The Comparative Pathology Laboratory (CPL) provides comprehensive, curated pathology services to support lab animal health surveillance, research, diagnostics, and discovery across UC Davis and the broader scientific community.
As part of the world-renowned UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, we offer an integrated suite of anatomic, clinical, molecular, microbiologic, and health surveillance services, paired with direct access to experienced pathologists who partner with clients throughout their projects.
Our team specializes in high-quality, high-impact pathology support for a wide range of species and study designs, from murine and aquatic models to complex translational research. Through personalized consultation, rigorous scientific standards, and a commitment to exceptional client experience, CPL helps researchers, clinicians, and industry partners generate reliable data, accelerate innovation, and advance animal and human health.
Our Address
1000 Old Davis Road, Building R-1 Davis, CA 95616
(530) 752-2832
[email protected]
Directions to our facility
Hours of Operation
Mondays through Fridays 8:00 am - 5:00 pm with the exception of University Holidays
CPL 2026 Holiday Closure Dates (pdf)
Our Team
Stefanie Carroll
MS - Associate Director
Stefanie's 25+ years of laboratory experience includes necropsy services, bacterial culture and identification, operation and troubleshooting of clinical chemistry and hematology analyzers, research trial planning and execution, project planning and coordination, quality control/assurance, and safety program design and implementation. Additionally, Stefanie is highly regarded for her readiness to provide valuable technical assistance within the laboratory whenever required.
Dr. Sarah E Cook
DVM, PhD, DACVP - Staff Pathologist
Dr. Sarah Cook completed her DVM in 2014 and rotating internship training in 2015 at Washington State University. She went on to complete her residency training in 2018 at UC Davis with subsequent American College of Veterinary Pathology (ACVP) board-certification. Sarah transitioned into the UC Davis integrative pathology PhD graduate program with focus on gene therapy strategies and feline infectious diseases. Her particular areas of interest include comparative pathology, cardiovascular pathology, and ocular pathology, with advanced fellowship training specifically in ocular pathology.
Cathy Inta
Laboratory Manager
As a senior laboratory technician, Cathy's significant responsibilities include the development, validation, and integration of molecular assays aimed at detecting pathogenic microorganisms within CPL's health monitoring program. Additionally, she contributes substantially to the processing of clinical chemistries and complete blood counts in the clinical pathology service. With her extensive expertise and experience, Cathy also readily lends support to various other CPL services when able.
Melea Hunrath
Research Program Manager
Project & Trainee Coordinator with 13 years of diagnostic laboratory experience. Melea is responsible for supervision of necropsy and research pathology services and routinely hosts workshops to train investigators and graduate students in rodent prosection and sample procurement techniques.
Briana Luna
Necropsy Manager & Health Surveillance Coordinator
Briana's extensive experience performing dissections and diagnostic evaluations of rodent, large animal, avian, and aquatic species has been of tremendous benefit to CPL in her capacity as lead technician in both the health surveillance and parasitology service areas. In addition, Briana contributes her advanced grasp of comparative anatomy to the execution of a wide breadth of research projects, ranging from phenotypic characterizations of new murine strains to CAR T cell studies and beyond.
Jessica Troth
Microbiology Lead
With an educational background in clinical laboratory science and clinical microbiology, Jessica is responsible for CPL's Microbiology services. Additionally, she consistently provides valuable assistance to molecular diagnostics and pathology services.
Joanna Ngo
Necropsy & Laboratory Technician
Joanna provides key support in the Necropsy Laboratory, including sentinel processing for the Health Surveillance Program and tissue processing for both diagnostic and research applications. She also assists as needed in Clinical Pathology, Serology, and Parasitology.
Aryanna Arredondo
Finance and Human Resources Manager
Aryanna serves as CPL’s financial manager, supporting the department’s financial operations, human resources management, and overall administrative functions.
Alexandra Griffey
Administrative Assistant
Alexandra is CPL’s administrative assistant, handling submissions, client communication, case reporting, billing, and financial support.
Kevin Morisette
Lead Application Developer
Kevin is the lead developer and systems architect responsible for CPL’s laboratory information management system (LIMS), client portal, and the applications that support the laboratory’s operational and financial workflows. He develops and maintains the software that manages client submissions, case report delivery, billing and integrations with the campus financial system, as well as internal applications. Kevin’s work ensures that CPL’s digital infrastructure is reliable, secure, and aligned with the laboratory’s evolving workflow and process needs.
Contractor
Dr. Marietta Barro, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP
External Advisory Board
- Dr. Stephen M. Griffey, DVM, PhD
- Dr. Chris Murphy, DVM, Ph.D., DACVO
- Dr. Stephen Barthold, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP
- Dr. Rebecca Bellone, Ph.D., Director of Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
