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Like spiders, scorpions, and mites, ticks are members of the arachnid family. Unlike their eight-legged relatives, ticks possess a specialized barbed mouthpart called a hypostome, which anchors them securely into a host’s skin and allows them to feed on blood for several days without falling off.   During a blood meal, infected ticks can transmit Anaplasma marginale, the bacterium that causes bovine anaplasmosis. Pastured cattle are often at […]

From the moment she enrolled in her first chemistry class at her high school in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Katherine Perri, PhD, has been devoted to the wonders of physical science. Like any good chemist Perri, keeps a copy of the periodic table close at hand, particularly the one she received as a high school senior […]

Long before he pursued veterinary science, Dhani Prakoso, DVM, MS, PhD, was the child who couldn’t ignore an animal in need.  Growing up in Surabaya, Indonesia, the country’s second-largest city, Prakoso saw the challenges facing stray animals in a community with few animal shelters and wondered how he could help. While many of his family […]

For decades, the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, has helped maintain Texas poultry flocks with utmost dedication by detecting the poultry industry’s most significant disease threats. Over the past seven years, TVMDL’s laboratories performed more than 1 million tests for avian influenza, Mycoplasma, and Salmonella.  TVMDL also oversees two foundational poultry health programs: the Texas Pullorum-Typhoid (PT) Program and the Texas’ […]

For Nicole Glenn, DVM, the road to veterinary pathology was anything but conventional.  Growing up in Katy, Texas, Glenn developed a lifelong curiosity for the natural world at an early age. Dogs, birds, horses, and fish were all part of her childhood, and her peers were certain that she’d become a veterinarian. Glenn, however, had different plans. In […]

As hurricane season and severe summer storms bring heavy rainfall and flooding across parts of the United States, livestock owners may face more than damaged fences and muddy pastures. Despite the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) anticipation of a below-normal hurricane season, it’s still critical livestock owners make preparations should a disaster or severe […]

A student worker at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory is celebrating national success after helping lead the Texas A&M University Dairy Challenge Team to a championship this spring. Abby van Adrichem, a student worker in TVMDL’s client services section, served as a coach for the four-member team that competed at the 2026 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge in […]

With longer days, warmer weather and a little more breathing room in the schedule, summer often feels like the perfect time to bring home a new dog. At the same time, summer often brings a surge in dog shelter populations. Waves of spring-born puppies, combined with dogs of all ages, can overwhelm shelter space and force […]

At the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, safety is not merely a checklist, but a devoted mindset that guides every action and decision.  When working with pathogens that pose serious risks to animal and human health, precision and consistency are not optional.  On March 23 and April 7, TVMDL staff in College Station and Canyon, respectively, hosted BSL-3 […]

A pathologist at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, Josué Díaz-Delgado, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVP, contributed to scientific findings from a 20-year investigation of 45 whales found along the coastlines of the Canary Islands, Spain. The study adds a substantial body of pathological data for species within the family Kogiidae.  The investigation of pygmy and […]