Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Undergraduate degree: HBSc in Animal Physiology
Area of interest: Small Animal Internal Medicine
Jyot Patel, a second-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student at Washington State University and a graduate of the University of Toronto, is spending his summer investigating how the gut and brain communicate in dogs. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Jyot is conducting research in Dr. Yoko Ambrosini’s laboratory, where he is studying the role of hormone signaling within the canine gut-brain axis.
The gut and brain are connected through a complex network of signals that help regulate digestion, metabolism, and overall health. Disruptions in these pathways have been linked to chronic gastrointestinal disease and neurological disorders, yet many of the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood in veterinary medicine.
Jyot’s research uses canine intestinal organoids, which are miniature, lab-grown models of the intestine, to investigate how intestinal cells respond to hormones involved in gut-brain communication. His work focuses on serotonin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), two signaling molecules that play important roles in both the digestive system and the nervous system.
By evaluating whether these organoids can produce and respond to these hormones in ways that resemble normal intestinal tissue, Jyot hopes to determine how effectively the model can be used to study gut-brain signaling. Understanding these functional responses may provide new opportunities to investigate the biological mechanisms underlying disease.
The project may also help expand the use of organoid models in veterinary research, providing an alternative approach for studying complex diseases while reducing reliance on live animals.
Jyot is interested in pursuing advanced training following veterinary school and is currently exploring small animal internal medicine as a potential specialty area while keeping an open mind about other fields within veterinary medicine.
He views research as an important component of his professional development and believes that experiences like this help bridge scientific discovery and clinical practice. “This project allows me to combine my interests in research and clinical medicine while contributing to a growing area of veterinary science,” Jyot said.