; and technical barriers. Results also identified a potential solution: strong data governance with clear rules on who manages and sees the data can build trust and encourage secure data sharing. These findings highlight insights that can guide future data sharing efforts to protect public health.
- Construction of Saturated Tn-Seq Libraries of Brucella abortus S19 for Transposon Insertion and Effective Density Analysis Across Stress Conditions
Brucella abortus is a bacterial pathogen that can spread between animals and humans. It is highly resilient and can survive in harsh conditions, including acidic environments, exposure to harmful oxygen-containing molecules, and the body’s natural antimicrobial defenses. To better understand how B. abortus survives and causes infection, researchers created large sequencing libraries using the weakened S19 strain of the bacteria with different genetic disruptions. Using this tool, they identified genes that are important for the pathogen’s survival. This rich dataset can be used to explore the genetic fitness of the pathogen B. abortus across multiple environments.
Read more in the archive.
