About Research at AMC

Research is a fundamental component of the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center’s founding mission. AMC is proud to advance veterinary medicine by pioneering new discoveries and progressive treatments. Through our Caspary Research Institute, AMC veterinarians work to understand the origins of diseases, to develop preventive measures, and ultimately to achieve cures. AMC doctors conduct clinical investigations of naturally occurring diseases in pets, often in collaboration with physicians studying the same illnesses in humans, to enable more effective diagnoses, advance medical and surgical treatments, and prevent disease in animals and humans alike.

Research Spotlight

How a Chance Encounter Led to Research Success: Highlighting the Work of Dr. Taryn Donovan

Dr. Taryn Donovan, Diplomate, ACVP Anatomic Pathology

Over the past 4 years, Dr. Donovan has been a prolific contributor to new research in veterinary medicine, serving as senior author or co-author on 18 manuscripts in her specialty of veterinary pathology. This very productive stretch started with a chance encounter at the annual meeting of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. A colleague, not from AMC, had misspelled the name of a legendary AMC pathologist, Dr. Amiya Patnaik in a presentation, and when Dr. Donovan brought this error to the colleague’s attention, the ensuing conversation led to a research collaboration and a published article: “Mitotic Figures-Normal, Atypical, and Imposters: A Guide to Identification.”

Dr. Donovan’s unique expertise in identifying mitotic figures (cells in the process of dividing, commonly seen on cancer biopsies) also led to frequent collaborations with Dr. Christoph Bertram of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Bertram’s research interests include applications of artificial intelligence in biopsy analysis, and one of their early collaborations was a paper titled “Computer-assisted mitotic count using a deep learning-based algorithm improves interobserver reproducibility and accuracy,” which showed the AI-guided algorithm was more accurate and reliable than human pathologists in assessing dividing cells in a biopsy.

Her work in cancer biopsy interpretation has also led to her participation in the standardizing of tumor biopsy evaluation and reporting and a recent call to action for the veterinary oncology community to adopt common guidelines to improve patient care worldwide.

AMC Resident and Faculty Publications 2023

Previous Years: 2022 | 2021 | 2020

Peer-Reviewed Publications

(AMC personnel in bold.)

