MSD awards Poultry Science Award

Dr Vishi Reddy, who works as a post-doctoral researcher in the Viral Oncogenesis Group at the Pirbright Institute, received the MSD Animal Health award for recent PhD or Masters research work from Asia, Europe and America that was considered to have had the most significant contribution.

Dr Reddy was selected from numerous European applicants for his PhD research while he was working under Professor Hans Nauwynck at the Laboratory of Virology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University in Belgium.

Dr Reddy presented his research to international poultry scientists and industry experts at a recent MSD Animal Health conference and said he hoped his contribution to this field of research would encourage more scientists to undertake studies in this area.

“The mechanisms used by avian viruses to cause disease (pathogenesis) are in many cases still poorly understood.

“The issue needs much greater study if we are to develop more efficient vaccines,” he said.

Photo: MSD

Dr Reddy originally wanted to study poultry health in the light of his family in India having a backyard poultry flock. He said poultry was the most stable form of agriculture and had had a huge impact on the economy in India.

Infectious Laryngotracheitis is caused by the Gallid herpesvirus 1 – widely viewed as one of the most contagious viruses that affect the poultry industry. A confirmed case will usually result in the establishment of a quarantine zone around the farm.