​Over the last months and years, it is impossible to ignore the broader cultural climate: it feels like the pendulum has swung away from science-based decision-making; yet my optimism remains. History shows us that these cycles are temporary, and I believe that communicating our unwavering commitment to data, discovery, and animal health will help driving the pendulum back in the right direction. With that, I want to spread my enthusiasm so that we enter 2026 with the hope and determination to demonstrate how rigorous research translates into a healthier world for both humans and animals.

Despite external challenges, the AAVI has had an exceptional start to the year with our AAVI Symposium at CRWAD 2026. In this session, we honored Dr. Jodi McGill as the AAVI Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist (DVI). Jodi highlighted key strategies for leveraging innate immunity to better protect cattle against Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). Then, Bonnie Mallard gave an inspiring talk on how immunogenetics and “immunoceuticals” can be used to breed animals for naturally improved animal health. Crystal Loving who shifted her research towards foodborne pathogens described modern approaches to study Salmonella persistence. And John Driver concluded the session by providing a detailed overview of how single-cell approaches can help to decipher the pig’s immune system in health and disease. 

During our yearly business meeting, we took a moment to express our gratitude to those who have dedicated years of service to our board. Dr. Sheela Ramamoorthy served as our President this past year and now moves into the role of Past President. We thank her for her steady leadership. After an incredible tenure as Secretary since 2021, Dr. Heather Wilson is stepping down. Her institutional knowledge and dedication to AAVI have been foundational to our operations over the past five years. Thank you, Heather! I also want to thank Angel Abuelo, who (after serving as VP and Treasurer) is now our President-elect. I also welcome Santosh Dhakal as our new Secretary and thank him for his service. Furthermore, I would like to thank our Nomination Committee (Page Adams, Brianna Beam, Leonie Bettin, and Michael Rahe) for their commitment to identifying the future leaders of our organization.

Since it is never too early to mark your calendars, I want to bring CRWAD 2027 to your attention: it will return to the Marriott Magnificent Mile at least one more (last?) time in Chicago from January 15–19, 2027.
​
The AAVI Symposium is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, January 19. During this session, we will have the distinct pleasure of honoring our next DVI, Dr. Noah Cohen of Texas A&M University.
​
To our board members, nomination committee members, and the entire AAVI community: thank you! Your unwavering support of this association, of veterinary immunology, and of the science itself is what keeps us moving forward. Together, we will ensure that 2026 is a year of progress and renewed respect for (animal) science.

AAVI would like to thank all of the students who competed in this year's student competition and to recognize the award winners in both the oral and poster competitions. We would also like to thank all of the judges who helped make this year's competition possible: Leonie Bettin, Anja Sipka, Rafaela Klein, Jayne Wiarda, Tobias Kaeser, Crystal Loving, Angela Bourdin, and Aradhya Gourapura. 

Oral competition

1. Giovana Ciacci Zanella (Iowa State University)
2. Eric Owczarzak (Michigan State University)
3. TIE:  Katy Kesler  (Michigan State University) & Prince Pal Singh (Ohio State University)
   

Poster competition

1. Trinidad Fernández Wallace (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
   
2. Shristy Budha Magar (Kansas State University)
3. Saurav Pantha (Kansas State University)
   

​Congratulations students and we look forward to seeing next year's presentations!

With the CRWAD 2027 call for abstracts opening soon, please remember that the graduate student's mentor must be an active AAVI member at the time the abstract is submitted to be eligible for the competition.

The American Association of Veterinary Immunologists (AAVI) is pleased to announce Noah D. Cohen, VMD, MPH, PhD, DACVIM‑LA, as the recipient of the 2027 AAVI Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award.

Dr. Cohen is widely acknowledged for his significant contributions to the field of veterinary immunology, with a focus on host–pathogen interactions and immune responses to infectious diseases. He holds the Glenn Blodgett Chair in Equine Studies, serves as Regents Professor and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Texas A&M University, and acts as Associate Department Head for Research and Graduate Studies as well as Director of the Equine Infectious Disease Laboratory.

Throughout a distinguished career spanning over thirty years, Dr. Cohen has significantly contributed to the advancement of fundamental knowledge regarding innate immunity, immune development, and protective immune responses, with particular emphasis on Rhodococcus equi infections in foals. His research has substantially reshaped perspectives on age-dependent immunity and vulnerability to intracellular pathogens, directly influencing approaches to vaccine development, immunotherapeutic interventions, and disease prevention within veterinary medicine. Dr. Cohen is recognized for his pioneering efforts in adapting mRNA-based immunization and passive immunization platforms for veterinary applications, including notable studies that demonstrated the efficacy of nebulized mRNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies in neonatal foals—an innovation offering considerable promise for comparative and translational immunology.

