At Embark, our scientific discoveries are powered by customers like you. Every dog tested helps us unlock new insights about dog health, behavior, and more.
By testing with us and completing research surveys, you’re fueling future discoveries that can help all dogs.
As a pack, we make an impact.
Embark was founded by scientists with a passion for research and a lifelong love for dogs. We are an official research partner of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Our team of canine experts, veterinarians, and geneticists are dedicated to making discoveries that benefit dogs everywhere.
Together, we can help all dogs live healthier, happier lives.
DNA plays an important role in a dog’s risk for allergies. Embark scientists developed a first-of-its-kind genetic risk result for allergies, called allergy risk scores. These scores take into account hundreds of genetic variants and breed ancestry to estimate their likelihood of developing four different types of allergies on a scale of 0% to 100%.
Embark scientists discovered a genetic variant associated with early-onset adult deafness (EOAD) in Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. This variant is a 12-base pair deletion in the EPS8L2 gene, which plays an important role in the inner ear hair cells in humans and other mammals. This discovery was made possible with help from the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States, projectDOG, and dedicated dog owners and breeders.
The subtly spotted coat known as “roaning” can act as nature’s camouflage for dogs and horses. With the help of our citizen scientist customers, Embark found that roaning is associated with a genomic region on chromosome 38 and likely regulated by the usherin gene (USH2A). One customer in particular—Bogey the Australian Cattle Dog—was the key to this genetic discovery.
Breeds like the Siberian Husky are known for having blue eyes. Using genetic data from research surveys, Embark scientists discovered a new genetic variant, specifically a duplication of DNA sequence near ALX4 (a gene on dog chromosome 18), that explains why some dogs have blue eyes.
Embark discovered that red pigment intensity is a phenotype controlled by at least five genetic loci across dog breeds. This discovery allows Embark to explain 70% of the variation in hair coat pheomelanin intensity across purebred and mixed breed dogs. By leveraging phenotype data from 3,000 dogs submitted by owners and breeders, Embark now has the ability to predict coat color intensity with high accuracy.
The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study by the Morris Animal Foundation follows a cohort of over 3,000 Golden Retrievers throughout their lives, aiming to understand genetic and environmental factors that affect health and lifespan. Embark genotyped a cohort of study participants and discovered that inbreeding is also a concern for the breed. Every 10% increase in COI leads to litter size decreasing by one puppy.
The scientists and genetic experts at Embark are hard at work making scientific discoveries to advance canine genetics. We believe in transparency, and publish those works to be available for the greater scientific community and our customers.
Explore the publications from our science team below.
Want to learn more about science at Embark? Read about our ongoing studies, published research, scientific partnerships, and more.
