# Participation in the FDA Vet-LIRN Cooperative Agreement Program to strengthen analysis of animal food or animal drug samples that may be adulterated and investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks.

> **NIH FDA U18** · ARKANSAS STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE · 2024 · $21,481

## Abstract

1 Project Summary/Abstract
 The focus of this proposal is to seek funding for the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic
 Laboratory (AVDL) at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture through the Cooperative
 Agreement Program offered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for
 Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Office of Research Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and
 Response Network (Vet-LIRN). Through its participation AVDL can partner with Vet-LIRN
 laboratories in strengthening CVM's capability and capacity to conduct case investigations
 of animal food or animal drug samples that may be adulterated and investigation of
 foodborne illness outbreaks. AVDL is an ISO 17025 Accredited diagnostic laboratory and is
 part of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. AVDL has the staff, equipment, technology,
 and management system that will benefit and support Vet-LIRN through necropsy services,
 sample analysis, surveillance, and animal food/drug emergency outbreak testing.
 AVDL is a full-service ISO 17025 accredited veterinary diagnostics laboratory centrally
 located in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a Level-2 National Animal Health Laboratory
 Network (NAHLN) and a Vet-LIRN recognized laboratory. The laboratory is organized
 around the veterinary pathology service with sections devoted to necropsy, histopathology,
 immunohistochemistry, virology, microbiology, clinical pathology, serology, and analytical
 chemistry where toxicological analyses are performed. Approximately 15,000 diagnostic
 cases are processed each year, with an additional 18,000 Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA)
 cases and 5000 National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) cases. The core competency of
 the lab is the large-animal necropsy service. Vet-LIRN's stated desire to augment the
 CVM's capability to characterize animal diagnostic specimens will find no more competent
 partner than the AVDL.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11031815
- **Project number:** 1U18FD008248-01
- **Recipient organization:** ARKANSAS STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
- **Principal Investigator:** Sharon Pulla
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $21,481
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-10 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11031815

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11031815, Participation in the FDA Vet-LIRN Cooperative Agreement Program to strengthen analysis of animal food or animal drug samples that may be adulterated and investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks. (1U18FD008248-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11031815. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*