Speakers
Allenspach, Karin
I am a clinician-scientist and have been employed as a faculty in academia for the last 20 years. I have broad background in small animal internal medicine (Diplomate European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine DECVIM-CA) with a special emphasis on gastroenterology and oncology. I am currently funding and supervising 15 members of the SMART Comparative Medicine Laboratory at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, with Co-PI Dr. Mochel. My lab is working on the phenotypic and functional characterization of canine epithelial organoids in comparison to human and mouse organoids. Most recently, I have engaged in the in-depth study of patient-derived tumor organoids (PDOs) and their application to predict in-vivo treatment responses in canine and human cancer. My latest efforts have resulted in the founding of a start-up company (3D HEALTH SOLUTIONS, INC.) which has the overall goal of commercializing assays for drug screening based on organoid methods in dogs and other animals. My ultimate vision is to reduce the future need for in vivo use of healthy dogs and other animal models.