2025 AAVI Award Winners!

By Dr. Angel Abuelo - Coordinator of 2025 Student Award Competition

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:

• Mohamed Abouelkhair
• Angel Abuelo
• Paige Adams
• Angela Bordin
• Brianna Beam
• Carol Chitko-Mckown
  

• Elisa Crisci
  
• Andi Lear
  
• Melany Madrid
• Vengai Mavangira
• Jodi McGill
• Fernanda Trindade
  

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.

The awards were sponsored from the American Association of Immunologists.

Congratulations to all the award winners!

ORAL PRESENTATIONS
First place

• Katy W. Kesler (Michigan State University)
  
• Title of Abstract: Utilizing zinc to modulate GLUT4 expression in bovine CD4 lymphocytes.
• Amount: $300

Second place

• Jamison Slate (Iowa State University)
  
• Title of Abstract: Duration and characterization of anamnestic responses following RB51 vaccination in bison.
• Amount: $200

Third place

• Giovana Ciacci Zanella (University of Georgia)
  
• Title of Abstract: Impact of maternal antibodies and weaning on the replication and transmission of human H3N2 Influenza A in piglets
• Amount: $150

Fourth place

• KellyGrace Keen (North Carolina State University)
  
• Title of Abstract: Effect of dietary vitamin D3 on PRRSV disease severity and immune response in nursery pigs
• Amount: $100

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
First place

• Carolyn Lee (Ohio State University)
• Title of Abstract: Experimental challenge of lactating dairy cattle with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A/bovine/Ohio/B24OSU-342/2024
• Amount: $150

Second place

• Saurav Pantha (Kansas State University)
• Title of Abstract: Sex differences in influenza vaccine-induced immunity and protection in mice with obesity
• Amount: $100