Is it possible to create a general cancer vaccine? Stephen Albert Johnston may find the answer with the help of man’s best friend.
In 2018, the Open Philanthropy Project awarded a multi-year grant of $6,421,402 to Stephen Albert Johnston at Arizona State University to support the largest interventional canine clinical trial ever conducted. The trial will assess the effectiveness of a unique vaccine in preventing any type of cancer in dogs.
The trial is enrolling at least 800 owners’ pets to test the efficacy of a novel vaccine to prevent cancer.
“Our goal has always been, that if this is possible, we should at least try it,” said Johnston, who directs the Biodesign Center for Innovations in Medicine and is a professor in the School of Life Sciences.
Based on over a decade of research, the trial has begun and is featured in the video below from CNN.