Credit: John Enright/Cornell University

Rory Todhunter, Ph.D. ‘92, professor of surgery in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), has been named the inaugural director of the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center (RCHC). Todhunter will assume the position immediately. 

Launched with a transformational gift in 2021, the RCHC builds upon the long legacy of scientific inquiry and innovative clinical care at CVM, uniting over 50 experts across the college to advance research, engagement and outreach that will improve the lives of dogs and their owners around the world. The center, since launch, has awarded $1,795,929 in internal grant funding to support 16 canine health studies across a diverse range of disorders, including aging, behavior, cancer biology, genetics and genomics, infectious disease, immunology and nutrition. This includes a study conducted by Todhunter and his colleagues on Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (a devastating condition causing hip pain and lameness in growing small breed dogs) and the efficacy of low-pass whole genome sequencing to identify unbiased genetic polymorphisms associated with canine hip dysplasia. 

Read the full story on the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's site.