A Legacy of Service to Iowa and U.S. Animal and Public Health
Since it was established in 1947, the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has played a significant role in addressing both animal and human diseases; viewed as one of the top diagnostic labs in the United States, the VDL works every day to contain diseases, whether for Iowa producers or people around the nation and globe. For example, since 2015, the world has seen the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza or avian flu, and in the spring of 2024, Iowa State played a key role in controlling major outbreaks, including recently being first to diagnose the spread of the disease to dairy cattle. During the COVID-1 crisis in 2020, the laboratory collaborated with the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa to expand the testing capacity and expedite test results for all Iowans.
There is no better example of the land-grant mission in action than what occurs at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Processing more than 100,000 cases a year — and performing more than a million tests in total — the laboratory plays a key role in advancing Iowa’s $32 billion animal agricultural industry and ensuring the world’s food supply is plentiful and safe. Since animal diseases impacting trade are recognized as a major threat to the Iowa and U.S. animal agricultural economy, the laboratory and its role in providing unbiased third-party diagnoses in livestock and poultry is considered vital to the industry. The laboratory also diagnoses disease in wildlife, companion animals, and performance animals.
Iowa State is distinguished for having one of the nation’s few comprehensive laboratories that encompasses the full range of specialty areas including pathology, bacteriology, virology, molecular diagnostics, and serology, as well as expensive-to-maintain fields such as toxicology and areas of emerging importance such as clinical pharmacology, genetic sequencing, and environmental health. The laboratory’s consistent focus on excellence — from providing accurate, same-day test results to educating the public about outbreaks and other serious health concerns — has led to its current status as the preeminent food animal veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Iowa, the nation, and the world.
Barriers to Excellence
In recent years, the quality and breadth of services provided by the laboratory has been achieved despite a facility that has outlived its usefulness. A once-small staff of 10 faculty and 20 technical staff members in 1976 has increased to 28 faculty and more than 150 technical staff; in just the last decade, the caseload for the laboratory has more than doubled, and many new diseases have emerged in U.S. animal agriculture. To keep pace with this tremendous growth, a new facility is being constructed in two phases.
A Laboratory for Tomorrow
Phase One Completion
Between 2021 to 2023, Phase 1 of a new, 100,000-square-foot stand-alone building for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory was constructed, resulting in a facility that serves Iowa’s animal agriculture industry and expands the laboratory’s ability to develop and incorporate the latest diagnostic tools and techniques. Located to the southwest of the main College of Veterinary Medicine building, the new VDL’s location and freestanding design allow easy access for clients, while incorporating critical biocontainment features. Phase 1 included the laboratory’s “front-end functions,” including receiving/ accessioning, necropsy, sample processing, histopathology, bacteriology, pathology, and an incinerator. The college is grateful for support from the State of Iowa, Iowa State University, and generous donors that brought Phase 1 to completion in March 2024.
In early 2024, the university celebrated the dedication of the Phase 1 building and the official groundbreaking for Phase 2. The second phase of the project will accommodate the remaining required laboratory testing units including molecular diagnostics, virology, analytical chemistry, toxicology, serology, and a new assay development space and operational support functions. These remaining units constitute critical laboratory functions that impact more than 80% of the testing done by the laboratory. This addition will co-locate all of the laboratory’s operations, provide efficient and effective process flow, address critical issues of space quantity and quality, and provide the necessary biosafety and biocontainment for the VDL to adequately serve stakeholders.
Phase Two Construction
In early 2024, the university celebrated the dedication of the Phase 1 building and the official groundbreaking for Phase 2. The second phase of the project will accommodate the remaining required laboratory testing units including molecular diagnostics, virology, analytical chemistry, toxicology, serology, and a new assay development space and operational support functions. These remaining units constitute critical laboratory functions that impact more than 80% of the testing done by the laboratory. This addition will co-locate all of the laboratory’s operations, provide efficient and effective process flow, address critical issues of space quantity and quality, and provide the necessary biosafety and biocontainment for the VDL to adequately serve stakeholders.
Once Phase 2 is completed, the resulting state-of-the-art facility will keep Iowa State at the forefront of discoveries of emerging and re-emerging diseases, and provide a rich caseload to inform research and teach future veterinary practitioners. Ultimately, this infrastructure investment will greatly enhance the state’s diagnostic service and discovery capabilities — and support animal health, food safety, public health, and the competitiveness of Iowa’s animal agricultural industries for current and future generations in Iowa, our nation, and the world.
