Frauke Seehusen

ESVP-ECVP Congress
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Frauke Seehusen is a veterinary pathologist and researcher whose work bridges infectious diseases, neuropathology, translational oncology, and animal models of human disease. Since 2017, she has served as Senior Pathologist at the Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and since 2025 as Co-Head of the Centre for Livestock Diagnostics and Infectious Pathology. She is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Pathologists (ECVP), holds the German specialist qualification in Veterinary Pathology, and obtained the ECVP Certificate in Forensic Veterinary Pathology (ECVP-CFVP) in 2020.
She studied veterinary medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany, where she also completed her pathology residency and doctoral thesis focusing on axonal pathology and the role of neurotrophins in canine distemper encephalitis. Her habilitation addressed mechanisms of axonal injury and remyelination in inflammatory and genetic diseases of the central nervous system.
Her research centers on the pathogenesis of infectious and inflammatory diseases, particularly in farm animals and companion animals, as well as translational cancer pathology and comparative neuropathology. A major focus of her work has been the investigation of neurodegeneration and demyelination in naturally occurring and experimental animal models, including canine distemper and murine models of multiple sclerosis. Her studies have contributed significantly to understanding axonal transport defects, remyelination processes, and neuroimmunology in inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. In parallel, she has investigated emerging and economically important infectious diseases in livestock, including porcine circovirus 3, Schmallenberg virus, hepatitis E virus, paratuberculosis, and retroviral infections in sheep.
In recent years, she has expanded her research activities into comparative and translational oncology. She is involved in several interdisciplinary projects aimed at molecular characterization and precision treatment of naturally occurring tumors in dogs, including canine meningiomas and soft tissue sarcomas. Her collaborations integrate histopathology with RNA sequencing, advanced imaging, and targeted therapeutic approaches to improve individualized treatment strategies while strengthening translational links between veterinary and human medicine. She is also a project partner in large collaborative initiatives such as PET4PETs, which seeks to establish advanced PET imaging technologies for veterinary oncology and translational biomedical research.
In addition to her research activities, she is deeply committed to academic teaching and postgraduate training in veterinary pathology and has supervised numerous doctoral and PhD students in comparative pathology and translational biomedical sciences.