TVMDL 50

Celebrating 50 years of TVMDL

You are here: Home / Milestones

Milestones

A lot of things can happen in a half century, and for TVMDL it has been full of achievements, discoveries, and service.

  • 1967 – The 60th Texas Legislature establishes the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) as a separate state agency under the administration of The Texas A&M University System. From 1967 to 1995, a rider was attached to this legislation stating that TVMDL should give highest priority to diagnostic work involving large animals.
  • September 1, 1969 – The 18,000-square-foot Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory opens on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, with Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine professor William Sippel as the first director. Over the next five decades, additions were made to accommodate expanded laboratories and more sophisticated equipment.
  • 1971 – The Experiment Station’s Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory at Gonzales is built to replace the South Texas Poultry Research Station, founded in 1949.
  • 1973-1975 – 1973–75 The 63rd Texas Legislature establishes the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at Amarillo to address the needs of the young and rapidly growing cattle feedlot industry. The facility opens in 1975.
  • 1975 – During a massive anthrax outbreak in Falls County in East Central Texas, National Guard helicopters deliver specimens to TVMDL daily, and the agency develops a national and international reputation for its anthrax expertise.
  • 1978 – TVMDL’s virology section is the first in the world to isolate canine parvovirus. In 1979, the lab develops a canine parvovirus vaccine and licenses it to Jen-Sal Corporation.
  • 1979-1980 – Under a restructuring of The Texas A&M University System, direct oversight of TVMDL is moved from the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine to the chancellor of the Texas A&M System.
  • 1989 – The Texas Racing Act stipulates that TVMDL has primary responsibility for providing drug-testing services to the pari-mutuel horse and greyhound racing industries.
  • 1991 – The 72nd Texas Legislature transfers implementation of the Salmonella Pullorum/Typhoid Program and administration of the poultry diagnostic laboratories in Center and Gonzales from the Experiment Station to TVMDL.
  • 1998 – TVMDL’s pathology section is the first to recognize that unusual liver lesions in dogs are caused by aflatoxin contamination of corn-based dog food. Its toxicology section is heavily involved in helping to control the large aflatoxicosis outbreak in Texas and throughout the United States.
  • 2001 – The 77th Texas Legislature provides funding to build TVMDL’s Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory at Center, Texas, on the site of a poultry diagnostic lab built in the early 1950s with East Texas poultry industry funds and operated by the Experiment Station until 1991. The new 2609 sqft lab included isolated offices space and BSL2 laboratory space, dedicated HVAC systems for lab space, and an onsite incinerator.
  • May 2002 – TVMDL is selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as one of 12 core state/university diagnostic laboratories to be part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), a partnership between the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and the USDA. Funding is focused on surveillance and diagnostic testing of eight high-consequence animal diseases.
  • 2004 – New molecular genetics technology is adopted for routine use by TVMDL, enabling the laboratory to conduct follow-up testing for a high-pathogenic avian influenza virus outbreak in the greater Gonzales area, where the large poultry industry is vulnerable.
  • 2004 – TVMDL plays a critical role in containing and eradicating a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in Gonzales County, Texas.
  • 2004 – An addition to TVMDL’s College Station facility includes two 800-square-foot Biosafety Level 3 laboratories, designed to diagnose some of the most contagious and deadly animal diseases, including classical swine fever and foot and mouth disease. The labs require specialized design and construction and stringent procedures to prevent disease organisms from escaping into the environment. The following year, TVMDL acquired state-of-the-art robotic equipment for more rapid diagnosis.
  • 2008 – As part of rebranding efforts, Texas Cooperative Extension is renamed the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station becomes Texas AgriLife Research. These two agencies, with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Texas Forest Service, and TVMDL, are gathered under the new organizational name Texas A&M AgriLife.
  • 2008 – TVMDL is one of the nation’s first laboratories to alert veterinarians and federal agencies to the presence of melamine in companion animal feed. This results in a national reevaluation of the animal food inspection process.
  • 2009 -TVMDL diagnoses an outbreak of equine piroplasmosis in Texas.
  • March 2010 – TVMDL in Amarillo holds a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Biosafety Level 3 laboratory addition and renovation of the sample receiving and processing area. The new laboratory will supplement the BSL-3 lab in College Station and allow for rapid, early detection of foot and mouth disease and other highly pathogenic animal and zoonotic diseases in the Texas Panhandle.
  • February 2011 – TVMDL’s new 2,950-square-foot Sam and Sally Glass Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory in Gonzales is officially dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new facility includes a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory that will play a critical role in detecting and containing exotic Newcastle disease, avian influenza, and other diseases that could threaten the Texas poultry industry.
  • September 2012 – After approval by the Board of Regents, The Texas A&M University System incorporates “A&M” into the names of its seven state agencies, including TVMDL, to better align their affiliation with the A&M System.
  • 2013 – TVMDL receives $53M to build a new 90,000+ sqft state-of-the-art facility in College Station.
  • 2015 – TVMDL diagnoses the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a captive white tailed deer in Texas.  As a result, testing for CWD at TVMDL more than doubles – from 15,000 tests annually to 39,000 tests annually.
  • 2017 – TVMDL celebrates 50 years of service to the citizens of the state of Texas and veterinary medicine across the globe. The agency’s 50th celebration logo includes the tagline, “rooted in tradition, building for the future.” This message defines the direction we’re headed at TVMDL.  The agency is rooted in its commitment to service and excellence; these are TVMDL’s traditions. On that we add the many contributions and achievements of our staff, to create the foundation for TVMDL’s future.  For the next 50 years, TVMDL will continue to be a dynamic, diversified agency focused on meeting the needs of the livestock and companion animal industries.
  • February 2017 – TVMDL’s College Station laboratory and agency headquarters moves to its new home on Agronomy Road. Laboratory space more than doubles and open laboratories allow for great collaboration among disciplines.