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Clinical Metabolimics and Microbiomics Initiative

Welcome to the Clinical Metabolimics and Microbiomics Initiative at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. We are working with pet owners and using the latest scientific techniques to understand and combat complex digestive diseases of cats and dogs.

We employ cutting edge research methods to understand complex diseases affecting dogs and cats (i.e. we want to take these complicated methods out of the lab and apply them to animals in the “real” world)

Our current research is centered on the investigation of complex digestive diseases and the interactions between an animal and its microbiome (the bacteria living inside all of us).

We are currently applying the following cutting edge investigative tools and approaches in tandem to discover the causes and consequences of poorly understood and complicated disease:

  • Metabolomic analysis – reveals the inner workings of a patient’s cells by detecting small chemicals produced in states of health and disease. This approach will help us to understand how nutrition, environmental factors, and genetics influence a patients state of health by investigating complicated metabolic pathways.
  • Microbiomic analysis – identifies and characterizes the bacteria living on and within our patient’s bodies and helps us to understand the relationship that these bacteria have with each other and their host.

These investigative methods have broad applications in discovering the cause of complex diseases, developing new diagnostic tests, and designing new treatment strategies for our patients.

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My Cat Is Too Skinny!

Learn how veterinary researchers are discovering the cause of some older cats’ digestive disorders, and how you can help.

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EPI in Dogs

Help us beat EPI—exocrine pancreatic insufficiency—a condition in which the dog’s body does not produce the enzymes needed to digest food.

Thank you, donors!