'Curious Conversations' podcast: Audrey Ruple talks about the Dog Aging Project
Audrey Ruple joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the Dog Aging Project, the largest-known study of dog health that aims to understand the keys to healthy aging in dogs and the risks to their health. She explained what information they are collecting, what it means for dogs, and how it might also be used to better understand human health.
About Ruple
Ruple is associate professor of quantitative epidemiology and the Metcalf Professor of Veterinary Medical Informatics in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the program director of the biomedical and veterinary sciences graduate program and serves on the executive leadership team of the Dog Aging Project.
Three takeaways
The Dog Aging Project analyzes data that includes lifestyle, health events, diet, exercise, and environmental factors to gain insights into the aging process and its impact on dogs' health.
Dogs are good sentinels for human health hazards, and studying their lifespans provides valuable information about exposure science and latency periods.
The project has already made significant discoveries such as characterizing the normal aging process in dogs and developing frailty indices.
Learn more
Audrey Ruple collaborates with Dog Aging Project, largest-known study of dog health
Veterinary college’s Audrey Ruple inducted into two scientific honor societies
About the podcast
"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Produced and hosted by Virginia Tech writer and editor Travis Williams, university researchers share their expertise and motivations as well as the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.