  1. Aubreville M, Stathonikos N, Bertram CA, Klopfleisch R, Ter Hoeve N, Ciompi F, Wilm F, Marzahl C, Donovan TA, Maier A, Breen J, Ravikumar N, Chung Y, Park J, Nateghi R, Pourakpour F, Fick RHJ, Ben Hadj S, Jahanifar M, Shephard A, Dexl J, Wittenberg T, Kondo S, Lafarge MW, Koelzer VH, Liang J, Wang Y, Long X, Liu J, Razavi S, Khademi A, Yang S, Wang X, Erber R, Klang A, Lipnik K, Bolfa P, Dark MJ, Wasinger G, Veta M, Breininger K. Mitosis domain generalization in histopathology images – The MIDOG challenge. Med Image Anal. 2023 Feb;84:102699. doi: 10.1016/j.media.2022.102699. Epub 2022 Nov 23. PMID: 36463832.
  2. Aubreville M, Wilm F, Stathonikos N, Breininger K, Donovan TA, Jabari S, Veta M, Ganz J, Ammeling J, van Diest PJ, Klopfleisch R, Bertram CA. A comprehensive multi-domain dataset for mitotic figure detection. Sci Data. 2023 Jul 25;10(1):484. doi: 10.1038/s41597-023-02327-4. PMID: 37491536; PMCID: PMC10368709.
  3. Bennett JA, Hohenhaus A, Andersen TT. Proof-of-Concept Study of an Alpha-Fetoprotein-Derived Peptide for the Management of Canine Mammary Cancer. Animals (Basel). 2023;13(3):403. Published 2023 Jan 25. doi:10.3390/ani13030403.
  4. Cohen J, Fischetti AJ, Daverio H. Veterinary radiologic error rate as determined by necropsy. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2023;64(4):573-584. doi:10.1111/vru.13259.
  5. Fragoso-Garcia M, Wilm F, Bertram CA, Merz S, Schmidt A, Donovan T, et al.. Automated diagnosis of 7 canine skin tumors using machine learning on H&E-stained whole slide images. Vet Pathol. 2023 Nov;60(6):865-875. doi: 10.1177/03009858231189205.
  6. Gavic EA, Achen SE, Fox PR, Benjamin EJ, Goodwin J, Gunasekaran T, Schober KE, Tjostheim SS, Vickers J, Ward JL, Russell DS, Rishniw M, Hamer SA, Saunders AB. Trypanosoma cruzi infection diagnosed in dogs in nonendemic areas and results from a survey suggest a need for increased Chagas disease awareness in North America. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023 Feb 2;261(5):705-712. doi: 10.2460/javma.22.10.0445. PMID: 36735504.
  7. Hohenhaus, AE, Peripheral Lymphadenopathy in Dogs: Differential Diagnoses | Clinician’s Brief (cliniciansbrief.com).  Peripheral Lymphadenopathy in Dogs: Differential Diagnoses.  Clinician’s Brief Jan/Feb 2023 p 54.  Peripheral Lymphadenopathy in Dogs: Differential Diagnoses | Clinician’s Brief (cliniciansbrief.com)  
  8. Hohenhaus AE. Improving access to advanced veterinary care for rescued cats and dogs. J Feline Med Surg. 2023;25(12):1098612X231211755. doi:10.1177/1098612X231211755
  9. Mastrocco A, Prittie J, West C, Clark M. A review of the pharmacology and clinical applications of levetiracetam in dogs and cats. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). Published online November 21, 2023. doi:10.1111/vec.13355.
  10. Mastrocco A, Sahagian Α, and Prittie J. Phenibut toxicosis in a dog. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2023;33(4):472-476. doi:10.1111/vec.13313.
  11. Matula E, Mastrocco A, Prittie J, Weltman J, Keyserling C. Microorganism colonization of peripheral venous catheters in a small animal clinical setting. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2023;33(5):509-519. doi:10.1111/vec.13328.
  12. Quinci M, Pey P, Diana A, De Jesus A, Penninck D. B-mode ultrasound and colour Doppler findings in cats with gastric lymphoma. J Feline Med Surg. 2023 Feb;25(2):1098612X221150174. doi: 10.1177/1098612X221150174. PMID: 36786666.
  13. Reyes VAA, Donovan TA, Miller AD, Porter BF, Frank CB, Rissi DR. Doublecortin immunolabeling in canine gliomas with distinct degrees of tumor infiltration. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2023;35(2):187-192. doi:10.1177/10406387221145321.
  14. Sahagian MJ, Mastrocco A, Prittie JE, Weltman JG, Woods S. Retrospective analysis of the use of canine-specific albumin in 125 critically ill dogs. J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2023; 1- 9. https://doi.org/10.1111/vec.13286 .
  15. Rohdin C, Wang C, Brander G, Rondahl V, Karlsson Å, Friling L, Fischetti A, Meadows J, Häggström J, Jäderlund KH, Ljungvall I, Lindblad-Toh K. Mutations in the CYP27B1 gene cause vitamin D dependent rickets in pugs. J Vet Intern Med. 2023 Jul-Aug;37(4):1507-1513. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16791. Epub 2023 Jun 9. PMID: 37293695; PMCID: PMC10365047.
  16. Rissi DR, Reyes VAA, Donovan TA, Church ME, Howerth EW, Klang A, Woolard KD, Miller AD. Primary and secondary leptomeningeal gliomatosis in dogs. Vet Pathol. 2024 Mar;61(2):171-178. doi: 10.1177/03009858231193104. Epub 2023 Aug 14. PMID: 37577961.
  17. Sidhu A, DeJesus AA. Computed tomographic, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonographic characteristics of retrobulbar meningiomas in 15 dogs. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2023;64(6):1044-1054. doi:10.1111/vru.13311 
  18. Smith R, Mastrocco A, Prittie J, Weltman J. Comparison of Aural and Rectal Temperature in Dogs Presenting to an Emergency Room. Vet Med (Auckl). 2023 Jul 26;14:125-131. doi: 10.2147/VMRR.S411935.
  19.  Tran DTH, Donovan TA, Daverio H, Le Roux AB. CT features of rounded atelectasis in chronic inflammatory pleural effusions in cats and dogs. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2023 May;64(3):420-428. doi: 10.1111/vru.13220. Epub 2023 Feb 7. PMID: 36751880.
  20. Walsh ND, Porter IR, Miller AV, Fischetti AJ, Cheong SH, Scrivani PV. Canine intrahepatic portosystemic shunts: Interlobar and intralobar classifications. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2023;64(4):646-660. doi:10.1111/vru.13252.
  21. Wipond M, Prittie J, Mastrocco A, Donovan TA. Fatal exposure to quaternary ammonium disinfectant in 2 dogs. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2023 May-Jun;33(3):380-387. doi: 10.1111/vec.13299. Epub 2023 Apr 27. PMID: 37102439.
  22. Zimmerman K, Walsh KA, Ferrari JT, Keuler NS, Atherton MJ, Lenz JA. Evaluation of mechlorethamine, vinblastine, procarbazine, and prednisone for the treatment of resistant multicentric canine lymphoma. Vet Comp Oncol. 2023;21(3):503-508. doi:10.1111/vco.12913.

Books/Book Chapters

  1. Prittie, J. and Ludwig, L. (2023). Pneumoperitoneum. In E. Monnet (Ed.). Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119693741.ch22 . John Wiley & Sons.
  2. Prittie, J. and Ludwig, L. (2023). Hemoperitoneum. In E. Monnet (Ed.).  Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119693741.ch21. John Wiley & Sons.
  3. Prittie, JE. And De Stefano, J. (2023). Administration of Other Biological Products. In J.M. Burkitt Creedon and H. Davis (Eds) Advanced Monitoring and Procedures for Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care. ). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119581154.ch68. John Wiley & Sons.
  4. Latney LV. Pain Recognition in Reptiles. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2023;26(1):27-41. doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2022.09.004.
  5. Latney LV. Updates for Reptile Pediatric Medicine. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. Published online December 13, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2023.11.013.
  6. Latney LV. Nutritive Support for Critical Exotic Patients. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2023;26(3):711-735. doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2023.05.009.

Letter to the Editor

  1. Rissi DR, Donovan TA, Barros CSL, Church ME, Koehler JW, Matiasek K, Miller AD, Porter BF. Letter to the editor: Overview of the Veterinary Cancer Guidelines and Protocols for CNS neoplasms of dogs and cats. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2023 Aug 23:10406387231194323. doi: 10.1177/10406387231194323. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37608762.
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