The clinical pathology section is an academic unit with three mandates:

• Professional diagnostic service:  The Clinical Pathology Laboratory is part of New York State’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center and provides testing in the areas of hematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, immunology, and cytology. The Laboratory is staffed by a laboratory manager, board-certified clinical pathologists, medical technologists, medical technologist assistants, administrative assistants, and clinical pathology residents. We provide diagnostic testing and professional consultation services to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, to researchers affiliated with Cornell University and to private veterinary practitioners and researchers throughout New York, the USA, and worldwide.
• Education: We are dedicated to educating current and future veterinarians in clinical pathology through our residency program, interactive case-based lectures, laboratories and seminars, elective laboratory rotations for students, interns and residents, and web-based educational resources (see eClinPath).
• Research: We are committed to contributing to the advancement of knowledge in clinical pathology through investigative research. Our faculty and residents are actively involved in clinical applied research, which is a vital component of our residency training program. 

The Comparative Coagulation Laboratory has unique expertise in the diagnosis and characterization of blood coagulation disorders in animals. The laboratory is a referral center for specialized hemostasis testing to evaluate drugs and diseases that affect platelets and the processes of coagulation and fibrinolysis. 

Diagnostic Services

The laboratory offers a comprehensive menu of routine and advanced hemostasis tests. We provide veterinary clinicians and biomedical researchers consultation on test selection and interpretation. We continually develop new tests and adapt existing tests for novel species. The laboratory’s routine test menu is accessed through the Cornell Animal Health Diagnostic Center, with customization for special projects upon request. 

Research and Collaboration

The Coagulation laboratory faculty actively participates in collaborative studies with academic and non-academic researchers and supports industry projects. The laboratory is equipped to perform aggregometry, flow cytometry, viscoelastometry, thrombin generation, and kinetic fibrinolysis assays, with access to core facilities for proteomics and molecular genetic analyses.

Our diagnostic endocrinology lab provides accurate, reliable, and equitably priced testing for many hormones and vitamins in a broad array of species (primarily canine, equine, feline, and bovine but some exotics as well). Our veterinarians and technical staff offer pre-testing advice and free consultations on post-testing results. The lab is certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) to provide testing for the Canine Thyroid Registry. 

With over twenty years in operation, MD Lab provides AHDC clients with molecular assays to identify animal pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. As a high-throughput facility, it performs outbreak testing for diseases that significantly affect animals and the production industry. Adhering to the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) accreditation standards, MD Lab ensures quality across all its tests. Additionally, testing for high-consequence pathogens complies with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and is accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). MD Lab plays a key role within AHDC, which is recognized as a Level 1 Laboratory in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).

MD Lab offers more than 80 different assays and continues to add new assays to meet client needs. Most tests are completed by the next business day thanks to semi-automated workflows that incorporate liquid-handling robots such as the Biomek, KingFisher, and Integra. These workflows are managed through Access databases that support sample sorting, nucleic acid extraction, PCR setup, quality control, and reporting. Despite offering a wide range of assays and testing methods, MD Lab can efficiently process 800 samples per day. Every day, 10 to 12 skilled technologists run the lab in accordance with SOPs, ensuring quality and compliance and producing excellent results for our clients. 

The Serology/Immunology laboratory supports companion and livestock animal health via two main avenues: 

1. Disease diagnostic through antibody and antigen detection.
2. Evaluation of immunity and immune regulation by assessing vaccine response and inflammation markers. 

This unique approach includes tests that simultaneously assess disease diagnostic and vaccine responses, for example the Lyme multiplex assay for dogs and horses, the Brucella canis multiplex assay, the EHV-1 Risk Evaluation assay, and the West Nile Virus ELISA for equids. 

Multiplex inflammation marker panels are used to evaluate disease susceptibility, immune regulation during disease, and the effect of disease intervention and prevention in horses and cattle. While currently mainly used for research, these assays have a high potential to be associated with diseases and conditions in animals and eventually become diagnostic assays. There are several inflammation marker panels established for horses and one panel is in development for cattle. 

For more information:

Fluorescent bead-based multiplex assays improve serological disease diagnostics and have potential of identifying sensitive immune biomarkers for maintaining health and performance. Sipka AS, Wagner B.  J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2025 Mar 17:1-12. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.24.11.0760

Quality Milk Production Services advances milk quality and consumer confidence by improving udder health and herd management, while reducing reliance on antibiotics. We combine sound scientific expertise with innovative, producer-focused outreach.

The Toxicology Laboratory provides analytical services focusing on the identification and quantitation of drugs, metals, and other potential toxicants as well as nutritional analysis for vitamins and minerals. Our testing and expertise support veterinarians, feed producers, biomedical researchers, law enforcement authorities, and others in their work to ensure animal welfare.

Our Veterinary Support Services (VSS) team provides consultations for practitioners worldwide in test selection, testing strategies, interpretation of results, as well as disease prevention, surveillance and control. We also offer educational outreach to veterinarians and take great pride in being available to AHDC clients on a daily basis.

1. Education: Providing training to students and post-graduates to operate successfully in a complex and rapidly changing world. The breadth and depth of our teaching capabilities ensures that future veterinarians are prepared to thrive in whatever aspect of veterinary medicine they choose.
2. Economic Research: Developing a robust veterinary economics research portfolio to improve decision making and healthcare delivery. Our research team seeks to identify and understand economic and market trends that affect the delivery of veterinary care with the goal of developing real-world, innovative solutions for a changing world.
3. Entrepreneurship: Accelerating the translation of scientific innovation into commercial products. Our outreach activities provide the opportunity to share our insight, as well as the expertise of a vast network of collaborators, with veterinary teams nationally and beyond.
4. Intrapreneurship: Fostering institutional innovation and improvement. A commitment to entrepreneurship, fostered in our students, faculty and staff, helps bring new ideas to life – to create better veterinary practices for the future.

Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship