A proud moment for my school

This topic is more personally incredible than unbelievable, but I wanted to celebrate and share an area of growth for higher education that really hits home for me. Today, I was made very proud of my alma mater as it became the first school to train students in a critical area of stem cell therapy: veterinary technology.

Colby Community College (CCC), in my hometown of Colby, Kansas, was one of the initial veterinary technology programs in the U.S. to offer veterinary technology as a degree. Today, the college still has the only program fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association in Kansas.

The technology being touted today is the use of stem cell research in domestic animals and will allow animals with severe deformities or age–related issues that impede their movement, or even their quality of life, to be more productive and happy. The process is being pioneered byMedi-Vet-America and involves using fat tissue from the pet itself to secure the stem cells. From the fat tissue, adult stem cells are separated and activated then injected back into the problem areas of the animal’s body. 

The initial patient, a 9-year-old male Australian Shepherd and Blue Heeler mix named Rocky, suffers from severe arthritis in his hips. Rocky is lucky because his people include the instructor in charge of the program. Rocky is expected to be physically active at a higher level with little to no pain in about a month of today’s procedure. The uses of this technology move beyond the care of domesticated household animals to later advance awareness in the medical care of humans.

Adult stem cells are easier to use than the embryonic stem cells because there’s less chance the patient’s body will reject them. However, adult stem cells are also more difficult to isolate in mature tissue than embryonic cells, which can be easily grown in a culture. This makes the study and use of adult stem cells even more important as the patient can provide the means by which to heal instead of perpetuating the controversial use of embryonic stem cells.

As I am alumna from this institution, I am impressed with how CCC is leading the country in innovative research such as this. For a school with approximately 2,000 students both on and off-campus, offering the most current information in a growing field such as veterinary science is imperative for keeping pace with other institutions.  Being first in the nation to offer this type of advanced knowledge may mean a larger student population in the future. The program itself currently has 27 students and with this new technology and laboratory, the numbers should increase. In fact, because of the implications of this research, the college also received a $960,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop a Distance Learning Veterinary Technology Program, which is expected to start in January 2012. As for the town of Colby, with approximately 5,030 citizens, a booming academic institution provides a natural local resource for both furthering the education and job potential of area residents.

I’m also happy to see this research being done because my Lucy, an almost 2-year-old Dalmatian and Greyhound mix, will most likely have hip dysplasia as she ages. I relish the idea that, in a somewhat desolate and isolated part of Kansas, it would be possible to offset the painful future that would have been a given for my Lucy not that long ago. Although surgery is an option  many people are unable to afford the type of care related to surgery or dislike the idea of this type of invasive approach. 

Most importantly, however, I’m excited to know that the school where I started my higher education is now able to provide not only alternatives in pet care but also cutting edge scientific knowledge to current and future students. Go Trojans!