Dr. Cohen has contributed over 300 peer‑reviewed publications, supported by ongoing competitive funding from federal agencies, foundations, and industry collaborators. He is well regarded for his commitment to the scientific community, demonstrated through editorial leadership, grant review responsibilities, and active participation in international scientific advisory committees that influence the advancement of veterinary and comparative immunology research.

Dr. Cohen’s contributions as a mentor are equally noteworthy. He has guided more than 70 graduate students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have advanced to leadership positions across academia, government, and industry on a global scale. His steadfast commitment to mentorship is evident through numerous institutional and national awards, underscoring his role in shaping the future of veterinary immunology.

Dr. Cohen has received numerous accolades, such as being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, earning the American Association of Equine Practitioners Research Award, and receiving the American Veterinary Medical Association Clinical Research Award, along with other distinctions. Together, these accomplishments highlight the excellence, innovation, and dedication reflected in the AAVI Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award.

AAVI extends its congratulations to Dr. Noah D. Cohen for this distinguished recognition and looks forward to recognizing his contributions at the AAVI Symposium during the 2027 Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (January 15 to 19, 2027 – Chicago, IL).

Greetings AAVI members and readers! As I started to write this message, I briefly wandered down memory lane to my very first association with AAVI. I warmly remembered the late Dr. Mike Murtaugh steering me towards becoming an AAVI member during a CRWAD coffee break chat. I was a new Asst. Prof. then. Many years later, I am proud to be associated with an organization and colleagues who have continued to foster the spirit of welcoming and including new faculty, providing opportunities for professional service and a scientific community to many, besides being an umbrella for veterinary immunology related research and activities. 

Also starting in January 2025, our long-established ways of conducting academic research were abruptly disrupted with the changes in government policies and priorities. The uncertainty with grant funding, job insecurity for our valued federal colleagues and challenges to academic freedom are concerning. However, the current misinformation and dubious debates around well-established principles of immunology regarding vaccination, infectious disease and autoimmunity strike at the very heart of knowledge and discoveries that are the fruit of years of dedicated effort of immunologists. As we step into this new normal, engaging in scientific organizations and societies which can provide a collective voice for scientists has become more of a necessity than a choice.  (Yes, that is my roundabout plug in to join AAVI if you are not already a member!).

On a more positive note, AAVI had a productive 2024 and is fully geared up for an exciting 2025. With the recent streamlining of the board membership and the bylaws we welcomed Angel Abuelo as Vice President, Sabine Mann as treasurer, Teresa Mania as member-at-large, and Paige Adams and Michale Rahe joined the nominations committee. Tobias Käser moved into the President Elect position. He is busy organizing the AAVI mini-symposium and IVIS 2025 (more details below). Heather Wilson continues to keep us on track as secretary. Ignacio Correras again led the nominations committee, which provided us with an impressive list of nominees for the DVI awards. We thank Leela Noronha for her service as the 2024 president, as she led the organization through various activities in her gentle but deft way. We will continue to rely on her as past president and on past-past-president Laura Miller for her long institutional memory and expertise with all matters AAVI. (All current board members are listed on the AAVI website, https://www.theaavi.org/#). An acknowledgement section would not be complete without a special shout out to Angel Abuelo for stepping in without hesitation when help is needed. He did a great job with the student awards by streamlining judging and score consolidation using an electronic system. Despite having immunology presentations in the student competition on Tues morning, we had a relaxed business meeting as tallying scores and identifying winners was done electronically. Angel, Laura and Ignacio were instrumental in drafting changes to the bylaws. Angel set up the electronic voting, organized migrating to the AAVI new website, streamlining reminders for membership renewals and setting up automatic payments via PayPal. We are very appreciative of Katy Kesler for her contribution as newsletter editor and CRWAD photographer.
​
We have continued our partnership with AAI, sponsoring an invited speaker at the AAI veterinary immunology mini symposium. This year’s theme focused on the immunity to high path avian influenza in various species of animals. We also have an exciting line up for speakers for the CRWAD 2026 immunology mini symposium (more details from Tobias below) and are excited to have our long-term member and past president, Jodi McGill, present the DVI lecture. We appreciate the continued support of all AAVI members and sponsors. We welcome participation from the membership in activities like judging or serving on the awards committee and encourage you to invite colleagues, post-docs and graduate students to join AAVI and participate in the mixers and annual luncheon.

