Fresh Scoop: Recent Episodes
Morris Animal Foundation
The science of animal health is ever-changing, and veterinarians need cutting-edge research information to give their patients the best possible care. Each month, join Dr. Kelly Diehl, Scientific Adviser at Morris Animal Foundation, as she interviews Foundation-funded researchers and discusses the clinical implications of their work. Whether you’re a practicing veterinarian, technician or student, or just an animal-loving science geek, Fresh Scoop is the podcast for you. Learn more at morrisanimalfoundation.org.
Join Drs. Kelly Diehl and Rob Silver as they discuss integrative veterinary medicine, including supplements such as herbs, pre- and probiotics and mushrooms, as well as safety guidelines and education resources for pet parents and veterinarians.
Morris Animal Foundation does not endorse products presented in the context of our podcasts.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with equine health expert Dr. Sharanne Raidal about colic in horses. The pair talk about diagnosis, causes and treatment. Dr. Raidal also covers her latest research on the risks of transportation on colic.
Dr. Kelly Diehl sits down with Valerie Benka and Audrey Ruple to discuss their new paper looking at associations between obesity/overweight and gonadectomy status, sex, age at gonadectomy, and breed size. They also discuss how their study is similar, and where their findings differ, from previously published studies.
Dr. Kelly Diehl sits down with Dr. Al Chicoine to learn more about CBD and its potential to treat diseases in dogs and cats. The pair discuss the basics of how CBD interacts with receptors in the body, what we know from published studies, what we don't know (yet) and what's on the research horizon.
Drs. Kelly Diehl and Audrey Ruple discuss the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study and the Dog Aging Project, and what we can learn about dog health from these large, prospective studies.
In this episode, Dr Kelly Diehl sits down for a question-and-answer session with Dr. Lauren Richman, a second-year veterinary dentistry resident, to discuss dental health in dogs and cats. The pair cover preventive care, common dental problems and what pet owners can do to keep their pets smiling!
Drs. Kelly Diehl and Nina Kieves talk about osteoarthritis in cats and dogs including clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and what pet parents can do to keep their furry friends comfortable and active!
Dr. Kelly Diehl chats with Dr. Emily Rout from the Clinical Hematopathology Laboratory at Colorado State University about lymphoma in dogs and cats. The pair focus on diagnosis of lymphoma as well as what the team at CSU is learning about new subtypes of this cancer in dogs. The pair also touch on other blood abnormalities that can look like lymphoma but are benign.
Dr. Kelly Diehl sits down with turtle and tortoise experts Dr. Justin Perrault of Loggerhead MarineLife Center and Dr. Greg Lewbart from North Carolina State University to discuss the health threats affecting wild turtles and tortoises and learn more about their efforts to improve the well-being of these unique, and often over-looked, animals.
Dr. Kelly Diehl sits down with turtle and tortoise experts Dr. Justin Perrault of Loggerhead MarineLife Center and Dr. Greg Lewbart from North Carolina State University to discuss the health threats affecting wild turtles and tortoises and learn more about their efforts to improve the well-being of these unique, and often over-looked, animals.
Dr. Kelly Diehl sits down with Dr. Lauren Trepanier, Professor of Internal Medicine and the Assistant Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to discuss what is known - and what isn't - about the link between environmental toxins and pollutants and cancer development in dogs and cats. The pair take a deep dive into the current literature and Dr. Trepanier discusses her research projects focused on answering these questions
Dr. Kelly Diehl chats with Dr. Gabriele Landolt of Colorado State University about the "flu" in animals. The pair discuss how influenza viruses perpetuate in the environment and how some, but not all, animals are affected by influenza. Dr. Landolt discusses how to keep companion animals such as dogs and horses safe when influenza strikes. The pair also touch on how these viruses can mutate to infect new species, including people
Dr. Kelly Diehl discusses hemangiosarcoma in dogs with a team of experts from the University of Minnesota. The group talk about new data regarding this deadly cancer of dogs, the latest research findings and how new ways of approaching the disease could save lives.
