# Vet-LIRN Network Capacity-Building Project: Bacterial Whole Genome Sequencing

> **NIH FDA U18** · LOUISIANA STATE UNIV A&M COL BATON ROUGE · 2024 · $75,000

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract:
The need to increase Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to provide antibiotic resistance
genotypic testing in laboratory networks for emerging antibiotic resistance pathogens is critical for
the current One Health Concept. Antimicrobial resistance is a constant and growing threat to
human and animal health. WGS is one of the recent and more powerful tools to study and monitor
the development and progression of the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Also, WGS
provides real-time sequence data used to build public genomic databases that aid in identifying
the genetic characterization of foodborne bacterial pathogens, isolates from clinical specimens,
and investigation of outbreaks in health care facilities and to provide information for infection
control practices. The continued investment in new technologies such as WGS is crucial for
supporting an expanding testing volume while sustaining rapid detection and public health
response. Sequencing has also been shown to be an excellent utility for epidemiological
investigations of foodborne disease outbreaks, for establishing antimicrobial-resistant
dashboards, and for use by clinicians for making the best treatment decisions. The Louisiana
Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (LADDL) serves as a whole genome sequencing (WGS)
laboratory for the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Vet-LIRN Veterinary Diagnostic
Laboratory Program. LADDL is one of five laboratories originally selected by Vet-LIRN to
participate in a pilot project using WGS to monitor antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and
emerging pathogens. Long term goals of this proposal are to add whole genomic sequence
genomic data from bacterial isolates originating from animal clinical specimens or animal feed
bacterial isolates to National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System and to develop a rapid
response network for accurate resolution of putative animal foodborne disease outbreaks. The
project has three specific aims. First, to provide the funding required for continuation of Vet-
LIRN’s pilot Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Sequencing Project. The primary cost of
the project is for purchasing supplies and reagents and for payment of equipment maintenance
contracts. Second, to perform WGS on isolates submitted by the Vet-LIRN source labs as
genomic information for identifying antimicrobial-resistant bacteria or pathogens related to
surveillance or disease outbreaks. Finally, to populate and contribute sequence data to the
national databases to aid in the genomic and biomedical information needed to track bacterial
pathogens of interest to the CVM and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10908445
- **Project number:** 5U18FD006442-07
- **Recipient organization:** LOUISIANA STATE UNIV A&M COL BATON ROUGE
- **Principal Investigator:** ALMA ROY
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $75,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10908445

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10908445, Vet-LIRN Network Capacity-Building Project: Bacterial Whole Genome Sequencing (5U18FD006442-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10908445. Licensed CC0.

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