Efforts to better understand, prevent and treat laminitis will soon receive a boost.
Construction on the Nancy Fair Link Laminitis Research Center, a state-of-the-art research facility, is underway at Mississippi State University. Completion is expected by 2027.
Dedicated to studying laminitis
“This will be the only research center in the world dedicated entirely to equine laminitis,” says François-René Bertin, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (LAIM), who will serve as the research chair and director of the center. “We are building a unique combination of resources: a research barn designed specifically for laminitis studies, a laboratory equipped for advanced testing and a team of experts who work together every day. By concentrating all our efforts on this one devastating disease, we aim to make real progress.”
Noting that the new facilities will be “tailored from the ground up to meet the unique needs of our laminitis studies,” Bertin says the center will be equipped with cutting-edge research tools. “The center will house the latest imaging technologies, and we will also have advanced laboratory instruments that let us study laminitis at the molecular level,” he says. “Together, this high-tech approach will give us new insights into how the disease develops and how it can be stopped.”
Assembling a team
Overall, the center will have three faculty members dedicated to laminitis research and a team of 12 researchers in total, including graduate students and support staff. “We have successfully recruited the faculty for the center, and the search is currently underway for scientists to join the center’s team,” says Bertin. “We are recruiting internationally because our goal is to bring together the best minds in the world to tackle this problem. This mix of expertise and fresh perspectives will help drive innovation and collaboration.”
Funding for the construction and operation of the center is being provided by longtime Mississippi State University patron Nancy Fair Link, a horse owner who has had a heartbreaking firsthand experience with laminitis.
“Nancy Link has previous connections with Mississippi State University, and she inquired about laminitis research after losing one of her beloved horses, Bataal, to the disease,” says Nicholas Frank, DVM, PhD, DACVIM and dean of the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Her incredible generosity in funding the Nancy Fair Link Laminitis Research Center reflects her passion for horses and vision for advancing equine health in pleasure and workhorses.”
Click here to sign up for the FREE weekly EQUUS newsletter!