Stem Cells in Veterinary Science

This book explores the potential applications of animal stem cells in veterinary medicine. It begins with an overview of stem cells and their application in treating various animal diseases, including mastitis. In turn, the book discusses the challenges of using stem cells in regenerative medicine and emphasizes the importance of understanding the action of stem cells and preclinical evidence for ensuring safety and therapeutic efficacy. It also presents methods for the identification, characterization, and quantification of stem cells. Further, it discusses the therapeutic applications of different stem cells, including milk-derived, testicular, and mesenchymal stem cells in veterinary medicine. Lastly, it discusses strategies for and therapeutic applications of genome editing by CRISPER/Cas9 in mammary stem cells. As such, the book offers a valuable resource for students and scientists working in the veterinary sciences and veterinarians.

Dr. Ratan K. Choudhary is an Assistant Professor at the College of Animal Biotechnology, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He holds a master’s degree in veterinary sciences and a doctoral degree in animal science with a specialization in bovine mammary stem cells and their characterization. His research chiefly focuses on the development of stem cell therapy for the dry period and mastitis in dairy animals. He worked at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for six years (2007-2012), followed by two post-doctoral trainings at the University of Kentucky (2012-2013) and University of Vermont (2018-2020), USA. He received many awards and fellowships during his Ph.D. including the Dean’s Fellowship, R. F. Davis Scholarship and Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Award, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA poster awards, first prize winner of the National Milk Producers Federation, Graduate Student Paper Presentation Award in Dairy Production, and Novus International Inc. Travel Award. He is currently serving as a reviewer of the international journal,s including Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, Scientific Reports, World Journal Stem Cells, Journal of Dairy Research, PLOS One, and Stem Cells Reviews and Report. He has published more than 40 research articles in peer-reviewed international journals, attended/presented research papers at more than 30 conferences, and authored one book. He is a member of various international scientific societies and organizations, e.g., the American Dairy Science Association, the European Association for Animal Production (EAAP), the Indian Society for the Study of Reproduction & Fertility, and the Veterinary Council of India.

Shanti Choudhary, Ph.D., served at the University of Vermont, Burlington, the USA, as a Lab Manager and Lab Safety Officer for more than a year. She has extensive research experience in many aspects of molecular biology, including mammary stem cell physiology. She worked at the USDA in Beltsville, USA as a visiting scientist for more than two years, where her focus was on parasitic diseases in animals. She has also worked as a Research Associate at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. She received a National Post-doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF; SERB-DST, India) for a project on developing an in vitro model for the characterization and manipulation of buffalo mammary stem cells. She has published more than 30 research articles in peer-reviewed international journals and is a member of several scientific societies, e.g., the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the American Dairy Science Association. Currently, she is engaged in teaching at the Students College of Animal Biotechnology, GADVASU, Ludhiana.