Winn Feline Foundation awards grants, requests proposals

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The Winn Feline Foundation announced in April that it had awarded $214,017 for feline health studies. The foundation also called for proposals for feline health studies, including research specifically on feline infectious peritonitis.

Winn Feline Foundation logo

The foundation awarded grants for the following studies:

  • “Generating and using adult stem cells to treat feline diabetes;” Dr. Mandi Lopez, Louisiana State University; $23,825.
  • “Evaluating new treatments for feline hepatic lipidosis;” Dr. Hedwig Kruitwagen and Bart Spee, PhD, Utrecht University; $12,987.
  • “Evaluating the prolonged use of an antacid, famotidine, in cats;” Drs. M. Katherine Tolbert and Adesola Odunayo, University of Tennessee; $19,668
  • “Evaluating the effect of probiotic therapy on feline Tritrichomonas foetus infection;” Dr. M. Katherine Tolbert and Rachel Dickson at the University of Tennessee; Dr. Jody Gookin at North Carolina State University; $17,864.
  • “Mechanisms by which feline mesenchymal stem cells regulate T-cell activation and proliferation;” Dr. Dori Borjesson, University of California-Davis; $13,000.
  • “Cryopreservation of feline red blood cells for transfusions using different solutions;” Drs. Marcelle Hon and Elizabeth Thomovsky, Purdue University; $11,666.
  • “Shelter cat adoption in families of children with autism;” Gretchen Carlisle, PhD, and Rebecca Johnson, PhD, University of Missouri; $24,996.
  • “Foraging behavior under threat and enrichment in confined cats;” Drs. Melissa Bain and Tony Buffington, University of California-Davis; $24,780.
  • “Analysis of plasma to identify biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of FIP;” Drs. Gregg Dean and Kelly Santangelo, Colorado State University; $25,000.
  • “Growing heart muscle cells in a dish in the lab to test HCM treatments;” Dr. David Connolly at the Royal Veterinary College; Debbie Guest, PhD, at the Animal Health Trust; Cesare Terracciano, MD, at Imperial College London; $17,158.
  • “A viral gene expression analysis towards preventing feline lymphoma;” Julia Beatty, PhD; Mahdis Aghazadeh, PhD; Vanessa Barrs, PhD, University of Sydney; $23,073.

Through a grant from the George Sydney and Phyllis Redman Miller Trust, Winn Feline Foundation is able to fund additional feline health studies each year. In a special funding opportunity through the Bria Fund for FIP research, the foundation also is calling for research proposals that address FIP genetics and molecular biology, prevention, novel diagnostics, and safe and effective treatments.

Aug. 7 is the deadline for receipt of applications for Miller Trust and FIP grants. The maximum grant is $35,000. Details are available here.