Grant to help fund veterinary parasitology center

Stillwater, Okla.

-- The Oklahoma State University Foundation received a $225,000 grant from Novartis Animal Health for laboratory renovations and start-up costs for the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology (NCVP).

The NCVP will be a national diagnostic testing center for clinical veterinary parasitologists. Novartis will provide financial support, serve on the NCVP's advisory board and interact with graduate students and residents in training.

Lab renovations for the center are to begin this year, with graduate studies to be offered in 2010.

"In the last several years there has been a decline in veterinary parasitology training in the United States," says Dr. Michael Lorenz, dean of Oklahoma State's Center for Veterinary Health Sciences. "The NCVP is an opportunity for us to continue training in the discipline and provide a source for national diagnostic testing."

"Novartis shares the OSU vision for the center and will be an active sponsor in its mission," says Fabian Kausche, MS, Dr. med vet., the company's global head of research and development.