Key Points
- Anchored by a generous $1.5 million gift, we are pleased to announce the launch of our veterinary medicine fundraising campaign.
- The newly named Claudine and Fritz Kundrun Veterinary Program is now seeking an additional $3 million to help fund innovative clinical trials in companion animals.
We are pleased to announce a new fundraising campaign in veterinary medicine, anchored by a generous $1.5 million gift from Claudine and Fritz Kundrun. The Claudine and Fritz Kundrun Veterinary Program is now seeking an additional $3 million to help fund innovative clinical trials in companion animals.
The Veterinary Program was created to advance focused ultrasound technology to benefit both companion animals and their owners. While veterinary medicine has historically lagged behind human medicine, that gap is beginning to close as we better understand the value of studying and treating naturally occurring diseases in dogs, cats, and horses.
“Our pets share many of the same environments as we do and are exposed to similar risk factors,” explains the Foundation’s Veterinary Program Director Tonya Cherukuri, PhD. “As a result, they develop many of the same diseases, often in ways that more closely reflect human conditions than those seen in laboratory models. Veterinary trials make new, innovative therapies available for family pets, while simultaneously contributing data that can be used to advance human medicine, creating a virtuous cycle where humans help animals help humans.”
To date, the program has funded nearly 30 clinical trials for 13 different conditions, including osteosarcoma, lymphoma, heart disease, diabetes, and tumors in the liver, bladder, brain, and mouth. This research is being carried out at 11 institutions, including Virginia Tech, Purdue University, and University of Texas Southwestern.
However, there are more clinical trials in the pipeline that will require an investment of $5 million over the next 3 to 5 years. Thanks to the Kundruns’ gift and co-funding commitments from other organizations, we have raised just under $2 million. Thus, a funding gap of approximately $3 million exists.
“We are deeply grateful to Claudine and Fritz for their extraordinary gift, which underscores the power of philanthropy to advance the One Medicine approach—recognizing the vital connection between animal and human health,” said Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD. “Their leadership sets a strong foundation for innovation and collaboration that will benefit patients across species. We invite others who share this vision to join us in building momentum for this critical work.”
Learn More and How to Give
To learn more about this campaign, read patient stories, and donate, visit our website.