# Cornell University Veterinary Investigator Program

> **NIH NIH T35** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $67,480

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Veterinarians, aided by their wide-ranging and comparative education in veterinary medicine, make essential
contributions to biomedical discovery and public health. Yet, there is a well established shortage in the number
of veterinarians engaged in biomedical research. The Cornell University Veterinary Investigator Program (VIP)
seeks to improve this situation by providing full-time research laboratory experiences to veterinary students for
a 10-week period during the summer after their first or second year of veterinary school. The Program
additionally provides exposure to emerging research developments and new techniques, complementary skills
in written and oral science communication, and career guidance. The Veterinary Investigator Program has five
primary objectives: i) Provide DVM students with rigorous, hypothesis-driven mentored research experiences
and broad exposure to research techniques; ii) Promote the responsible conduct of research through training in
ethics and principles such as rigor and reproducibility; iii) Advance the science communication skills of DVM
student trainees, including abstract writing, poster presentation, and oral presentation; iv) Expose students to
cutting-edge biomedical areas and recent breakthroughs via lab-based experiences and faculty-led workshops;
and v) Demonstrate how students can incorporate research into their post-DVM careers through advanced
research training and/or by integrating research into a variety career pathways such as clinical practice, public
health, and academia, among others. The Veterinary Investigator Program is entering its 14th year. NIH T35
funding for the previous 10 years has provided support for 79 participants, leading to peer-reviewed publications
and future research funding, as well as significant career impacts. The admissions process at the Cornell
University College of Veterinary Medicine gives preference to those who express an interest in research, thereby
contributing to an exceptionally competitive application pool for the Veterinary Investigator Program. The
Program consists of 44 dedicated and collaborative faculty trainers, including approximately equal numbers of
men and women, and faculty representing all Professorial ranks. The faculty trainers hail from the five academic
Departments of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and have well funded and productive laboratories that
specialize in the following areas: Cancer; Cellular & Organismal Metabolism; Developmental Biology &
Reproduction; Genome Biology; Infection Biology; and Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells. By providing ten
interested students per year an opportunity to avail themselves of the wide range of superb faculty and resources
at Cornell University, the Veterinary Investigator Program strives to engage early stage veterinary trainees in
high impact biomedical research and to motivate them to pursue a career that includes rigorous scientific inquiry.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10401771
- **Project number:** 5T35OD010941-13
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert S Weiss
- **Activity code:** T35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $67,480
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-06-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10401771

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10401771, Cornell University Veterinary Investigator Program (5T35OD010941-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10401771. Licensed CC0.

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