By Joe Montgomery
Division of Communications and Marketing
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University has been identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine as one of four Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers that will receive funding for work advancing regulatory science and further developing innovative products and approaches to better support animal health and veterinary interventions.While there are three areas of concentration for the innovation centers, K-State’s center was identified for its efforts to develop models that reliably and consistently evaluate the efficacy of analgesicsin food animals in support of new drug approvals. This work specifically supports pain relief in pigs, goats and cattle for painful diseases or surgical pain.
Mike Apley, professor of clinical pharmacology and interim head of the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, is one of the principal investigators and project leaders at K-State. He is joined by Eduarda Bortoluzzi, assistant professor of animal welfare. Hans Coetzee, K-State's interim vice president of research, is a collaborator due to his expertise in animal welfare and pain reliefs studies.Co-investigators include Raghavendra Amachawadi, associate professor of food animal therapeutics, and Emily Reppert, associate professor of large animal medicine. College of Veterinary Medicine staff members Misty Bear and Mikaela Weeder were also instrumental in putting the grant together.