Advancing innovation in animal health

Six projects selected for WARF/Zoetis Challenge Grant

CONTACT:
Jeanan Yasiri Moe
Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs
[email protected] | (608) 960-9892

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Zoetis have awarded $200,000 in funding to six transformative research projects aimed at improving the health of livestock and companion animals. Selected from a competitive pool of applicants, these projects represent innovative approaches to disease prevention, parasite control and therapeutic development.

The Animal Health Challenge Grant called for proposals that explored novel strategies to identify, prevent or treat diseases, including parasitic infections, that impact animal well-being and agricultural productivity. The selected projects span multiple disciplines and departments at UW-Madison, showcasing the university's leadership in animal health innovation.

"Zoetis believes innovation in animal health is key to improving the well-being and productivity of the animals that sustain and enrich our lives," says Seth Boudreaux, Director of External Innovation at Zoetis. "Through the WARF-Zoetis Challenge Grant, we're partnering with UW-Madison and WARF to translate pioneering research into practical solutions. UW-Madison's expertise makes it an ideal partner to advance new approaches across vaccinology, immunology, and other areas of veterinary medicine."

Funded projects:

Novel Natural Products as Anthelmintics
Tim Bugni (Pharmaceutical Sciences), with Mostafa Zamanian, Katie Ryan, Bailey Bell, Douglas Braun, Nathan Brittin

Target-Based Screening of Ultra-Large Virtual Chemical Libraries for Novel Heartworm Chemotherapies
John Chan (Pathobiological Sciences), with Mostafa Zamanian, Spencer Ericksen

Novel Combinatorial Therapy for Mitigation of Bovine Mastitis
Hilario Mantovani (Animal & Dairy Sciences), with Garret Suen, Ariela Burk

Universal Influenza Vaccine Design for Combating H5N1 in Multiple Species
Suresh Marulasiddappa (Pathobiological Sciences)

Extracellular Vesicle Derived Anti-Tick Vaccines for Cattle
Adela Oliva-Chavez (Entomology)

Bovine Antibody Knob Discovery Platform
Matthew Reynolds (Pathobiological Sciences)

"WARF's partnership, through our WARF Accelerator, with Zoetis reflects our mission to partner with industry and accelerate research that makes a difference," says Erik Iverson, CEO of WARF. "We are thankful for our collaboration with Zoetis and proud to support UW-Madison scientists who are advancing solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in animal health."

Projects not selected for funding through the Accelerator Challenge Grants may still be connected to other supportive resources within WARF.

About WARF

Celebrating a century of service in 2025, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) patents and licenses discoveries from UW-Madison research, manages an investment portfolio generated from licensing and investment proceeds, and provides annual grants to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to support further scientific investigation and research. By driving collaborations among researchers, investors, industry and entrepreneurs, WARF commercializes innovations from campus through various initiatives. WARF Accelerator improves the commercialization potential of university intellectual property through industry engagement and investment in proof-of-concept milestones to validate market potential, demonstrate commercial value and de-risk technology. WARF Therapeutics partners with UW-Madison and Morgridge Institute researchers employing an industry-focused approach to improve the value propositions of drug candidates. WARF Ventures is an early-stage venture fund that invests in startups based on UW/WARF technologies. Learn more at warf.org.

About Zoetis
As the world's leading animal health company, Zoetis is driven by a singular purpose: to nurture our world and humankind by advancing care for animals. After innovating ways to predict, prevent, detect, and treat animal illness for more than 70 years, Zoetis continues to stand by those raising and caring for animals worldwide - from veterinarians and pet owners to livestock producers. The company's leading portfolio and pipeline of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and technologies make a difference in over 100 countries. A Fortune 500 company, Zoetis generated revenue of $9.3 billion in 2024 with approximately 13,800 employees. For more information, visit www.zoetis.com.

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