The E. P. Pope Award is presented in memory of Dr. Edward P. Pope who was one of the founders of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and who served with distinction as its Secretary-Treasurer from 1959–1972. The award was established in his honor in 1974, The Pope Award is the highest award given by the Association and is presented to an individual who has made noteworthy and significant contributions to the Association in regard to implementing and advancing the recognition of the specialty of veterinary diagnostic laboratory medicine. The 2023 E. P. Pope Award was presented to Dr. Cat Barr during the 67th Annual Meeting of the AAVLD.
Catherine ‘Cat’ Barr, PhD, diplomate American Board of Toxicology (ABT), Adjunct Professor at North Carolina State University–College of Veterinary Medicine in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, currently serves as the Chief Toxicologist for the North Carolina Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System (NCVDLS) at the Rollins Laboratory in Raleigh, NC. This part-time position follows her 30-year tenure at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) in College Station and Amarillo, TX, from which she retired as Diagnostic Toxicologist in the Analytical Chemistry/Toxicology Section in early 2022.
Dr. Barr grew up in Memphis, TN, and earned her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology with a minor in Analytical Chemistry at Centre College of Kentucky in Danville, KY. Following the birth of her elder daughter, she worked as a technician in the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Genetics at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, TX, performing primary tissue culture, producing monoclonal antibodies using in vivo immunization followed by clonal culture, and screening by immunofluorescence on frozen sections. In 1991, she was hired as Diagnostic Laboratory Supervisor in Toxicology at TVMDL in College Station and began her graduate degree in Toxicology at TAMU under the mentorship of Dr. John Reagor.
For her graduate work, Dr. Barr directed an industry-funded, GLP-regulated, modified developmental and reproductive toxicology study of an insect growth regulator in sheep, with an eye toward the potential use of the compound to decrease the impacts of red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) in calving pastures in infested areas. Graduate student Barr introduced her diagnostic lab colleagues to quality assurance and federal regulatory requirements and built TVMDL its first quality system in collaboration with Drs. John Reagor, Konrad Eugster, Robert Fisk, and Bruce Abbitt. All clinical pathology, endocrinology, necropsy, histopathology, and toxicology testing for the project was performed by personnel at TVMDL. Her second daughter arrived just before lamb-watch began. Ovine reproduction was statistically unaffected in the project, but the compound under study was found to be carcinogenic in dogs and was limited for U.S. markets. TVMDL’s experience informed then Laboratory Director Dr. Konrad Eugster toward influencing AAVLD’s Accreditation Committee to develop its accreditation criteria not patterned on federal Good Laboratory Practice standards but on the more service- and production-oriented ISO 17025 standard. Dr. Barr completed her PhD in 1996 and passed her initial ABT exam in 1999, with successful recertification every 5 years. She served TVMDL as a Diagnostic Toxicologist at the College Station laboratory except when she was made a Quality Manager and split her time between the College Station and Amarillo locations (2010–2015). She has coauthored 7 peer-reviewed publications and made more the 50 presentations to veterinary practitioners and livestock producers on subjects often focusing on toxic plants and their effects. Her favorite presentations have been about diagnostic toxicology and scientific investigation to undergraduates, 4Hers, and middle school students. She has served as an ad hoc reviewer for veterinary toxicology submissions to JVDI, TOXICON, and the Journal of the AOACi.
Dr. Barr joined AAVLD in 1995 as a graduate student. In 1997, she was 1 of 5 hosts and 1 of 3 field-trip leaders for the 5th International Symposium on Poisonous Plants (ISOPP-5) held in San Angelo, TX. She was Scientific Program Chair for the World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians meeting that took place in College Station, TX, in 1999. She was elected to leadership of the American Academy for Veterinary and Comparative Toxicology (AAVCT, which meets at AAVLD), serving as Vice President for 1999–2001 and President for 2001–2003. She chaired AAVLD’s Veterinary Analytical Toxicology and Mycotoxin Committee (precursor to the Committee on Toxicology, Environment and Nutrition) 2001–2007. In 2001, Dr. Barr compiled information from 18 state diagnostic toxicology laboratories including analytes, test methods, preferred samples, turnaround times, and prices, and led an all-day Veterinary Toxicology Harmonization Workshop in which 18 toxicologists fine-tuned the information for group distribution as a reference guide. This tool was converted to a searchable database by the Iowa State University–Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and Dr. Barr and Dr. Gary Osweiler presented it to FDA-CVM and USDA, identifying experts and surge responders for suspected bioterrorism cases and contributing to the evolving National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), and Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (VetLIRN). Dr. Barr has co-chaired several other committees and served as AAVLD President in 2014 with all the pre- and post-presidency committee chair commitments that office entails. In 2020, she and Dr. Amar Patil were charged with leading a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, which they transitioned to a committee the following year. For this, Drs. Barr and Patil received the AAVLD President’s Award in 2022. Dr. Barr now serves as a member of the Membership, Program, and Veterinary Toxicology, Environment, and Nutrition Committees and co-chair of the DEI and Strategic Planning Committees. She has been an Accreditation Audit Pool member since 2007 and has participated in 10 accreditation site visits at 7 different AAVLD laboratories.
Dr. Barr currently enjoys working at NCVDLS, where she is developing a new toxicology testing service, as well as assisting with quality management and receiving/accessioning. She is earning an Advanced Certificate in Native Plants at the North Carolina Botanical Garden associated with UNC-Chapel Hill to improve her capacity to assist with plant poisoning diagnoses in the southeastern United States. Her part-time status has allowed her to travel to keep up with her daughters, Jen, a physician assistant, and Susannah, a data analyst, and to capture images of more of the toxic plants on her bucket list.
A word from Dr. Barr
I am humbled and awed that the veterinary diagnostic community has recognized me with the honor of the E. P. Pope Memorial Award. It has been a privilege to work among so many brilliant diagnosticians across the disciplines over the years. As a trainee, I enjoyed nurturing and challenging interdisciplinary support at TVMDL, and the people of Vet Analytical Tox—Drs. John Reager, Frank Ross, Merl Raisbeck, George Rottinghaus, Gavin Meerdink, and many others—encouraged me to learn and grow. The excellent leaders I had the opportunity to interact with early in my career—Drs. Konrad Eugster, Leon Thacker, Beverly Byrum, Don Lein—informed my patterns of leadership and peer interaction. I have been fortunate to audit alongside accreditation gurus including Drs. Terry McElwain, Sharon Hietala, Barb Martin, Tim Basler, and Dave Korcal, learning their techniques, and benefitting from their insights, never mind having the opportunity to learn from exposures in so many other vet diagnostic labs. The aspiration to ever improve our service and testing excellence is intrinsic to AAVLD.
AAVLD has freely shared its wealth of knowledge and wisdom, collegiality, and leadership with me, and I am so grateful! May we continue to freely share with and encourage all who arrive to learn from our experiences and endeavor to carry on our mission.