The Center for Food Animal Health, Food Safety and Food Defense (CFAFSD) in the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Êͼ¹ÒÅÆ College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) was conceived and initiated by Dean Ruby Perry in March, 2019, with a goal of improving Food Animal Health, Food Safety and Food Defense in the State of Alabama. The Center would play a significant role in supporting Alabama`s Agriculture.
Collaborations
TU Faculty in the Department of Pathobiology, Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Biomedical Sciences as well as faculty of Animal Sciences in the CAENS will play a major role in all activities of the Center. The Center scientists will collaborate with experts at other institutions including:
USDA ARS Laboratories in Athens, GA and Auburn, AL
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Seoul, Korea
Nano-Biosensor laboratory at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Research Institute for Biotechnology and Environment, University and Nong Lam, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Research,Teaching & Training
Teach and conduct cutting edge research in food animal diseases, trans boundary and zoonotic animal diseases, and pre-harvest and post-harvest food safety
Train International fellows in different food safety and food animal disease diagnostics
Provide summer training opportunities for DVM students with interest in food animal health and food safety
Cooperate with the state offices to develop opportunities for advancement of agricultural food safety in Alabama
Vision
Developing an Onsite Solution
for Safer Food
To create a center with state-of-the-art-equipment and resources to facilitate teaching, research and service for the benefit of students, researchers, and local communities
Given the shortage of food animal veterinarians, new strategies are needed to encourage DVM students to consider careers related to food animal practice.
Mission
To facilitate intensive engagement of interested veterinary students in diverse aspects of food animal practice.
To attract international scholars to the Center to participate in collaborative research in the areas of food animal health & food safety.
To facilitate outreach activities for the benefit of regional small-holder farmers in modern herd health management practices.
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The objectives of the center are to:Â
Provide special opportunities for selected veterinary students to engage in various aspects of food animal health (in farm visits and on-site veterinary services
Provide enhanced support to the veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the college through the detection of food animal pathogens and foodborne pathogens using latest molecular techniques
Facilitate workshops for small-holder farmers in modern herd health management practices & to improve pre-harvest food safety contamination of food
Diagnostic Service
Provide microbiological diagnostic service to TUCVM veterinary teaching hospital and to food animal farms served by TUSVM
Improve capabilities and infrastructure for the diagnosis of food animal diseases by using advanced state-of-the-art genetic and molecular technologies
Provide superior diagnostic services using in-house developed and patented molecular foodborne pathogen detection tools that can be availed by private food industry on payment basis.