Penn Science Café: Dogs Leading the Fight Against Cancer

The University of Pennsylvania’s Nicola Mason, an assistant professor of medicine and pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, studies the immune systems of dogs, which happen to share many traits with those of humans. Mason will discuss her research, which has turned up novel cancer-fighting strategies that rely on activating pet dogs’ immune systems to shrink tumors. The successes of this approach leave scientists optimistic about possible translation to human medicine.

WHO:          Nicola Mason

                   Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pathobiology

                   School of Veterinary Medicine

                   University of Pennsylvania

WHAT:       Penn Science Café talk: “Hunting With the Hounds:

                  How Dogs Lead the Way in the Search for Effective Cancer Therapies” 

WHEN:       Tuesday, Oct. 22, 6-7 p.m. 

WHERE:    World Cafe Live Upstairs, 3025 Walnut St.

In this talk, veterinary researcher Nicola Mason will explain how pet dogs with cancers are leading the way to find novel, safe and effective cancer therapies for humans and other species. She will discuss the remarkable similarities between human and canine cancers and the story behind how human and veterinary medical scientists at Penn forged an alliance that has seen the latest, state-of-the-art therapies evaluated in clinical trials using pet dogs with spontaneous cancers. There have been promising results.

The talk is part of the Penn Science Café, presented by the School of Arts and Sciences and the Office of University Communications that takes science scholarship out of the lab for a night on the town. Café events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

Menu items will be available for purchase.

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