USDA – Swine in Minnesota

USDA NIFA awards Food Animal researchers more than $2.7 million

With the new support, CVM researchers will help animals and producers across the swine industry

The United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) recently funded more than $2.7 million worth of research at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). The projects that benefit from this funding will help the food animal agriculture industry maximize production and advance strategies for keeping animals healthy. This recent investment in the CVM’s research represents another milestone in the decades-old relationship the College has with USDA NIFA, which has established a history for furthering food animal agriculture across species and contexts.

College leadership looks forward to how this new funding, when paired with CVM investigators’ expertise, will further the science that powers animal welfare and food security across the country.

The list of awardees includes Dr. Montse Torremorell and Dr. Noelle Noyes who will work on the elimination airborne viruses from swine barns and antibiotic resistance in swine, respectively. Dr. Jerry Torrison, head of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory will launch a new pathology residency program in collaboration with South Dakota State University.

Left to right: Dr. Montse Torremorell, Dr. Jerry Torrison, and Dr. Noelle Noyes

Dr. Ilya Slizovskiy receives new USDA-FSIS fellowship

Dr. Ilya Slizovskiy, PhD student in the Noyes lab, is the first recipient of a new fellowship created by the Food Safety Inspection Service, FSIS. This competitive fellowship is committed to data-driven and science-based approaches applied to all aspects of FSIS public health mission. Slizovskiy’s project focuses on new techniques to detect antimicrobial resistances and foodborne pathogens.

There is a Need for National Influenza Surveillance in Swine

In today’s post, we would like to highlight the value of flu surveillance in swine as well as to acknowledge the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UMN-VDL) as a long-standing and committed contributor to the USDA Voluntary Influenza A Virus (IAV) in Swine Surveillance program. Thanks to this surveillance program, the U.S. swine industry has ample information available for analysis and to support influenza-related research, vaccinology and diagnostics.

The objectives of the USDA Voluntary IAV in Swine Surveillance program are:

Monitor genetic evolution of endemic influenza in swine to better understand endemic and emerging influenza virus ecology.
Make available influenza isolates for research and to establish an objective database for genetic analysis of these isolates and related information.
Select proper isolates for the development of relevant diagnostic reagents, updating diagnostic assays, and vaccine seedstock products.