RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Tech researchers will now be helping in the fight against emerging diseases. The Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services, or ViTALS, is one of five laboratories chosen by the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to receive improvements to infrastructure.
ViTALS has acted as the on-site interdisciplinary diagnostic laboratory of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Now, ViTALS will focus on molecular diagnostics and molecular epidemiology with an emphasis on next generation sequencing to develop and evaluate diagnostics for animal and zoonotic diseases.
"To be a part of the NAHLN and NBAF partnership means recognition for what we do here at Virginia Tech. We're a small lab, but there's a lot we can do because of the expertise we have here,” said Tanya LeRoith the director of ViTALS. She would add that the partnerships aims, "... to strengthen the labs so that we can detect these unusual mortality events, learn about the most recent technology, and be a point source to help other labs in the region.”
As part of the partnership a scientist will be hosted at the lab for four years to assess regional disease development risk.
“This exclusive selection recognizes the stable infrastructure and recent outstanding work of our college. These diagnosticians and clinical scientists have worked to achieve challenging diagnosis in unique cases and to maintain preparedness to diagnose emerging animal diseases,” said M. Daniel Givens, dean of the veterinary college.
According to Virginia Tech, the new scientists will be selected within the next year and will communicate with the NBAF, regional laboratories, and work in the college's Collaborative Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory.
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