Leg. vet. DVM, PhD-student
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, SLU
I finished my Master of Science in Veterinary Medicine in 2012 and in the same year started my PhD-education within the Future Animal Health and Welfare Initiative at SLU. In the field of small animal medicine I am particularly interested in obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions in dogs, which is also the topic of my PhD-project. I also enjoy working with students and currently I teach anatomy and supervise master students at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, SLU.
Obesity is an increasing problem in dogs
People in the world are growing more and more obese and welfare diseases associated with our lifestyle are becoming a big problem. Even our companion dogs that share our lifestyle are becoming more obese; in fact 50% of our dogs today are overweight.
The overweight dog has an increased risk of reduced wellbeing, earlier onset of chronic diseases and a shorter life. I believe each one of these consequences motivates obesity research in dogs. Obesity as a multifactorial health problem is not as thoroughly investigated in dogs as it is in humans, and we need a better understanding of altered mechanisms in obese dogs and the secondary diseases that obese dogs may develop.
The overall goal of the PhD-project is to investigate obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions in dogs using serum, plasma, feces and urine. Privately owned intact male Labrador retrievers with different body fat content have been sampled before and after a standardized meal.
With an increased understanding of obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions in dogs, better prevention and treatment of obesity would be possible. This is important firstly for animal welfare but also for dog owners and society, as dogs potentially would live longer and work longer as service dogs.
Publications
- Metabolic and Hormonal Response to a Feed-challenge Test in Lean and Overweight Dogs http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvim.13830/pdf
- A Deletion in the Canine POMC Gene Is Associated with Weight and Appetite in Obesity-Prone Labrador Retriever Dogs http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413116301632
- Validation and application of a canine-specific automated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein assay http://vdi.sagepub.com/content/27/2/182.short
Ongoing studies and coming publications
- Overweight Labrador Retriever Dogs Exhibit Altered Urine Metabolome After a High-fat Meal J. Söder et al. Presented at American Congress of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2014
- Plasma metabolites during a feed-challenge in lean and overweight dogs J. Söder et al.
- Inter-day variation in gut microbiota in lean and overweight Labrador retrievers. J. Söder et al.
Project collaborators
- Ali Moazzami and Peter Agback, “Metabolomics” Chemistry and Biotechnology, SLU
- Pia Haubro Andersen, “Endotoxin validation” Clinical Sciences, SLU
- Anna Hillström, “C-reactive protein” Clinical Chemistry, SLU
- Bodil Ström Holst, “Reproductive parameters” Clinical Sciences, SLU
- Eleanor Raffan, “Genetics” Metabolic Unit, Cambridge, UK
