Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction
Dr. Linder’s research on whether pet dogs can help overweight children reach healthy weight is being conducted under the auspices of the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction, launched in February of this year. She is one of the two associate directors of the Institute, which involves professors and researchers across all the Tufts University campuses: the campus of the veterinary school in the middle of Massachusetts, the medical campus in downtown Boston, and the main campus in the Boston suburb of Medford (in particular the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service).
“The healing power of animals enriches our lives in many ways,” the Institute says. “Human Animal Interaction goes well beyond the strong emotional bonds that people have with our pets.”
The vision of the Institute is “to enhance the lives of humans and animals through mutually beneficial interactions.”
To learn more about the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction and some of the research projects it is undertaking, go to http://hai.tufts.edu. The Director of the Institute is Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN, a professor at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and the university’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.
