​Cancer investigators in the department study mechanisms of drug inhibition of tumors, drug pharmacology, tumor immunology and vaccines, clinical drug trials for cancer, and the effects of radiation on bone healing. Faculty that study cancer are all members of the Animal Cancer Center.

​Researchers in this program conduct disease surveillance and epidemiological investigations of diseases primarily of food animals, in both the U.S. and abroad. Most faculty are members of the Animal Population Health Institute.

​Research is being conducted by departmental faculty on new approaches to heart valve development and advanced techniques for heart muscle support. Many of these studies are conducted within the Animal Heart Institute.

​One of the largest faculty groups in the department studies new approaches to treatment of joint, cartilage, and muscle injuries in horses and other animals. Much of this research is conducted in the Equine Orthopedic Research Center building on the South Campus adjacent to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

​Faculty in the department are involved in studies of stem cell therapy for bone and joint healing, as well as for immune modulation and chronic kidney disease. Other faculty are developing new vaccine and immunotherapy approaches to cancer and infectious diseases. Most of the faculty studying stem cell and immune therapy are members of the Center for Immune and Regenerative Medicine.

​In the Center for Companion Animal Studies within the department, faculty are conducting clinical trials investigating new diagnostics and therapeutics for companion animals, in conjunction with colleagues in pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic laboratories.