Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN)

Biography

Jennifer Jones received her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Converse College in 2007. She worked as a small animal technician for a few years prior to starting veterinary school. In 2014, Jennifer received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine focused on an Epidemiology and Public Health from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During veterinary school, she worked on projects such as import risk assessment and passive surveillance for multi-state outbreaks of zoonotic Salmonellosis. Additionally, she has research experience with protein production, purification, in vivo protein function assays, and half-life determination. 

Dr. Jones joined FDA in 2014, working primarily on the jerky pet treat investigation. This led to her current position in Vet-LIRN, where she continues to investigate adverse event reports about potential bacterial, nutritional, or toxicological issues with animal food.

Research

Dr. Jones is a Veterinary Medical Officer with Vet-LIRN, a special program established by FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in 2011. Vet-LIRN coordinates facilities, equipment, and professional expertise of government and non-government veterinary diagnostic laboratories across the country and Canada to respond to high priority chemical and microbial feed/drug contamination events. 

Dr. Jones works with laboratories, referring veterinarians, and animal owners to investigate cases of potential foodborne illness in animals. Each investigation is different and tailored to a presenting case. Dr. Jones reviews animal medical records, obtains a dietary and environmental exposure histories, and requests diagnostic samples (e.g. blood, urine, tissue, and occasionally animal feed) for possible testing. Vet-LIRN may test the diagnostic samples for bacterial contamination (e.g. culture, antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates, and whole genome sequencing), nutritional concerns (e.g. thiamine deficiency, Vitamin D toxicosis), and toxicology testing (e.g. pentobarbital, heavy metal, pesticide contamination). See our video for more information about how Vet-LIRN helps FDA identify potential animal food problems.

Dr. Jones is currently reviewing medical histories and exposure information to identify potential risk factors or common clinical trends associated with developing and, in some cases, recovering from dilated cardiomyopathy. She continues to evaluate aminoaciduria, a marker of renal Fanconi Syndrome, and how different aminoaciduria profiles can relate to the various stages of clinical FS disease. This data may help Vet-LIRN identify possible disease pathogenesis and identify any possible predispositions to developing FS. 

Select Publications

Jones JL, L Wang, O Ceric, SM Nemser, DS Rotstein, DA Jurkovic, Y Rosa, B Byrum, J Cui, Y Zhang, CA Brown, AL Burnum, S Sanchez, R Reimschuessel. Whole genome sequencing confirms source of pathogens associated with bacterial foodborne illness in pets fed raw pet food. J Vet Diag Invest. 2019 Mar;31(2): 235-240.

Buchweitz JP, M Johnson, JL Jones, A Lehner. Development of a Quantitative Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for the Determination of Pentobarbital in Dog Food. J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Oct 24;66(42):11166-11169.

Jones JL, DS Rotstein, O Ceric, SM Nemser, R Reimschuessel. Information for veterinarians on reporting suspected animal food issues. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2018 Sep 1 (5): 550-553.R. 

Jones JL. Was it the animal or the feed? Vet-LIRN case investigations and timely animal food issue updates. Kansas State University Jordan Lecture Series. March 3, 2019.

Jones JL. FDA CVM Vet-LIRN: Alphabet Soup! Kansas State University Jordan Lecture Series. March 3, 2019.

Jones JL. Vet-LIRN’s investigation into the possible connection between diet and canine dilated cardiomyopathy. American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention. August 2, 2019.