This week on Genome Barks, we welcome Dr. Christy Petersen of Iowa State University, a specialist in immunology and infectious diseases. Her research has focused on developing more sensitive and accurate tests to determine the presence of Leishmaniasis in dogs. In this podcast, Dr. Petersen discusses infectious diseases of which breeders and owners should be aware, and signs to look for to determine if your pet has an infectious disease. This podcast is brought to you by the American Kennel Club and the AKC Canine Health Foundation.

This week's edition of Genome Barks is a follow up to our recent interview with Dr. Matthew Breen. Dr. Breen, while a world renowned cancer researcher, is also the Treasurer of the Canine Comparative Oncology & Genomics Consortium (CCOGC). Jointly sponsored by the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, and Pfizer, the CCOGC is a collaboration of Veterinary and Medical Oncologists, Pathologists, Surgeons, Geneticists, and Molecular and Cellular Biologists. This group determined that a well-described repository of tissues (tumor and normal) from tumor bearing dogs was an essential resource needed for advancing our understanding of canine cancer. The biospecimen repository houses tumor tissue, normal tissues, serum, plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cell preparations, genomic DNA, RNA and urine samples. The goal is to optain 3,000 samples of lymphoma, osteosarcoma, melanoma, hemangiosarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma/histiocytic sarcoma, mast cell tumors and lung cancer.