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Vet lab names top dog

An internationally renowned veterinarian will come to Madison this spring to work hand in hand with University of Wisconsin students as the head of one of the state's largest laboratories.

Tom McKenna — who currently directs the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory within the United States Department of Agriculture — will arrive in March to direct the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and hold a clinical appointment in UW's School of Veterinary Science.

McKenna was awarded the position Wednesday and will take over for interim director Peter Vanderloo.

"I'm really excited about getting offered the position and getting to Madison to work with the great group of people that are at the lab now," McKenna said in a phone interview with The Badger Herald.

McKenna said he has done extensive research with livestock diseases both inside and outside of the United States.

According to Daryl Buss, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, McKenna brings 12 years of management from the FADDL.

"He has a lot of experience and is internationally recognized with infectious disease (research)," Buss said. "He also has experience directing and managing a laboratory, and (in) budget management."

McKenna will take over the new 78,000 square-foot lab, which includes an area designated as "Bio-safety Level 3," allowing for especially infectious diseases to be contained and researched.

Located in close proximity to the campus on Easterday Lane, the lab will function closely with UW students.

"It's a terrific new facility — the fact that it is located on campus near the veterinary school is a real plus to interacting with the students," McKenna said. "From the tour I had of the building, it's a top-notch facility. … It has a broader ability to respond to the infectious diseases."

The WVDL handles several statewide livestock concerns, as well as wildlife diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease.

After growing up in Indiana and Illinois, McKenna received a bachelor's degree in business and economics from Lehigh University, a bachelor's degree in biological science from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and a veterinary medicine and microbiology doctorate from the University of California-Davis.

"I've basically spent 20 years on the East Coast, 20 years in the Midwest and 20 years on the West Coast," McKenna said.

According to UW communications, McKenna will receive an annual salary of $165,000.