BS - animal science - Michigan State University
DVM - Michigan State University
Anatomic pathology residency - Texas A&M University
Board certification - American College of Veterinary Pathologists
A Michigan native and graduate of Michigan State University, Dr. Kennedy has made her way to Kentucky via Pennsylvania and Texas. Dr. Kennedy spent two years as a resident veterinarian at Hanover Shoe Farms, a 400-mare commercial Standardbred breeding farm. Having developed a strong interest in anatomic pathology while at MSU, Dr. Kennedy pursued residency training at Texas A&M University, achieving board certification. After one year as a service pathologist in Amarillo, Texas, Dr. Kennedy joined the faculty at the University of Kentucky in 2007.
Dr. Kennedy is the director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Postmortem Program, and is responsible for postmortem examinations of all racehorses, Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse. Dr. Kennedy works in close collaboration with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, racetrack medical directors, and musculoskeletal researchers both within the University of Kentucky and at other institutions.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Postmortem Program was established in the early 2010s and is modeled on the program developed in California in the 1990s. Through three decades of research, a correlation between repetitive fatigue and the development of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMI) has been documented, with approximately 90% of CMI having underlying lesions. Far from being the result of the so-called "bad step" catastrophic injuries progress from the repetitive use injury. Armed with this knowledge, strategies to mitigate risk and identify horses that need to be removed from training in order to heal have been developed and are continuing to be refined. The goal of Dr. Kennedy's work is to make racing safer for the human and equine athletes involved, and to have horses retire sound and capable of embarking on a second career.
Selected publications
Uzal, F. A., Kennedy, L. A., Maxie, G. (2017). Special issue on racehorse pathology: In the service of equine and human welfare, Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation, 29(4, SI), 381-382.
Janes, J. G., Kennedy, L. A., Garrett, K. S., Engiles, J. B. (2017). Common lesions of the distal end of the third metacarpal/metatarsal bone in racehorse catastrophic breakdown injuries., Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation, 29(4), 431-436.
Engiles, J. B., Stewart, H., Janes, J. G., Kennedy, L. A. (2017). A diagnostic pathologist’s guide to carpal disease in racehorses, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 29(4), 414-430.
Knych, H. K., Janes, J. G., Kennedy, L. A., McKemie, D. S., Arthur, R. M., Samol, M. A., Uzal, F. A., Scollay, M. (2022). Detection and residence time of bisphosphonates in bone of horses, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 34(1), 23-27.
Labordère, A. L., Rodgerson, D. H., Kennedy, L. A. (2021). Osteomyelitis of the scapulohumeral joint associated with Rhodococcus equi and unresponsive to antibiotherapy in a foal, Equine Veterinary Education.