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Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Lab wins accreditation, seeks federal funding for equipment and staffing
Summary
The state veterinary diagnostic laboratory announced recent full accreditation, hiring of new pathologists and staff openings, and a request for federal-directed funding to replace key equipment and modernize lab information systems.
The Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) reported full accreditation, recent hiring of veterinary specialists and an ongoing workforce and capital funding drive to maintain testing capacity for priority diseases.
Key updates from the VDL director - Accreditation and staffing: The VDL reported it passed an external audit and achieved full accreditation as part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. The lab said it has filled several specialist positions including a diagnostic pathologist and a food‑animal diagnostics veterinarian, and it expects additional hires this year to replace retirees. - Capacity and equipment needs: The director outlined critical equipment and information‑technology needs, including a real‑time PCR platform that is nearing end‑of‑life from the single vendor used by many labs. The VDL asked for federal support for instrument replacement and for a modern laboratory information management system to replace an in‑house legacy system. - Funding requests: The VDL said it has prepared a congressional directed spending request for $2.25 million to support a digital slide scanner, a modern lab information management system and replacement PCR instruments. The lab director also flagged a USDA competitive “poultry innovation” grant opportunity for vaccine R&D and virus mutation research.
Why it matters: Diagnostic labs are a core element of the disease detection and response system. Accreditation expands what the VDL can test and certify locally, which matters for fast response and for supporting state surveillance programs such as the milk testing effort.
Operations and outreach The VDL reported more than 1,400 milk surveillance tests in the program’s first month, support for multi‑state research collaborations and a plan to recruit up to six fellows through an Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)/CDC laboratory fellowship program to bolster staffing for special projects.
Caveats and next steps VDL leaders said they are pursuing both federal cooperative agreements and discretionary congressional funding, noting uncertainty in federal budgets and the specialized equipment market (single‑vendor replacement cycles). The lab will continue outreach to state legislators and producer stakeholders to document the need for sustained funding.
