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Research - clinical studies

Research is key at Ghent University. Our team of nutritional experts is constantly investigating how animals' nutrition can be improved. For part of our research we mainly need healthy cats, dogs or horses. For other research we might need animals that suffer from a specific disorder or disease. Would you like to support our research into animal nutrition? We frequently need specific animal populations. You can find an overview of our current research topics on this web page.

Our research team focusses on research into the effect of nutrition on gastrointestinal health on the one hand and obesitas on the other. Currently we are carrying out the following studies:

• Cats: we currently test a specific slimming diet in obese cats.
• Dogs: we currently test the use of an activity tracker for dogs.
• Research into the effects of obesity on the kidney.
• Several studies into gastrointestinal health.
• We currently run a survey on the use of roughage in horses.
• Project in which we investigate the role of microbiota in idiopathic epilepsy and how we can control this with a specific diet.

Would you like to participate in our research? Please contact one of our researchers.

• Amber Hillaert
• Yang Lyu
• Camila Baptista Da Silva
• Diana Brozic
• Marie-Céline Hottat
• Fien Verdoodt

Call for participants - research in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy

Fien Verdoodt (Fien.Verdoodt@ugent.be) graduated as a veterinarian at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Ghent University) in July 2020. During her study she spent one semester at the ‘Small animal teaching hospital’ at the University of Liverpool. She was committed in the VSGk as board member in 2018-2019. In November 2020 she enthusiastically started her PhD research into the role of nutrition and the intestinal microbiome on idiopathic epilepsy in dogs (FWO scholarship). This research entails a challenging and multidisciplinary study under the supervision of prof. dr. Myriam Hesta, dr. Sofie Bhatti and prof. dr. Luc Van Ham.

Do you have or do you know a dog with idiopathic epilepsy? Would you like to participate in this research? Please contact Fien Verdoodt