The College of Veterinary Medicine had a brush with royalty Sept. 18 as Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the king of Malaysia, toured the facilities and discussed potential future collaborations between Cornell and Universiti Putra Malaysia, the Malaysian national university.

Accompanied by Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysian ambassador to the United States; Nik Mustapha R. Abdullah, vice chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia; Bashir Ahmad Fateh Mohamed, dean of veterinary medicine at the university; Nasir Shamsudin, dean of the university's agriculture faculty; and other officials, the king made the rounds: from the college's imaging and radiation therapy facilities to the large-animal surgical area and equine treadmill.

Along the way, the monarch chatted with tour guides Michael Kotlikoff, dean of the Vet College; Alfonso Torres, associate dean for veterinary public policy; and others.

The entourage capped the visit with a perfect-weather walk through the Equine Research Park on Warren Road, guided by park director Maurice (Pete) White, professor of population medicine and diagnostic science.

Alice Pell, vice provost for international relations, also greeted the monarch and presented him with a gift -- a globe with a Cornell seal -- on behalf of President David Skorton, who had previous commitments in New York with the Cornell Board of Trustees.

The tour was largely focused on equine medicine, based on the king's passion for horses and competitive endurance riding -- but there were a few surprises along the way. In the radiation therapy suite, Margaret McEntee, professor of oncology, treated the monarch to images of a carpet python named Betty, who had received radiation therapy for a tumor.

The soft-spoken monarch was so delighted that he called his photographer over to take pictures of the computer screen.

("When we have a python in Malaysia, we just send it away," observed the amused ambassador Jarjis. "We do not send it to hospital.")

The treadmill in the Equine Performance Testing Clinic, demonstrated by a dutiful and highly tolerant thoroughbred gelding named Ki, was also a hit. As entourage members snapped pictures with their cell phones, the king paid careful attention to explanations behind the ultrasound, EKG and videoendoscope (which tests airway function).

The royal visit stemmed from a long-standing collaboration between Hussni Mohammed, Cornell professor of epidemiology (who arranged the visit along with Norm Ducharme, medical director for the Cornell University Hospital for Animals) and Universiti Putra Malaysia's Bashir Mohamed.

The Obama administration's efforts to reach out to foreign partners were a factor in the timing, Ambassador Jarjis added.

Expanding connections between the two universities could benefit both, said Mohammed, giving Cornell scientists a new platform for research in tropical conditions, and Malaysian faculty and students a chance to learn from the cutting-edge research and technology at Cornell.

No firm plans were set during the visit, but Bill Horne, director of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, said it was an important first step.

"I thought it went wonderfully," Horne said, noting that the king seemed enthusiastic about the visit and prospects for future collaboration.

"If we can link interests between our programs in equine medicine and theirs, it could lead to an international collaboration that will have multiple layers," Horne said. "I'm looking forward to it."