# Identification of fish pathogens in California

> **NIH FDA U18** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2023 · $50,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) system, within the University of
California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), is comprised of four laboratories
dedicated to veterinary diagnostics. As an accredited member of the American Association of
Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), CAHFS adheres to rigorous standards and
maintains strict oversight of all standard operating procedures to ensure results are accurate,
repeatable, and consistent. Microbial testing of clinical samples and food matrices is an integral
part of our core mission. CAHFS functions as the state veterinary diagnostic laboratory serving
the food animal industries for routine clinical diagnostics, for regulatory testing and for food
pathogen monitoring. The demand for diagnostic testing for fish species is increasing and
CAHFS is currently building capacity to enhance the fish and aquaculture testing that can be
offered. Among the major areas of interest are correct identification of bacterial organisms
associated with fish disease, as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), or detection of
antimicrobial resistance genes as an alternative to in vitro AST, given the challenges with growth
of most fish pathogens under routine culture conditions and the general lack of clinical
breakpoints and laboratory standards for performing AST in fish. CAHFS has not previously
received capacity building funding and is applying for this opportunity to grow our fish diagnostic
program, including bacterial WGS sequencing capability, the development of a custom fish
pathogen MALDI-TOF library to enhance rapid and accurate identification of fish bacterial
organisms from clinical samples, and genomic AMR surveillance. Furthermore, with the capacity
to perform WGS on microbial pathogens, CAHFS would be better able to contribute to animal
and food pathogen sequencing efforts and participate in Vet-LIRN programs. The CAHFS
system is uniquely qualified to assist with the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation Response
Network (Vet-LIRN) mission and is at the forefront of monitoring antimicrobial resistance among
livestock animals in coordination with the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s
Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship program.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10828200
- **Project number:** 1U18FD008036-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Heather Michelle Fritz
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $50,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10828200

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10828200, Identification of fish pathogens in California (1U18FD008036-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10828200. Licensed CC0.

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