Dr. Kelly Diehl discusses MRSA and pets with Dr. Meghan Davis of Johns Hopkins University. The pair talk about Dr. Davis’s research on how MRSA, people and pets intersect, and they discuss steps pet parents can take to keep their pets – and themselves – safe.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Barbara Kitchell about the latest research using repurposed drugs in veterinary medicine, with a focus on new cancer therapies for pets.
Bats have a reputation as virus spreaders – is that fair? What’s the truth about bats, viruses and the spread of disease. Host Dr. Kelly Diehl asks virus expert Dr. Angela Bosco-Lauth to separate truth from fiction when it comes to bats and their viruses.
Rabies is an ancient disease but there's still a lot to be learned about prevention, treatment, and the impact the disease has on global health. Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Darryn Knobel, an epidemiologist and rabies expert, about his work on rabies in animals, the effect of rabies on human health, and his hopes for the future.
Drs. Kelly Diehl and Felix Duerr discuss the ins and outs of osteoarthritis in dogs and cats. Dr. Duerr shares his experiences treating this very common disease of older pets and discusses the latest information on treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs and cats, including his cutting-edge research projects.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Kris Hiney about horse behavior and how a deeper understanding of behavior can have a major impact on horse welfare. Dr. Hiney talks about her new study focused on teaching horse owners, veterinarians and caregivers how to recognize subtle clues to horse affective states, and what she hopes to accomplish long-term to improve horse welfare.
Dr. Kelly Diehl and Dr. Kristyn Vitale get catty as they discuss feline behavior. Learn about house soiling, training, scratching behavior and a whole lot more!
Dr. Kelly Diehl chats with Dr. Julia Labadie, Golden Retriever Lifetime Study epidemiologist, and gets an update on the latest facts and figures as the Study reaches its tenth anniversary!
Dr. Kelly Diehl speaks with Dr. Michael Povelones from the University of Pennsylvania about mosquitos and heartworm disease in animals. They talk about the role of the mosquito in disease transmission and new research avenues focused on this pathway as a new preventive measure. Not only could this research impact heartworm disease in animals but it could have translational value for other deadly mosquito-borne disease such as malaria and dengue!
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Aryn Wilder of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance about her work with the Pacific pocket mouse. Although the species is recovering, Dr. Wilder discusses some of the challenges that come with saving a species when only a few individuals are left.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Eva Furrow of the University of Minnesota about bladder stones in dogs. Learn more about Dr. Furrow’s research, where the science of urinary stone formation is heading and what that could mean for dog owners
Dr. Kelly Diehl gets down and dirty on fecal microbial transplantation with Dr. Jenessa Winston, Assistant Professor and clinician scientist at The Ohio State University. Dr. Winston discusses the history of this procedure, and how veterinarians are using the technique to treat a variety of diseases, and what the future might hold for this unique therapy.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Daniella Chusyd about forest elephants, which were recently designated as a new species. Found in Africa, forest elephants face unique challenges. Dr. Chusyd discusses the species, their unique health challenges, and their struggle for survival.
Dr. Kelly Diehl speaks with Drs. Janny de Grauw and Diane Howard about the challenge of detecting and measuring chronic pain in horses.
Join Dr. Kelly Diehl and Dr. Alex Moskaluk of Colorado State University as they discuss ringworm in cats, and how Dr. Moskaluk's research could help thousands of affected animals!
Join Drs. Kelly Diehl and David L. Anderson as they discuss saving the critically endangered Ridgway's hawk from parasitism as well as global health threats to all raptors.
Join Drs. Kelly Diehl and Margaret Gruen as they discuss cognitive dysfunction in dogs (and cats), including signs of decline, monitoring tools and quality of life for both pets and owners.
Dr. Kelly Diehl interviews Dr. Annette McCoy, Assistant Professor of Equine Surgery at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine. The two discuss leg fractures in horses and McCoy’s latest Foundation-funded study, which is evaluating the long-term effects of a moderately strenuous exercise plan on bone development in foals. Her team is collecting data for an algorithm they hope to use to design exercise programs for foals to reduce risk of injuries later in life.
Dr. Kelly Diehl interviews Dr. Laura Selmic, Associate Professor in Surgical Oncology at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, about her Foundation-funded work to evaluate a new diagnostic tool for use in treating feline injection-site sarcomas. Selmic’s team investigated the use of optical coherence tomography in detecting cancer cells left behind following removal of injection-site sarcomas in client-owned cats undergoing surgery.
