Lab directors press Congress to sustain workforce pipeline, training and university partnerships

State and university laboratory directors told the House Agriculture Subcommittee that staffing and training are central to maintaining diagnostic capacity and that federal support helps sustain internships, residencies and teaching programs that feed the veterinary diagnostics pipeline. Dr. Jamie Riedelik said Kansas State’s diagnostic lab employs about 120 people, including roughly 25 faculty, and that the lab developed a technician internship pipeline and increased pathology residents after a 2022 period of high turnover. She said federal NAHLN funding helps support salaries and training that make those programs viable. Dr. Roger Maine said Iowa State’s lab leverages its university role to train students and practitioners; he noted the lab’s heavy case load gives students hands‑on experience and that many veterinary graduates enter food‑animal practice because of those training opportunities. Members highlighted regional examples: the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at UConn trains about 40 graduate and undergraduate students annually, and witnesses described outreach including summer hires, tours, continuing education for veterinarians, webinars and collaborations with extension services. Witnesses told the committee that university‑based labs are natural training centers, because they combine academic faculty, diagnostic caseloads and extension/outreach. They asked Congress to sustain predictable funding streams that support technician pay, residency slots and outreach programs, and they described NBAF and university partnerships as potential sources of trainees and technicians. No formal policy changes were decided at the hearing, but panelists asked for continued committee engagement and funding oversight to ensure NAHLN member labs can recruit and retain the technical workforce needed for outbreak surge capacity.