Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
PULLMAN – Washington State University is helping to spend $23 million to study how dogs get old.
The Washington State University (WSU) College of Veterinary Medicine seeks local dogs to help in the Dog Aging Project, a five-year study to better understand how dogs get old, said a WSU spokesperson.
The National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the project.
Seven colleges of veterinary medicine around the country are participating in the study along with Texas A&M, University of Georgia, Iowa State University, Colorado State University, Oregon State University, and North Carolina State University.
“I am excited to work with a vast number of colleagues across the nation on an important subject. When many clinical scientists come together for such a large study, that’s when rapid progress happens,” stated Dr. O. Lynne Nelson, veterinary cardiologist in the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
There are about 90 million dogs in the United States.
“Nearly 30,000 dog owners have volunteered for this community science research project dedicated to understanding the biological and environmental determinants of canine aging,” the spokesperson stated.
The Dog Aging Project is looking for additional dog participants for the research. Because the Dog Aging Project is a long-term study, puppy participants are especially beneficial to the project. The research team wants to follow dogs through their entire lives.
To participate in the Dog Aging Project, owners nominate a dog (one per household) at the project website, DogAgingProject.org.
"The Dog Aging Project came in as an innovative approach to understand the process of aging. This is because of the remarkable similarities between humans and their canine companions … We're going to learn in a relatively shorter period of time than we would to study the human population,” stated Dr. Francesca Macchiarini, chief of the Biological Resources Branch in the National Institute on Aging’s Division of Aging Biology.
Bill Stevenson is the editor of Franklin Connection and the Whitman County Gazette. He has served as a TV news director, managing editor for a daily newspaper and national magazines for motorcycles and ATVs. He built an online news service in Grant County and has more than 20 years of journalism experience in Central Washington, from Oroville to Tri-Cities.
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