News Release
Ohio State Offers Unique Online Forum for Animal, Plant Disease
Diagnostics
WOOSTER, Ohio — The Ohio State
University’s Center for Diagnostics Assays (CDA) has launched a
first-of-its-kind Internet forum aimed at bringing together animal and
plant disease diagnostics professionals in one single, convenient place
to share the latest information on diagnostic issues and technologies.
DiagnosticSpeak — a free, web-based
interactive tool available at www.diagnosticspeak.com —
is a valuable resource for any professional who works with diagnostics,
including university researchers studying infectious diseases and food
safety; large- and small-animal veterinarians and technicians; industry
personnel monitoring herd or plant health; professionals in trade and
industry associations; federal and state government scientists,
including veterinarians and diagnostic laboratory personnel; private
diagnostic laboratory professionals; and manufacturers of assays and
reagents.
“Although there are multiple platforms
for researchers to uncover information about infectious disease
diagnostics, there is no single site known for quick collaboration
between academicians, industry, manufacturers, government and other
professionals working to diagnose diseases in animals and plants,” said
CDA Director Daral Jackwood, a molecular biologist with the Ohio
Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC).
Worldwide in scope, DiagnosticSpeak
seeks to connect the scientific community of infectious disease
investigators with each other and with the end users of diagnostic
tools. “If someone has a question about a disease, test or technology,
they can come to the site and find the right person with the right
answer,” Jackwood explained.
Among other goals, the forum seeks to facilitate
the exchange of ideas about how to more efficiently conduct diagnostic
assays; discuss and better understand the meaning and value of
diagnostic assay results; explore new diagnostic technologies; keep
up-to-date on new and emerging diseases; search for hard-to-find
reagents, assays, kits and samples; and promote collaborations between
academia, industry and government laboratories.
Users of this Web site will find forums
that address their particular interests and needs on a wide variety of
areas, including bacteriology, parasitology, entomology and vectors,
food safety, assay technology and many others. The forum also provides
technical information on various diagnostic tools and specific diseases.
To guarantee the integrity of
information posted to the site, each forum at DiagnosticSpeak has
assigned moderators — experts in the field — who will contribute to and
monitor thread content.
“As a scientific community of
infectious disease investigators, ultimately bonded together to protect
America’s food supply, DiagnosticSpeak could prove to be the secret
weapon that networks academia, industry, corporate and government
officials together in a single location,” Jackwood concluded.
For more information about
DiagnosticSpeak.com, and to inquire about corporate sponsorships,
contact Jackwood at (330) 263-3964 or jackwood.2@osu.edu.
Based on OARDC’s Wooster campus, CDA
is
an interdisciplinary team of nationally and internationally recognized
experts on both plant and animal diseases, working to develop diagnostic
tools essential to the health of crops and livestock as well as to the
safety of our food supply.
OARDC is the research arm
of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental
Sciences.
Contact:
OSU Center for Diagnostic Assays , The Ohio State University OARDC,
Edgington Hall, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH. 44691
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