• News,  The Columbus Dispatch

    At four months pregnant, breast cancer was not on her radar

    Breast cancer is diagnosed in roughly one pregnant woman in 3,000, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2009, Pauline Russ was one of them. Russ was 34 years old and four months pregnant when an ultrasound and biopsy confirmed that she had stage 2, triple-positive breast cancer. Before her diagnosis, Russ informed her doctor of a pain in her right breast at a routine pregnancy checkup. “Once my first trimester was over, she sent me to have an ultrasound just in case, although we both thought, ‘oh I’m sure it’s milk ducts getting ready,’” she said. After the ultrasound, Russ was told nothing other than she needed to get…

  • News,  The Columbus Dispatch

    Harp carving out path in carpentry and on DIY Network

    About six years ago, Clint Harp was watching YouTube videos to learn how to operate a wood lathe. Now, Harp is widely known across the U.S. and beyond for his woodworking and furniture artistry on HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.” Harp always knew he wanted to work with his hands, and after four unfulfilling years of working in the medical sales industry, he decided it was time to follow his dream. He quit his six-figure-salary career and began down the path that would lead him to found his own carpentry business with his wife, Kelly Harp. The two moved to Waco, Texas, in 2011 and founded Harp Design Co., which has grown…

  • News,  The Columbus Dispatch

    Salvage Dawgs give new meaning to the upcycling trend

    Robert Kulp and Mike Whiteside co-founded Black Dog Salvage, an architectural salvage company based in Roanoke, Va., 16 years ago. In 2012, their amazing work went public with the DIY Network series “Salvage Dawgs,” which has aired for six seasons and counting. The show chronicles the unique situations that Kulp and Whiteside encounter during their daily work, which include bidding on houses and buildings that are condemned to demolition, so that they can extract any architectural elements or historical properties they consider to be of value from the premises. The reclaimed pieces are then reused or repurposed before being sold to assorted clients. From old prisons to former hospitals to…

  • Articles,  Ohio State,  Science Writing

    Efforts continue to suppress antibiotic-resistant salmonella in Ethiopia

    In the diverse sub-Saharan ecosystems of Ethiopia, interaction between humans and animals is part of daily life. This reality is likely a key player in the spread of infectious bacteria like salmonella, which is capable of interspecies transmission. And when frequent human-animal interaction is combined with mal/under-nutrition, subpar sanitation, an HIV/AIDS epidemic and the misuse of antibiotic drugs, the progression of salmonellosis (salmonella infection) in Ethiopia becomes an issue of global significance. Dr. Wondwossen Gebreyes, professor and director of Global Health Programs at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has led a research initiative addressing infectious disease in Ethiopia since 2011. One of the initiative’s goals is to…

  • Articles,  Ohio State

    Ingestible camera gives veterinarians 20/20

    Dr. Adam Rudinsky joined The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine last summer as instructor-practice in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, specializing in small animal internal medicine. An alumnus of the college and former resident at the Veterinary Medical Center, Rudinsky is currently in the process of finishing his PhD, which focuses on gastrointestinal disorders and immunology. He recently completed a master’s in gastrointestinal endocrine disease. Much of Rudinsky’s latest research centers on various gastrointestinal topics in dogs and cats as well as a novel endoscopy tool that the VMC adopted in June 2015, thanks to a grateful client donation. By utilizing a 1 ½ cm pill that…

  • Articles,  Ohio State

    Golf outing to fund veterinary care & resources for local poor/homeless population

    Twice a month, fourth-year students at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine help provide care to pets owned by homeless and low-income individuals in the Columbus, Ohio, area, in partnership with non-profit organization Faithful Forgotten Best Friends. Faithful Forgotten Best Friends has supplied free pet food and veterinary care to these animals since the organization began five years ago. “Our alliance with OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine gives vet students a chance to interact with demographics that they perhaps wouldn’t typically see in their future practice, and they get a lot of hands-on experience,” said FFBF co-founder Constance Swackhammer.  “Most of these animals would not be able to…

  • Articles,  Science Writing

    Nearing vaccine for virus behind most foodborne-illness outbreaks in U.S.

    Human norovirus is contracted by 21 million people per year in the U.S., and is responsible for more than 60 percent of annual foodborne-illness cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of norovirus infection include vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever and dehydration that can last up to several weeks. The virus is resistant to commonly used disinfectants and easily transmitted through food, water or close contact. Since its discovery in 1968, regular outbreaks have occurred in crowded spaces such as schools, restaurants and cruise ships. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for norovirus, and several factors prevent it from being extensively studied. Since the virus doesn’t…

  • Articles,  Ohio State

    Veterinarian, engineer team up to design contraceptive approach for wild horses

    While we’re often concerned with the population decline of certain species, there are some animals that thrive a little too well, such as the wild horse and burro (a small donkey). Wild horses and burros (WH&B) can be found roaming free in many western states. The animals have been federally protected since 1971 as part of the Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which declares the animals “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west.” In 1971, there were 25,000 WH&B on U.S. lands. But over the past few decades, the WH&B population has surged to an unprecedented 67,000, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of the…