Dr. Kelly Diehl asks all the questions you've ever had about fiber for your pets, but were afraid to ask, to Dr. Aarti Kathrani, Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the United Kingdom’s Royal Veterinary College. They cover different properties of fiber, its effects on the gastrointestinal tract, and even some disadvantages about dietary fiber use, among other topics.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about hyperthyroidism in cats with Dr. Ellen Behrend, the Joezy Griffin Endowed Professor and Alumni Professor at Auburn University. The two discuss what is known about the disease, methods to diagnose it and treatment options.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about salmonella in horses with Dr. Brandy Burgess, an associate professor at the Department of Population Health at the University of Georgia. The two discuss what we know about the bacterial disease, current management strategies and challenges it poses to veterinarians. Dr. Burgess also talks about her current Foundation-funded research, which is determining the duration of salmonella shedding among test-positive horses.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about bloat in dogs (also known as gastric dilatation and volvulus) with Dr. Elizabeth Rozanski, an associate professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Rozanski discusses the physiology of bloat, factors affecting prognosis, and prevention. She also covers her Foundation-funded research, which studied how bloat affected blood clotting and heart function.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Kristyn Vitale, an assistant professor of animal health and behavior at Maine’s Unity College. They share insights on feline behavior, a neglected but important area of cat health and well-being. Dr. Vitale busts popular myths about cat sociability, trainability and more.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Robin Tinghitella, an associate professor of Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Denver. They discuss Dr. Tinghitella’s new project to investigate if noise pollution is harming cricket populations and, subsequently, the wildlife food chains of which they are an essential part. In this study, crickets will serve as a model for invertebrates to help answer questions about the health and reproductive consequences of noise.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Patricia Harris, a European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition. They discuss the equine obesity epidemic and how to determine a horse’s body condition. Dr. Harris also offers advice for owners on how to help their horse lose weight, as well as strategies to prevent obesity.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Marge Chandler, the clinical nutritionist for Vets Now Referrals in Glasgow, Scotland. They discuss obesity in pets, the latest science about it and what owners can do to keep their pets trim.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Drs. Josh Stern and Ronald Li, Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. They discuss how arterial thromboembolism in cats is treated, as well as their efforts to improve diagnosis and treatments.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Anna Jolles, an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at Oregon State University. They discuss tuberculosis in African buffalo and Dr. Jolles’ Foundation-funded work to understand how disease interventions for TB can affect population health in the long run.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Annette McCoy, an assistant professor of Equine Surgery at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The two discuss osteochondrosis, a significant health and welfare issue for horses. They also cover Dr. McCoy’s Morris Animal Foundation-funded study to try to identify genetic risk factors for development of the disease.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Karen Munana, a professor of veterinary neurology at North Carolina State University. The two discuss seizures in dogs and Dr. Munana’s Foundation-funded study to evaluate the use of a collar-mounted accelerometer to detect seizures in epileptic dogs. The two also do a little seizure myth busting.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Vanessa Barrs, a virologist and Associate Dean and Director of Veterinary Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong. The two discuss feline viruses and Dr. Barrs’ Foundation-funded study on feline panleukopenia. They also dive into the topic of COVID-19, in relation to pets.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Lauren Schnabel, Associate Professor of Equine Orthopedic Surgery at North Carolina State University. The two discuss Schnabel’s new therapy to combat persistent joint infections in horses, potentially saving them from years of pain. Her team developed a platelet-rich plasma lysate that, when teamed with antibiotics, can eradicate bacterial biofilms common in joint infections.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Susan Kutz, a wildlife veterinary parasitologist and Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. The two discuss how climate change impacts Arctic animals through disease. Dr. Kutz also talks about her Foundation-funded research to monitor stress levels and the health of wild musk oxen to help inform conservation strategies.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks feline chronic kidney disease with Dr. Jessica Quimby, Associate Professor at The Ohio State University. They discuss the causes of this common disease of older cats and Dr. Quimby talks about her Foundation-funded research on how kidneys age and become damaged.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Molly McCue, Associate Dean of Research, and Professor, at the University of Minnesota. They discuss equine metabolic syndrome, a serious and increasingly common disease in horses. Dr. McCue also discusses her Foundation-funded research to better define the syndrome and understand its risk factors.