University and pet food industry partnerships drive research, train workforce

Partnerships between universities and pet food companies are shaping how new ingredients are evaluated, how products are developed and how the next generation of scientists and plant employees are trained. Researchers, executives and trade officials say these collaborations combine academic rigor with real-world manufacturing and marketplace needs, producing benefits that extend well beyond any product.

The partnerships take many forms. At the University of Guelph, Anna Kate Shoveller, Ph.D., a professor whose research spans the physiology and metabolism of dogs and cats, said her lab sometimes designs its own studies and other times works with a company that arrives with a specific need.

"Sometimes my laboratory identifies the research question and designs the study; in other cases, a company approaches us with a specific need, and we work together to refine it into a rigorous research program," she said.

Shoveller said the structure of each partnership depends on a company's goals and how much ownership or confidentiality it requires, but her lab tries to publish findings whenever possible.

"I would, however, like industry to invest more in fundamental science, such as the quantification of nutrient requirements or describing the unique physiology and metabolism of these animals," she said, adding that pre-clinical registration and data sharing would also support animal health.

Ongoing exchange of knowledge

At Texas A&M University, Mian N. Riaz, Ph.D., a professor and associate department head in food science and technology, said partnerships often center on training.

"The strongest partnerships involve an ongoing exchange: Universities contribute expertise and learning opportunities, while companies bring real production challenges that help keep academic teaching and research relevant," he said.

His programs focus on helping plant employees understand how ingredients and processing conditions affect finished products.

"When employees understand these relationships, they are better equipped to troubleshoot problems, improve consistency, reduce waste and make informed decisions in the plant," he said.

Lonnie Hobbs Jr., Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University, said companies often fund research around a specific business question, whether it involves ingredients, nutrition, processing or sustainability.

"Companies bring real-world questions and challenges to the table, while universities bring the research capabilities and expertise to study those questions in a rigorous and objective way," he said.

Hobbs pointed to K-State's collaborations with Hill's Pet Nutrition and Cargill on consumer and marketplace research as examples he is especially excited about, noting that shifting consumer priorities around ingredients, sustainability and price make the work timely. He also cited Pet Food Collab, an annual event that brings researchers, students and industry professionals together.

"It creates an environment where conversations can turn into new research questions, collaborations and partnerships that benefit both K-State and the broader pet food industry," he said.

AAFCO benefits from academic input

Trade groups are also leaning on academic partnerships to ground policy decisions in research. Austin Therrell, executive director of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), said the organization's collaborative structure, which includes regulators and industry representatives, benefits from science-based academic input.

"The addition of science-based academic partnerships into the AAFCO workflow helps to ensure that decisions are being guided by evidence-based research and that policy positions or work products are supported by the most current findings in animal health and nutrition," he said.

Therrell highlighted AAFCO's partnership with Kansas State University's Olathe Innovation Campus supporting the new Scientific Review of Ingredient Submissions program, which he said is helping bring new ingredients to market safely. He also noted longstanding work with Texas A&M, Purdue University and the University of Kentucky.

Gizmo provided the 2 millionth urolith to the Minnesota Urolith Center for analysis.Courtesy Hill's Pet NutritionResearch informs diet formulation

Pet food companies describe similar goals from their side of the table. Dr. Karen Shenoy, global chief veterinary officer at Hill's Pet Nutrition, said the company's academic collaborations range from sponsoring clinical nutrition residencies at veterinary colleges including The Ohio State University, the University of California-Davis, the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee, to funding faculty positions and diagnostic research.

She pointed to the company's 20-year partnership with the University of Minnesota Urolith Center, which analyzes more than 65,000 stone samples a year from more than 50,000 veterinary clinics worldwide, as one example of how sustained academic collaboration can shape care.

"This unprecedented multi-decade dataset fuels continuous innovation in feline and canine urinary health, informing therapeutic diet formulation for stone dissolution," she said.

Shenoy also cited Hill's collaboration with Dr. Curtis Huttenhower at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which applies human microbiome research methods to companion animals. She said the work is shifting how the industry understands digestive health.

"This shifts pet food formulation from basic ingredient selection to precise 'management instructions' for the gut," she said.

Shenoy added that academic partnerships give the industry independent validation while giving universities access to industry-scale datasets and funding for facilities, faculty chairs and resident stipends.

A dog gets a Body Condition Score exam at the Ontario Veterinary College/Hill's Pet Nutrition Weight Care Program at OVC in Ontario.Courtesy Hill's Pet NutritionUniversities support equipment manufacturers

Equipment manufacturers see similar value. Brian Plattner, director of process technology for Wenger Manufacturing, said university labs often support prototyping and ingredient screening that companies cannot do on their own.

"Many universities have small benchtop equipment that can be used for quick prototyping to screen a large number of samples as the initial steps of product development," he said.

Wenger's partnerships with Kansas State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been particularly valuable, he said.

"The UNL partnership was instrumental in conducting the extrusion microbial kill step model that is used across industry today," Plattner said.

These partnerships contribute to a growing ecosystem in which industry funding and real-world manufacturing challenges combine with academic expertise and rigor to advance nutrition science, validate new ingredients and train the workforce that will lead the pet food industry's next generation of research and product development.