# Microbiology testing support for VetLIRN

> **NIH FDA U18** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2021 · $27,800

## Abstract

Abstract
The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS), within the School of
Veterinary Medicine at the University of California – Davis, is uniquely qualified to
participate in a cooperative agreement with the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and
Response Network (Vet-LIRN.) We are the reference diagnostic facility for the
California Department of Food Agriculture as well as an integral component of the
veterinary college. We have faculty with a vast array of expertise in infectious disease,
zoonotic infection, and food safety diagnostics and interventions. CAHFS faculty and
staff perform over 8700 necropsies and 526,000 diagnostic tests per year. In addition to
being a Tier 1 facility in the federal Select Agent program, CAHFS participates in
several partnerships focused on emergency detection and response, including the Food
Emergency Response Network, the CDC Laboratory Response Network, and the
National Animal Health Laboratory Network. As an accredited member of the American
Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), CAHFS adheres to
rigorous standards and strict performance monitoring required for certification by this
organization. The Bacteriology Section at CAHFS utilizes both classical and molecular
techniques to provide rapid and accurate pathogen identification for our stakeholders.
Disease detection and infectious agent confirmation are critical components of our
diagnostic mission. Additionally, our section performs pathogen testing of foods for
human consumption and technicians are familiar with FDA BAM testing methodologies.
Extension and validation of these procedures to animal food and feed products are
additional requirements of our diagnostic mission. All of these competences align with
the Vet-LIRN mission of expanding FDA's oversight of and testing capabilities for
veterinary diagnostic samples, leading to an enhanced response to animal food/drug
adulteration or contamination. CAHFS participation in this cooperative agreement
relationship will allow the lab to maintain capability and capacity to respond to Vet-LIRN
when diagnostic testing is needed and to strengthen FDA's food protection systems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10189606
- **Project number:** 5U18FD006161-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** KATHY Lynn KURTH
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $27,800
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10189606

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10189606, Microbiology testing support for VetLIRN (5U18FD006161-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10189606. Licensed CC0.

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