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Jody Gookin, Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at North Carolina State University, about gall bladder mucoceles, an increasingly common, and potentially deadly, disease of dogs. Dr. Gookin discusses the disease, her research on how mucoceles form and how we might prevent them in the future.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Judi Stella, Research Associate at The Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine, and a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher. The two discuss cat welfare and her research to find strategies shelter managers and private practice veterinarians can use to reduce stress for cats.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Valerie McKenzie, Associate Professor in the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher. The two discuss the worldwide problem of the chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Dr. McKenzie’s recent efforts to stop it in boreal toads.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Kate Hurley, Director of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program and the University of California, Davis, and a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher. The two discuss the history of animal shelters in the United States and Dr. Hurley explains her study on how to decrease cases of feline respiratory disease in shelter cats.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks again to Dr. Missy Simpson, Study Epidemiologist for the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. The two discuss the first substantial findings of the Study, about how spaying or neutering large-breed dogs can put them at a higher risk for obesity and, if done when the dog is young, non-traumatic orthopedic injuries.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about laminitis with Dr. Janet Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer. The two cover the disease’s scope, current treatment and new research addressing it. They also discuss what horse owners can do to help prevent this debilitating disease.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Jordan Karubian, Associate Professor at Tulane University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, about his latest study, which found that mockingbirds exposed to sub-lethal levels of lead in urban areas display heightened aggression. He says the findings highlight the possibility that sub-lethal lead exposure may be common among other wildlife living in urban areas and more work is needed to better understand its full effects.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about equine herpes virus with Dr. Tracy Stokol, Professor of Clinical Pathology at Cornell University. The two cover this devastating disease, as well as Dr. Stokol’s recent Morris Animal Foundation-funded research into certain white blood cells, called monocytes, to help horses fight equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV1) infections.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about gastric acid secretion issues in dogs and cats with Dr. Katie Tolbert, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Texas A & M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Tolbert also discusses her Morris Animal Foundation-funded work to evaluate the effectiveness of a commonly prescribed drug for chronic kidney disease in cats.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about spinal cord injuries and diseases among cats and dogs with Dr. Natasha Olby, Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at North Carolina State University. Dr. Olby discusses her Morris Animal Foundation-funded work to find treatments and optimize recovery for these issues.
Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about mitral valve disease in dogs with Dr. Kate Meurs, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Meurs discusses her Morris Animal Foundation-funded study to identify genetic mutations to recognize dogs that would be at risk for developing the disease, and how veterinarians might intervene.
Dr. Kelly Diehl discusses equine eye diseases and genetic testing issues with Dr. Rebecca Bellone, the Director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at UC, Davis, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction at that university. Dr. Bellone covers some of the most common ocular diseases in horses, genetic testing to detect those diseases and her Morris Animal Foundation-funded work.
Dr. Kelly Diehl discusses feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with Dr. Elizabeth Rozanski, a veterinary researcher and clinician with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The ailment is the most common form of heart disease in cats, where the muscle in the heart itself thickens to the point that the heart can no longer function correctly to pump blood through the rest of the body. Ultimately, this can lead to heart failure. Dr. Rozanski details this problem and her Morris Animal Foundation-funded research, which looks at ways to train veterinarians to screen cats for the disease.
As hunting season begins, Dr. Diehl discusses chronic wasting disease with Dr. Dave Edmunds, a research scientist at Colorado State University’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. This is a fatal, neurological disease that affects members of the deer family, which was first detected in 1967. Dr. Edmunds covers many aspects about the disease, including its history and biology, and his Morris Animal Foundation-funded research to better understand it.
Join Dr. Kelly Diehl in Fresh Scoop's debut episode as she interviews Missy Simpson, Morris Animal Foundation Veterinary Epidemiologist, about the Foundation's Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. This is the most comprehensive, prospective canine health study in the United States, and follows more than 3,000 golden retrievers, throughout their lives, to identify the nutritional, environmental, lifestyle and genetic risk factors for cancer and other diseases in dogs.