New Equine Orthopedics Specialist Brings Cutting-Edge Regenerative Therapies, Research to Texas A&M

Texas is home to nearly 749,000 of the 6.7 million horses in the United States, housing significantly more horses than any other state in the country, according to the American Horse Council’s 2023 Equine Economic Impact Survey. 

Advancing musculoskeletal health for these animals is a top priority of Dr. Sushmitha Durgam, the newest equine orthopedic and regenerative medicine specialist to join the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (VMBS) Large Animal Teaching Hospital (LATH).

The addition of Durgam to the LATH’s Equine Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Services both complements the clinical faculty team of Drs. Kati Glass and Taylor Myers and adds to the service’s research repertoire.

As an associate professor, Durgam is excited to share her expertise in tendon and musculoskeletal injury mechanisms and therapeutics for equine athletes with VMBS students and LATH clients. In her research laboratory, she will leverage her clinical expertise to investigate the biological and mechanical processes responsible for equine orthopedic injuries and then work collaboratively with clinicians to offer cutting-edge regenerative treatments to LATH patients. 

Journey to Veterinary Medicine

Durgam said she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian since middle school.

“I have always wanted to be a surgeon,” she said.

Although she didn’t grow up around horses, her fascination with equine musculoskeletal anatomy and curiosity toward injuries that equine athletes sustain bolstered her passion for a career in equine orthopedics and research.

“That’s what led me to become an equine veterinarian and then pursue a combined equine surgery residency and Ph.D.,” she said.

Durgam’s winding road to Texas A&M began at Bidar Veterinary College in India, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in veterinary science. She later completed her master’s and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Illinois, along with an equine medicine and surgery internship and an equine surgery residency, respectively. Prior to beginning residency and Ph.D. training, she also completed an equine surgery and sports medicine specialty internship at Tufts University.

In 2016, she earned her board certification from the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and began her first faculty position at The Ohio State University, where she remained until her current position at Texas A&M.

Called to Heal

For Durgam, an important part of being an academic equine veterinarian is the ability to do clinically relevant research.

Durgam’s research involves studying responses of tendon/ligament tissues to athletic training, injury, and inflammation, which can, in turn, shed light on the pathophysiological processes that culminate in clinical injuries.

“Since tendons have a poor intrinsic healing capacity, understanding how tendon injury develops can significantly improve our ability to diagnose and treat equine athletes in a timely manner,” she said.

Durgam has dedicated a substantial effort to identifying and optimizing patient-derived therapies, also known as biologic therapies, targeting tendon injuries and other orthopedic conditions.

“These treatments are derived from the horse itself,” she said. “We use blood, bone marrow, or fat tissues from the horse; prepare stem cell-based treatments; and then use the product for treating the tendon/ligament or joint injury diagnosed in the horse.

“These orthobiologics have demonstrated remarkable potential to enhance the healing of equine musculoskeletal tissues,” she said. “While tendon/ligament and joint injuries do not cause immediate death in horses, they are responsible for chronic pain and markedly reduce the ability of horses to return to athleticism; therefore, our continued efforts to identify optimal treatments is critical to advance equine medicine.”

Joint, tendon, and ligament injuries are the most common sources of lameness in all horses. Interestingly, naturally occurring musculoskeletal injuries in equine athletes also share many parallels with injuries seen in human athletes.

“I am grateful and excited to continue to participate in both clinical service and research at Texas A&M,” Durgam said. “The high volume of clinical cases that receive advanced diagnostic imaging and treatments at LATH provides a powerful opportunity to conduct clinically relevant research that can advance both equine and human health.”

Moving Forward

Ultimately, Durgam is enthusiastic about sharing her experience in translational research and clinical service with VMBS’ Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, interns, residents, and graduate/doctoral trainees, while also working in tandem with her research and clinical colleagues.

This includes collaborating with Glass, another LATH equine orthopedics specialist, as well as with faculty across Texas A&M.

“Texas A&M supports outstanding College of Engineering departments with reputed research programs, and I am excited for new collaborations that will expand both clinical and basic science research in my laboratory,” she said. “Through high-impact cross- and multi-disciplinary studies conducted by a team of clinical specialists, clinician-scientists and basic science researchers, while simultaneously training the future members of veterinary medicine, I am confident that we can make a positive contribution for both day-to-day equine practice and the larger biomedical research field.”

Outside of the classroom, clinic, and laboratory, Durgam enjoys cooking and hiking.

“I don’t know that I have many hobbies,” she said with a laugh. “I enjoy being occupied with my work, where I always get to learn something new with like-minded people of wide-ranging expertise.”