The 2025 CRWAD and AAVI mini symposium were well attended and a success thanks to the speakers who braved the cold Chicago weather in January to accept our invitation. Thanks also to the CRWAD organizers, AAVI board and sponsors. Dr. Saalmuller’s talk on porcine T cell biology and novel T cell subsets was a concise but absorbing condensation of many years of research into the 45 min time slot. Dr. Anne DeGroot spoke on cutting edge immuno-informatics platforms for vaccine discovery and Dr. Colin Parrish on the subtilities of antibody based immune escape associated with antigenic variation in viruses. Unfortunately, we missed Dr. Sayan Sharif’s talk as he was indisposed and unable to travel. Thanks to Angel’s quick suggestion, his time slot was utilized to complete the business part of the AAVI luncheon. The new board members were introduced, and the membership was alerted to upcoming changes to the bylaws which would require an electronic vote.
​
We then enjoyed the luncheon at the Labriola. Despite the having to meet the minimum number of orders as required by the restaurant, the tickets were sold out ahead of time. All members, new and old, had an opportunity to introduce themselves. Dr. Saalmuller was presented with the DVI plaque. Sadly, while Leela could not be present, her service was acknowledged in absentia with a plaque. Angel was presented with the certificate of awesomeness for the second consecutive year, especially crafted for him by Leela for being the go-to-person on the board and the many improvements he initiated to improving AAVI processes and event organization. In 2025, the AAVI board had decided not to host a mixer in the Marriot as feedback about last year’s mixer suggested that it was crowded and intermingling of members from other organizations made it difficult to identify and socialize with AAVI members. Any suggestions for alternatives or other social events for AAVI for the 2026 meeting are welcome.

​Like previous years, AAVI was well represented in the CRWAD 2025 list of honorees. Drs. Radhey Kaushik and Frank Blecha were inducted as CRWAD fellows, an honor bestowed on animal health scientists for excellence in research, promoting the next generation of scholars and ongoing dedication to the CRWAD mission. Dr. Radhey Kaushik is a long-term member of AAVI and has served on the board in several capacities including as President. Dr. Kaushik is a dedicated immunology educator whose research is focused on cell culture models to study immune mechanisms in disease pathogenesis. Dr. Frank Blecha recently retired as the Director of Core Research Laboratories at Kansas State University, before serving in several administrative positions including as Associate Dean of Research. Dr. Blecha has made fundamental contributions to understanding innate immune responses mediated by type I interferons in pigs, in the context of PRRSV infection. Congratulations to Drs. Kaushik and Blecha on the well-deserved honor!

During the 2025 Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD), AAVI supported our student award competition. As usual, the quality of the abstracts and presentations was outstanding, making the judges’ task of selecting the award winners even more challenging. This year, we provided 6 awards totaling $1,000. Read who the awardees were on the AAVI website announcement! On behalf of the AAVI Board, I want to thank the American Association for Immunologists for their financial support and to all the members who served as judges for the 2025 competition.
​
The abstract submission for the 2026 CRWAD is scheduled to open on July 1st, so start preparing your abstracts for next year’s competition. The abstract deadline for consideration for student awards is October 1st. Additionally, please note that only students whose mentors are AAVI members in good standing during both 2025 and 2026 are eligible for student awards. Therefore, ensure that your membership dues are up to date.

We are pleased to announce the Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist (DVI) Symposium, organized by the American Association of Veterinary Immunologists (AAVI), will take place on Monday, January 19, 2026, during this year’s conference. The session is scheduled for the afternoon (2:00–3:30 pm and 4:15–5:45 pm).

This year’s DVI, Dr. Jodi McGill, will open the symposium with a keynote presentation, followed by talks from a panel of invited speakers. We are excited to confirm that Dr. Bonnie Mallard will be among the featured speakers. Invitations have been extended to additional speakers, and we look forward to announcing the full lineup soon.
​
Please mark your calendars for this special session highlighting impactful research and leadership in veterinary immunology.

The American Association of Veterinary Immunologists (AAVI) is proud to announce Dr. Jodi McGill from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine as the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist (DVI) Award. She received a BS in Microbiology from Iowa State University and MS and PhD degrees in Pathology and Immunology, respectively, from the University of Iowa. She worked at the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the USDA National Animal Disease Center (NADC) before holding faculty positions at the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University and Iowa State University.
 
