Cornell University: Veterinary College sees new wellspring of funding from USDA

The College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is getting in touch with its roots. While CVM has long been a major recipient of biomedical research grant funding — ranking second in NIH grant annual award funding among veterinary colleges — this year has seen a notable increase in grants from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a hat tip to the college’s earlier focus on serving the livestock and agricultural industries. Eight new grants totaling over $5.2M have been awarded to college faculty — a record total of USDA grant dollars for the college.

“Our activities as a veterinary college tie in closely with the objectives related to agricultural animals,” says Dr. Robert Weiss, associate dean of research and graduate education, “but it is not an area where we’ve had this level of funding in the recent past. It’s terrific to now see our faculty gaining that recognition and support.”

Dr. Yrjö Gröhn, James Law Professor of Epidemiology and longtime recipient of USDA funding, is excited to see this recent uptick. “I don’t remember a year where there have been so many USDA awards,” he says. Not only is this a great benefit to the college, it’s a great accomplishment for the faculty member, Gröhn adds. “Getting these grants is a really exciting thing for an investigator, and it often leads to more awards in the future.”