
The CTSA One Health Alliance (COHA), supported by a CTSA Innovation Award from NIH/NCATS, is supporting 2-year research fellowships to engage veterinary clinical specialists in inter-disciplinary research teams.
The COHA Translational Research Fellowship provides 2 years of support for research training of residency trained veterinary specialists. The Fellowship provides a salary stipend at the NIH postdoctoral pay scale, plus $2,500 for travel or training-related expenses. Fellows must devote at least 75% effort to research, but may supplement this with up to 25% effort devoted to clinical duties that are relevant to the proposed research and are funded separately by the training institution. Fellows must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents for this NIH-funded initiative.
Fellowship applications are closed. For more information about COHA fellowships, please contact Dr. Lauren Trepanier ([email protected]) or Dr. Rob Rebhun ([email protected])
Congratulations to our COHA fellows appointed to date!
COHA Translational Research Fellowship: 2022 Cohort

AMANDA WATKINS, VMD
RESIDENCY TRAINED IN LARGE ANIMAL SURGERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Treat Post-Surgical Orthopedic Infection
Dr. Watkins will be working on the efficacy of cold plasma, plasma activated liquid, and immune activation in a sheep model of MRSA bone fracture infections.
Mentor Team at the University of Pennsylvania
- Thomas Schaer, VMD
- Theresa Freeman, PhD
- Noreen Hickok, PhD
- Javad Parvisi, MD, MS, FRCS

ELSA LUDWIG DVM, MS, DACVS-LA
RESIDENCY TRAINED IN LARGE ANIMAL SURGERY AT VIRGINIA-MARYLAND
Normothermic Machine Perfusion, Cold Storage Preservation, and Intestinal Allograft Viability
Dr. Ludwig is a PhD candidate in North Carolina State University’s Comparative Gastroenterology Lab and will be working on allograft preservation in a porcine model.
Mentor Team at North Carolina State University and Duke University
- Liara Gonzalez, DVM, PhD, DACVS-LA
- Anthony Blikslager, DVM, PhD, DACVS-LA
- Jody Gookin DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
- Christopher Dekaney, PhD
- Andrew Barbas, MD

HYUN-TAE (HUNTER) KIM, DVM, MS
RESIDENCY TRAINED IN VETERINARY CLINICAL NUTRITION AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Mechanisms of Diet-Induced Immunomodulation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Dr. Kim will work on mast cell and T cell programing in inflammatory bowel disease using intestinal samples from human and canine patients.
Mentor Team at the University of Pennsylvania
- Elizabeth Lennon DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
- Dan Beiting PhD
- De’Broski Herbert PhD
- Nicole Maloney Belle MD, PhD
COHA TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP: 2021 COHORT
Benjamin Curtis DVM, residency trained in Anatomic Pathology at Colorado State University.
Development of mucosal vaccines using a systems immunology approach
Dr. Curtis will work on the use of probiotic adjuvants for the development of oral vaccines against SARS CoV2, feline enteric coronavirus, and human and murine rotaviruses.
Mentor Team at Colorado State University
- Gregg Dean, DVM, PhD, DACVP (primary mentor)
- Zaid Abdo, PhD
- Marcela Henao-Tamayo, MD, PhD
- Allison Vilander, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Ellen Sherrick, DVM. 3rd year Medical Oncology resident at North Carolina State University.
Neuronal regulation of acute chemoradiotherapy-associated pain in patients with head and neck cancer
Dr. Sherrick will examine the role of neurons that express the TRPM8 ion channel in acute orofacial radiation-associated pain and perform pain phenotyping in humans and dogs undergoing chemoradiation for spontaneous head and neck cancers.
Mentor Team at North Carolina State University
- Michael Nolan, DVM, PhD, DACVR (RO) - primary mentor
- Matthew Breen, PhD
- Margaret Gruen DVM, MVPH, PhD, DACVB
- Duncan Lascelles BVsc, PhD, DACVS, DECVS
- Santosh Mishra, PhD
- Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD

Elizabeth Rose, DVM (Anatomic Path)
NC State Mentors: Anthony Blikslager DVM, PhD, DACVS; Amanda Ziegler DVM, PhD; Laurianne Van Landeghem PhD; Jack Odle PhD
Enhancing postnatal development of intestinal microbiome, neural networks and mucosal repair
COHA Translational Research Fellowship: 2020 Cohort

Britt Levy VMD (Dermatology)
U Penn Mentors: Aimee Payne MD, PhD; Nicola Mason BVetMed, PhD, DACVIM
Comparative immunology and cellular immunotherapy of human and canine pemphigus

Alexa Spittler, DVM, MS (Lab An Med)
Colorado State Mentors: Daniel Gustafson PhD; Kelly Santangelo DVM, PhD, DACVP; Miranda Sadar DVM, DACZM
Efficacy of cannabidiol in a rodent model of primary osteoarthritis

Angela Gaesser DVM (LA Surgery)
U Penn Mentors: Kyla Ortved DVM, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR; Thomas Schaer VMD, Jason Burdick PhD
An injectable hydrogel for sustained release of extracellular vesicles as a treatment for posttraumatic osteoarthritis