Dr. McGill's laboratory employs a combination of basic and applied techniques to assess the immune response to respiratory infections in cattle, including those caused by respiratory syncytial virus, Mannheimia haemolytica, and Mycobacterium bovis. Specifically, her research focuses on understanding how innate immune "training" influences immune development in the neonatal calf and identifying strategies for enhancing innate resistance to respiratory infections. Innate immune ‘training’ has become a very hot topic within both human health and animal agriculture, challenging some well-established paradigms in immunology. We are now appreciating its overall impact on animal health and productivity. Over the past decade, Jodi has established herself as THE global expert in this burgeoning area.

Dr. McGill blends basic and applied research, placing her in a unique situation where she can successfully compete for funding from one federal agency (NIH) one day, a different agency (USDA) the next, and an animal commodity group the following day. This clearly indicates that Dr. McGill’s work is at the cutting edge of discovery and is viewed as a significant investment by funding agencies.

Dr. McGill is a transformational leader whose basic research has real-world applications. Simply put, her research has changed the dairy and beef industries. Her work has been especially impactful due to her ability to explain complex scientific concepts in practical terms to a diverse audience, ranging from students and faculty to the scientific community, veterinarians, cattle producers, and the general public.

Dr. McGill has also taken important leadership roles. At Iowa State University, she has been the graduate program director, Assistant Dean, and, more recently, Associate Dean. Jodi’s involvement in professional organizations has also been unparalleled. To name a few, she has served as President of our esteemed AAVI, as a Program Committee Member representing the Immunology field for CRWAD, as a member of the CRWAD Fellows Selection Committee, and as a member of the Veterinary Immunology Committee of the American Association for Immunology. More recently, she has also stepped into the role of CRWAD Program Committee Co-chair.
​
Overall, Dr. McGill has rapidly developed an innovative research program, backed by a very successful publication and grant record. She is recognized as the worldwide authority in cattle innate immune training. She is well-deserving of being named our 2026 DVI. Although traditionally, the DVI has been given to members towards the end of their professional career, it is great that we are recognizing a mid-career scientist with a stellar and impactful trajectory. We look forward to Dr. McGill’s DVI lecture during CRWAD 2026!

​We are excited to announce that the 14th International Veterinary Immunology Symposium (IVIS 2025) will be hosted in beautiful Vienna, Austria, from August 11-14, 2025. This prestigious event will bring together experts from across the globe to discuss the latest advancements in veterinary immunology. We look forward to an enriching program of keynote speakers, scientific sessions, and networking opportunities. Keynote and Invited Plenary Speakers include Cynthia L. Baldwin, Doris Wilfingseder, Kieran Meade, Georg Stary, Volker Gerdts, and Sanipa Suradhat. For more details and to register, please visit our official website: ivis2025.org. We hope to see you in Vienna!

​The AAVI coffers continue to maintain a positive balance. The balance was $ 28,904.36 on 12/31/2024. Major expenses in 2024 for student awards, AAVI luncheon, support of an AAVI speakers at CRWAD, Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist, PayPal and website fees were 7,608.60. Income exceeded expenses by $ 1,183.51, leading to a balanced budget. Drs. Diego Diel and Laura Miller conducted the budget audit for 2024 and approved the figures. We thank them for their service and Alan Young for continuing to maintain the non-profit status of AAVI.

It has been a busy year so far! Here are several updates:

• The tally of current AAVI members is 146.
• This year, Angel Abuelo took over the role of VP, Sabine Mann is the new Treasurer, Teresia Mania is the new Member-at-large, and Paige Adams and Michael Rahe joined the Nominations Committee.
• As of March 15, 2025, the AAVI bylaws were adopted and can be found here: https://www.theaavi.org/aavi-documents.html
• On March 6th, 2025, AAVI released a statement in response to recent federal administrative changes, which can be found here:  https://www.theaavi.org/aavi-statement.html
• Many changes are coming for the CRWAD Administration
  • Dr. Paul Morley has stepped down as Executive Director, and the CRWAD Council appointed Dr. Scott McVey in this role.
  • Midwest Solutions stepped down as the support company for CRWAD and FASS has been hired by the CRWAD Council. As a consequence of this, there will be changes in several of the electronic systems used at the conference (e.g., abstract submission, registration, etc.).
  • Dr. Brandy Burgess finished her term as co-chair of the CRWAD Program Committee. Dr. Jodi McGill will replace her and co-lead the Program Committee with Angel Abuelo. Note that both CRWAD Program Chairs are AAVI members 😊.
  • Renukaradhya Gourapura finished his term in the Program Committee as a representative of the Immunology field in January 2025. Melissa Monson from USDA ARS replaced Aradhya as immunology representative in the committee. Laura Miller’s term ends at the end of January 2026. CRWAD will put out a call for nominations for program committee members in the fall, which will include a replacement for Laura’s seat.
• Also note that the 22nd NAPRRS/NC229: International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases will once more be held prior to the CRWAD conference- Jan 16-17, 2026 in Chicago.

