Collaborative Efforts of OSU Veterinarians & OMRF Researchers Showcase Unique Art Exhibition   Exhibition to display Iditarod® sled dog photos, authentic sled, equipment and research findings in Stillwater

Every year the world’s most dedicated and intensely trained dog sled racers line up in Anchorage, Alaska, to compete in what is described as “The Last Great Race on Earth,” otherwise known as the Iditarod®. This year the Iditarod® is coming to Stillwater, Okla.

The OSU Foundation announces the exhibition opening of “Sled Dog Racing:  Exercise Physiology Research on the Last Frontier” now on display through September 28 in the Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery at the Foundation.

The exhibit, open free to the public, will feature photographs documenting research conducted from 2000 to the present in conjunction with the Iditarod® by Oklahoma State University (OSU) and Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) veterinary researchers. Also on display are clothing, equipment and a standard Iditarod® racing sled used by mushers to cross the snow-covered terrain in below freezing temperatures. Because of the extreme conditions sled dogs endure and the challenges they face athletically, researchers are studying effects on their health and how they can be a model for human endurance and fatigue resistance.

To conduct research, OSU veterinarians and OMRF researchers spent many months traveling between Oklahoma and Anchorage mainly between December and March when the Iditarod takes place.
OSU veterinarian researcher and professor, Mike Davis, lends his expertise not only to collecting data for his research, but also to examine the 2,500 dogs that are entered into the race each year to determine whether or not they are healthy enough to withstand the 1,100 mile trek from Anchorage to the finish line in Nome, Alaska. From his Alaskan expeditions, Davis has not only advanced his research, but he’s chronicled his work through photography.

“We want to show the visitor the kind of creative research going on at OSU,” Davis said. “And we hope that they will take away an appreciation for the sport and the hurdles we have to overcome to conduct research that has the potential to benefit every human being.”

Working with Davis was Dr. Kenneth Hensley, assistant member in the Free Radical Biology and Aging Research Program at OMRF. His expertise in the study of neuroscience and biochemistry is beneficial for looking at optimum muscle metabolic strategies and understanding why some of the dogs perform better than others.

“My hope is that our research will result in deliverables,” Hensley said, “that will help to improve the performance of both dogs and humans under stressful conditions.”

Davis and Hensley’s research is supported primarily through funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.
An opening reception is schedule for Thursday, July 26, 5:30 – 7 p.m., in the Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery at the Foundation and is open free to the public.

Named in honor of the Foundation’s former board chairman, the Malinda Berry Fischer Gallery showcases Oklahoma and OSU artists. The gallery serves to strengthen the connection between Oklahoma State University and the OSU Foundation. The gallery is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Oklahoma State University Foundation serves as the private fundraising organization for OSU, as designated by the OSU Regents. Its mission is to unite donor and university passions and priorities to achieve excellence.

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