dr. Hilde De Cock (DVM, PhD)

Pathology is a fundamental discipline within oncologic research, as accurate diagnosis forms the basis for reliable comparative studies, optimal therapeutic evaluation, and in-depth molecular investigation. Although veterinary pathology is a relatively young field compared with human pathology, it is rapidly and continuously expanding. Veterinary pathology makes an important contribution to human medicine because companion animals share the same living environment and similar nutritional and environmental factors with humans. As a result, they develop spontaneous neoplasms that often closely resemble human tumor types. These spontaneous tumors serve as valuable, natural models for cancer research, capturing both the biological variability and the clinical reality of tumor progression; elements that are frequently absent in artificial laboratory models. In addition, many small and large domestic animal species consist of breeds with relatively narrow genetic variation. These genetically homogeneous populations offer unique opportunities to unravel hereditary components of tumor development and to identify molecular cancer signatures. Through this combination of clinical relevance, shared environmental factors, and genetic insights, veterinary pathology represents a crucial link in advancing translational and comparative oncologic research.
 

Dr. Hilde De Cock obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from Ghent University in 1990. Shortly after graduation, she began her career in veterinary pathology at the Department of Veterinary Pathology at Ghent University. In 1996, she advanced her training by completing a residency in anatomic veterinary pathology at the University of California, Davis (UCDavis, USA), followed by a fellowship in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at UCDavis. In 1999, Dr. De Cock successfully passed the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) board examination, earning Diplomate status in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology. She completed her PhD at Ghent University in 2001, focusing her research on sex hormone receptors in the normal canine uterus and in cystic endometrial hyperplasia. Dr. De Cock has accumulated more than 20 years of experience in diagnostic veterinary pathology, serving both as a lecturer at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at UCDavis and as a diagnostic pathologist in private veterinary laboratories. She is currently engaged in oncologic research as a consultant veterinary pathologist in the Small Animal Department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University.
 

• Lab address: Soft Tissue Surgery, Small Animal Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, entrance 20, B-9820 Merelbeke