Senior Scientist and Scientific Advisor Tufts University Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Disclosure(s):
Daniel Promislow: Zoetis: Research grant of $50,000 from Zoetis, Inc. (Ongoing)
The Dog Aging Project is a longitudinal study of companion dogs designed to identify the genetic and environmental factors that influence aging, and the mechanisms by which they do so. Since its inception in 2020, more than 53,000 dogs have been enrolled. The Dog Aging Project tracks the health status of each participant through extensive annual owner-reported surveys and through veterinary electronic medical records. All Dog Aging Project data are made publicly available to maximize the long-term impact of the study. These data now include many tens of millions of data points. In addition to survey data, we also have detailed environmental data from public databases, matched to each dog. For a subset of dogs, this includes whole-genome sequencing and diverse molecular markers (epigenome, microbiome, metabolome, etc.). The Dog Aging Project makes many thousands of biospecimens available to the public through its biobank. In this session, we will provide an overview of the study design and available data, and discuss some of the lessons learned so far. In the scores of papers already published, the Dog Aging Project has established the power of this cohort to understand the causes and consequences of aging in companion dogs. But there is much more still to be done, and in particular, relatively little work has been done until now on cancer in the Dog Aging Project cohort. Given the considerable variation among breeds in cancer risk, the cohort presents us with an excellent opportunity to identify novel genetic and environmental factors, and to understand how genetic and environmental effects are modified by age. The session will include two presentations. First, Dr. Daniel Promislow, D.Phil, co-founder and co-Principal Investigator of the Dog Aging Project, will provide an overview of the study, its findings until now, and opportunities for ongoing research with Dog Aging Project resources. Following Dr. Promislow’s presentation, Dr. Heather Wilson-Robles, DVM DACVIM, will give a presentation on the potential for the Dog Aging Project to discover novel genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that influence cancer risk in companion dogs.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will better understand the hierarchy of evidence and why large scale prospective studies are necessary for advancing comparative oncology.
Upon completion, participants will be able to articulate how standardized diagnostics, harmonized staging, and longitudinal data collection improve the reliability of clinical insights across species.
Upon completion, participants will gain insight into protocol alignment, data quality assurance, digital infrastructure, and clinician engagement strategies necessary for successful large scale collaboration.
Upon completion, participants will gain insight into the potential of high-dimensional '-omic' measures to develop novel biomarkers to predict and diagnose disease.