I look forward to seeing many of you at IVIS this summer.

​In 2024, we initiated a process to review the organization's Bylaws. The Bylaws had not been reviewed in several years, and a major rewrite was deemed necessary to clarify several aspects of how AAVI operates and to align the size of the Board and committees with the membership numbers. A draft of the new Bylaws was first discussed by the Board in early 2025 and sent to the membership for feedback after the CRWAD meeting. The feedback received from members was overwhelmingly positive, with no requests or suggestions for changes. Thus, on March 1, 2025, the AAVI Board moved the new proposed Bylaws to a membership vote. The electronic vote was open until March 14. When the vote was called, there were 89 voting members. The new Bylaws received 72 votes in favor and 1 abstention, exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to make Bylaw changes. The new Bylaws were therefore adopted on March 15 and are available on the AAVI website.

During the 2025 Conference of Research Workers on Animal Diseases, 6 graduate students received awards for their oral and poster presentations. A total of 18 graduate students entered the graduate student competition this year. An ad-hoc panel of 12 AAVI members assisted with the judging. The written abstracts were evaluated by all judges in advance of the conference, and each presentation was scored by 3 judges on site. Please join me in thanking all the judges for their service to AAVI:

The judges commented on the overall excellent quality of all the students. The awards were very competitive, with average scores being usually within 1-2 marks (on a 1-100 scale) from each other.

CRWAD is always a great place to blend in with like-minded immunology enthusiasts. The AAVI Board wants to continue to enhance networking opportunities during CRWAD. The 2025 AAVI Business Luncheon will occur in Labriola (across from the Marriott Hotel). This is a ticketed event with limited capacity. Please book your tickets ASAP before we run out of them: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-aavi-luncheon-tickets-987346338477. When buying your luncheon tickets, please indicate your choice of first and second course. The purchase of tickets will close on January 12, and no additions will be possible after that time. Please plan ahead!
 
The Board has approved a tiered system for lunch tickets, where graduate student members will have a reduced fee (subsidized by AAVI):

• AAVI general member: $45
• AAVI student member: $30
• Non-members: $60

We hope this helps increase their attendance and become more active in AAVI. We also encourage senior scientists to pay for their students' tickets (and membership). If your graduate students are not yet members, they can become members today by filling out the membership form (they can indicate in the form if you'd like the invoice for their membership dues sent to you): https://forms.gle/WWrudvh5j9ma1mHu9

During 2024, we reviewed AAVI’s current Bylaws. In the process, we noted that the existing Bylaws were outdated –last changed in 2007– and no longer reflected the organization's practices. Furthermore, the Bylaws lacked uniformity and clarity about when certain processes (e.g., elections) needed to happen, creating inconsistencies as the Officers turned over. Due to the extensive changes required, the Bylaws Committee has proposed to the Board that AAVI adopt newly written Bylaws. For this, the Committee drafted new Bylaws using existing Bylaws from other national scientific organizations as a template and adapting them to AAVI’s organizational structure, size, and goals. 
 
Adopting new Bylaws is a lengthy process, and the Membership must approve those new Bylaws. Throughout this process, there will be opportunities for the Members to provide feedback and suggest modifications before the actual vote. An email with more details about this consultative process will go out to voting Members in January/February 2025. Below is a summary of the steps included in this Bylaw review process: 

1. The Bylaw Committee drafts proposed Bylaws and sends them for Board discussion and endorsement. 
2. The Board discusses proposed Bylaws and approves a version to send to the Membership for feedback. 
3. The Membership provides feedback and requests modifications to the proposed Bylaws. 
4. The Board reviews Members’ feedback and modification requests and adopts a final version of the proposed Bylaws. 
5. An electronic vote is carried out among voting Members on adopting the proposed Bylaws. 

When we send out the proposed Bylaws, we will include the current Bylaws and a document explaining the rationale for the major changes included in the new Bylaws. If you have questions about this process, please reach out to any of the members of the Bylaws Committee (Laura Miller, Ignacio Correas, and Angel Abuelo).