# ISU VDL Capacity Building and Methods Development Grant

> **NIH FDA U18** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2022 · $63,550

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Contamination of feed for food producing animals or food for companion animals not only can harm animals,
but can also cause residues that can harm people. For example, in the melamine food outbreak of 2007,
detection of melanine in pet food preceded detection of the same in infant formula which sickened and killed
children in China. Therefore, rapid detection of toxins in animal food/feed can protect public health. The
melamine food outbreak of 2007 revealed many deficiencies in veterinary diagnostic laboratory capacity to
rapidly detect and quantify food contamination during emergency outbreaks. This led to founding, 6-7 years
ago, of Vet-LIRN, a network of Federal, State, and University Laboratories whose function is to catalyze the
development of new and rapid tissue-based analytical techniques, provide for well-equipped and well-staffed
facilities, improve the effectiveness of partnerships to coordinate food safety and defense resources to reduce
the incidence of foodborne illnesses, and to increase communication among network labs. The Iowa State
University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ISU VDL) is a founding member and an avid supporter and
participant in network activities. Whereas this has broken down the “silo” mentality of individual labs and
improved communication, a lot more remains to be done to protect animal health and public health. This
project proposal has two Specific Aims:
Specific Aim #1: Capacity building of the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. To improve readiness of our
laboratory we need to keep our equipment and staff in a “ready” mode to quickly and efficiently respond to
VPO’s calls. We propose to purchase equipment, pay for service agreements, fund travel for our laboratory
personnel to attend FDA meetings and continuing education, maintain our participation in Vet-LIRN activities
such as inter-laboratory proficiency testing exercises. We will support surge capacity testing during large scale
animal food/feed emergency events and participate in short-term surveillance and related activities identified
by the VPO. We will also participate in inter-laboratory validation of tests originating from other labs.
Specific Aim #2: To develop and validate tissue-based diagnostic method(s) for diagnosis of sodium
monofluoroacetate rodenticide intoxication in animals. Intentional contamination of food for food animals by this
rodenticide can harm both the health of the animals and the economy of agricultural states like Iowa. The US
government has identified sodium monofluoroacetate as a priority pesticide for research because:
a) It potentially could to be used as a chemical weapon, and
b) There is no antidote to it and it is associated with a high mortality and high morbidity rates both in humans
and animals. The knowledge gap, which is a major concern and is to be addressed by this proposal, is that
rapid tissue-based diagnostic methods for this toxicant are lacking. The ISU-VDL will lead the effort t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10424404
- **Project number:** 5U18FD006443-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** WILSON Kiiza RUMBEIHA
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $63,550
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10424404

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10424404, ISU VDL Capacity Building and Methods Development Grant (5U18FD006443-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10424404. Licensed CC0.

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