Zoetis has awarded three teams of scientists with $200,000 in research grants to support projects that will help advance understanding of the fundamentals of heartworm and explore novel interventions to help prevent it. “Heartworm disease is a debilitating and potentially fatal condition, particularly in dogs and cats,” said Debra Woods, Ph.D., research director and head of parasitology global therapeutics research at Zoetis. “New therapies are likely to be required as heartworm resistance to current therapies develops over time.” Grant recipients are: Sean Forrester, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Guilherme G. Verocai, DVM, MSc, Ph.D., DACVM, director of the Parasitology Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine Mostafa Zamanian, Ph.D., and Lyric Bartholomay, Ph.D., of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine “We were impressed with the caliber of the innovative research proposals we received and selected three that will augment our internal research and development and could lead to new scientific insights in parasitic disease, in particular, heartworm disease,” said Dr. Woods. The research grants were awarded by a committee comprised of leaders from across divisions and disciplines, with external oversight from an independent expert reviewer.
