At the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, cancer care doesn’t stop at the exam room door. Our work with animal patients is helping shape how we diagnose, treat, and understand cancer across species—including people.

Many of the cancers we treat in pets—like lymphoma, melanoma, osteosarcoma, and bladder cancer—look and behave just like the cancers seen in humans. What we learn from one patient can inform care for another. When we treat a dog with bone cancer, for example, it can help doctors better understand the same disease in children. And when a new imaging agent highlights a tumor in a pet, it may pave the way for earlier detection in people, too.

This is what we mean by One Health: the idea that human and animal medicine are connected—and that breakthroughs in one can lead to discoveries in the other.

MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine is at the heart of this work. Our clinicians and scientists lead clinical trials, advance diagnostics, and treat some of the region’s most complex cancer cases. And because we’re part of a world-class research university, we collaborate closely with human medicine, engineering, and the life sciences—bringing broader expertise to every challenge we face.

Together, we’re exploring promising tools like PET/MRI imaging and targeted therapies. We’re refining the next generation of cancer diagnostics and testing treatments that may improve outcomes for both veterinary and human patients.

And we’re just getting started.

With support, we can expand clinical trials to more diseases, invest in the next wave of diagnostic technology, and accelerate the research that will define the future of cancer care. Your gift helps us move faster, think bigger, and bring hope to more patients—whether they walk on two legs or four.

When you support cancer research at MSU, you’re helping pets live longer, healthier lives—and bringing us closer to a world where no family—human or animal—faces cancer alone.

Goal: $25 million

Interested in making a difference? Contact the Development Team.