Ohio State names Megan Zerrer to feline clinical trials role

Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine has named Megan Zerrer, DVM, as the 2026–2027 intern in its Feline Clinical Trials program, according to the college’s source material. On its face, that’s a straightforward personnel update. But for clinicians and referral practices, it also reflects the continued buildout of feline-focused clinical research capacity at a major academic veterinary center. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)

The backdrop is a veterinary research environment that increasingly depends on structured support for trials in client-owned animals. Ohio State’s Veterinary Clinical Research Support Shared Resource includes the Blue Buffalo Veterinary Clinical Trials Office and a biospecimen repository, and the university says the program is designed to support comparative and translational trials that can improve diagnosis and treatment in veterinary patients, while also contributing to broader biomedical research. The college’s clinical research guide lays out formal expectations for proposal review, budgeting, sponsor qualification, and study administration, underscoring how operationally complex these programs have become. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)

Ohio State has also maintained dedicated internal support for feline research. The college’s intramural funding materials list an annual feline funding call with a May 1 deadline, and a 2024 policy document described budget structures for feline clinical trial grants using client-owned animals, including added support for clinical trial office services. More recently, the college updated its intramural funding page to say those studies are no longer required to be fully administered by the clinical trials office, although investigators can still budget up to $5,000 above the standard cap for that support. That suggests a maturing system that’s trying to balance oversight with flexibility. (vet.osu.edu)

Within the hospital, feline trials are closely connected to specialty care. Ohio State’s companion animal internal medicine service says it regularly recruits patients for studies and highlights feline-relevant services including radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism, advanced imaging, nutrition support, and management of chronic diseases. The center has also publicly emphasized feline-friendly care and feline-centered clinical research as part of its service model. In a 2025 Veterinary Medical Center update, Ohio State highlighted ongoing feline chronic kidney disease trials, another sign that the institution has an active caseload and established trial ecosystem for cats. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)

Publicly available materials don’t appear to include outside expert commentary specifically on Zerrer’s appointment, and no separate press release or study announcement was readily available in search results. Still, Ohio State’s own materials make clear that referring veterinarians are considered central to trial success. The Veterinary Medical Center’s referral information states that the referral community plays a significant role in the clinical trial program, and the research guide notes that trial listings are circulated at events for referring DVMs and continuing education audiences. That framing matters because these internships often sit at the intersection of specialty medicine, case recruitment, and client communication. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, staffing news like this can be easy to overlook, but it can have practical downstream effects. A dedicated feline clinical trials intern may increase a center’s ability to screen cases, coordinate visits, support protocol compliance, and maintain communication with pet parents and referring veterinarians. For practices managing cats with chronic kidney disease, endocrine disease, cancer, or other internal medicine conditions, stronger trial staffing can translate into more referral options and potentially faster enrollment into studies that expand access to advanced diagnostics or investigational therapies. That’s especially relevant as academic centers continue to rely on client-owned animal trials to generate evidence in areas where feline-specific data remain limited. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)

The appointment may also signal continuity. Ohio State’s 2024 Veterinary Medical Center update listed a Feline Clinical Trials intern for the 2024–2025 year, indicating this is an established training role rather than a one-off position. In other words, Zerrer appears to be stepping into an ongoing program, not launching a new one from scratch. That continuity can matter for practices that want predictable referral pathways and for investigators trying to sustain enrollment across multi-month or multi-year feline studies. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)

What to watch: The next indicator will be whether Ohio State expands the number or scope of active feline studies during the 2026–2027 cycle, particularly in internal medicine and kidney disease, and whether the center uses this staffing support to strengthen outreach to referring veterinarians and pet parents. (vmc.vet.osu.edu)