Principal Investigator: Cassandra Guarino

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 

The NYS Veterinary Diagnostic Center/Cornell Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University (AHDC) is a full-service multidisciplinary veterinary diagnostic laboratory and the only of its kind in the northeaster United States. The AHDC received over 280,000 client accessions in 2022. The Bacteriology section has MALDI-TOF analyzers, Sensititer systems, veraTREK® blood culture instruments, a BSL3 upgradable workspace, and 16S DNA sequencing capabilities, making it a full-service bacteriology laboratory. Additionally, the AHDC has the capacity to perform whole genome sequencing. The Bacteriology laboratory of the AHDC performed over 100,000 tests in 2022 on clinical samples, tissues, serum, bacterial isolates, environmental, food, and feed samples, including over 5,000 antimicrobial sensitivity panels. The AHDC has partnered with the FDA and played an active role in pet food and animal feed contamination investigations many times over the past two decades. We hope to continue our participation with the FDA Vet-LIRN program and other network laboratories to:

1. Continue to participate in VPO designated sample analyses and surveillance activities to promote animal health and welfare and add to the Vet-LIRN Network’s surge capacity to assist in emergency and large-scale outbreak testing.

2. Provide analytical data to support regulatory actions by developing and using standardized methods, equipment platforms, and reporting methods. Continuing to participate in proficiency testing provided by the VPO, continue investigating consumer reported cases as requested by the VPO, and continuing to improve and implement standardized quality management systems as designated by the VPO.

3. Continue to participate in small-scale antibiotic susceptibility testing studies to address emerging antimicrobial resistance issues, acting as a source laboratory for the FDA Vet-LIRN AMR monitoring project to collect and submit bacterial isolates and associated antimicrobial susceptibility data.