The board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced that it has authorized expenditure of $2,693,312 to fund 16 new projects and 10 continuing projects at 17 universities as well as two career development awards. The 2025 slate of research brings Grayson’s totals since 1940 to more than $44.4 million to underwrite more than 450 projects at 48 universities.

“I’m very proud of Grayson’s commitment to furthering the research and development of projects that affect all horses, no matter their breed or discipline,” said Jamie Haydon, president of Grayson. “We are equally ecstatic that we could offer our two career development awards to this year’s recipients, continuing to cultivate a future for young researchers.”

Below is an alphabetical list by school of the new projects:

Can Smartphone-Based Sensors Provide Reliable And Repeat able Lameness Data   

Melissa King, Colorado State University

This project will test the reliability and repeatability of body-mounted and smartphone IMU sensors with machine learning and computational algorithms in lame and non-lame horses.

Chimeric VP7-VP4 MVA-Vectored Equine Rotavirus Vaccines 

Mariano Carossino, Louisiana State University

In this study novel chimeric vaccinia-vectored vaccines against equine rotavirus A G3 and G14, the leading cause of foal diarrhea, will be designed and evaluated in mice (proof-of-concept) and mares.

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Ex Vivo DFTS Adhesion Model To Evaluate Therapies  

Lauren Schnabel, North Carolina State University

This project will advance our understanding and treatment of adhesions that occur in the digital flexor tendon sheath of horses following injury and result in improved prognosis for performance.

Effects Of SGLT2i On Triamcinolone-Induced Equine ID

Teresa Burns, The Ohio State University

This proposal will evaluate the degree to which joint injections with triamcinolone worsen insulin dysregulation in horses with ID and if use of canagliflozin at time of injection mitigates it.

Finite Element Analysis Of SDFT Microdamage

Sushmitha Durgam, The Ohio State University

This proposal will study the multi-scale finite element models (FEM) that predict equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) mechanical behavior that are essential to delineate microdamage mechanisms preceding clinical injury.

A Molecular Study On Hemorrhagic Anovulatory Follicles

Eduardo Gastal, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

This study investigates gene and hormone levels in HAFs, the leading cause of ovulation failure in mares, using a novel technique (Follicle Wall Biopsy-Trinity) to collect multiple follicular samples.

Improving a VapA mRNA Vaccine For R. Equi In Foals

Noah Cohen, Texas A&M University

The aim of this study is to improve the design of a mRNA vaccine for foals to provide stronger, longer immunity against Rhodococcus equi, a leading cause of disease and death in foals worldwide.

Organoid Model For Equine Placentitis Research

Pouya Dini, University of California-Davis

This project’s aim is to develop an in vitro model of equine placentitis to advance the study of this condition, ultimately improving diagnostics, treatments, and pregnancy outcomes.

Genetics Of Cervical Spine Malformations In The Horse

Carrie Finno, University of California-Davis

This study will identify genetic causes for abnormal formation of the cervical spine in horses.

Pharmacokinetics And Efficacy Of Pregabalin In Horses

Heather Knych, University of California-Davis

The study seeks to investigate the behavior of an analgesic agent approved for use in humans for the treatment of persistent pain, as a first step in assessing the utility of this drug for pain control in horses.

Characterization Of Antibodies Against Equine IL-31

Rosanna Marsela, University of Florida

This proposal aims to develop a new treatment for equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) by targeting a key itch mediator, providing an alternative to steroids.

Characterization Of Laminitis Using PET

Dianne McFarlane, University of Florida

This study will validate the use of PET scans for identifying disease pathology and progression in insulin associated laminitis in horses.

Effects Of Inflammatory Cytokines On MSC Homing

John Peroni, University of Georgia

This study will investigate how mesenchymal stem cells traffic to injuries after delivery to the bloodstream to inform the best time to deliver cells relative to initial injury in future animal models.

Racehorse Stride Changes And Workload During Training

Peta Hitchens, University of Melbourne

By determining whether the workload and changes in stride characteristics associated with injury during racing are also present during training, this project may identify injuries prior to race day.

Synthetic Proteoglycan Replacement For Osteoarthritis

Kyla Ortved, University of Pennsylvania

This proposal seeks to establish a new class of injectable, cartilage-penetrating compounds made from synthetic polyelectrolytes that replace proteoglycans that are critically lost in osteoarthritis.

Wearable Biometric Sensor Development

American Association of Equine Practitioners

Provide funding for the epidemiological work associated with the data gathered through the field testing of the selected biomechanical sensors.

Career Development Awards

The Storm Cat Career Development Award, inaugurated in 2006, grants $20,000 to an individual considering a career in equine research. This year, Grayson awarded Dr. Erica Secor, Cornell University.

Dr. Secor is a class of 2013 graduate from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and is attending Cornell as a Ph.D. student. Dr. Secor is an equine surgeon whose knowledge is growing readily under the supervision of Dr. Heidi Reesink, a former Storm Cat Award winner.

The proposed study, defining the immune cell populations present in naturally occurring equine Osteoarthritis and the response to intra-articular therapeutics, expands on the limited knowledge regarding immune cell populations within equine joints with osteoarthritis.

The Elaine and Bertram Klein Career Development Award was first awarded in 2015 and grants $20,000 to a prospective equine researcher. This year’s recipient is Dr. Shannon Connard, North Carolina State University.

After Dr. Connard received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2017 from the University of Georgia, she went on to pursue an internship at Louisiana State University followed by a large animal internship and residency at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Through this, Dr. Connard achieved board certification with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2023. She is a postdoctoral fellow / Ph.D. candidate in the Comparative Medicine and Translational Research Training Program at North Carolina State University. Dr. Connard’s current research is dedicated to the advancement of regenerative therapies for equine musculoskeletal injuries.

Dr. Connard’s project, harnessing stem cells licensing to enhance tendon healing, aims to further the understanding of intralesional mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in treating equine tendon injuries, under the supervision of Dr. Lauren Schnabel.