The Awards for Advancing Research in Respiratory Disease give out more than $100,000 each year for research into infectious porcine respiratory diseases. This year, three outstanding proposals were selected to receive $35,000 each from the Boehringer Ingelheim sponsored awards.

The Respiratory Disease Research Board, consisting of seven independent swine veterinarians and researchers reviewed several proposals, with topics ranging from genome sequencing and immunology, vaccinology, biosecurity, diagnostics and epidemiology.

Board member Montse Torremorell, DVM, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, says, “Providing funding for research is essential to managing and diminishing the effects of devastating porcine respiratory diseases. These awards help move the industry forward year in and year out.”

Boehringer Ingelheim congratulates the following recipients of the 2018 Awards for Advancing Research in Respiratory Disease:

• Doug Marthaler, Ph.D., Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., “Utilizing whole genome sequencing to investigate PRRS introductions and evolution in a sow system”

• Jordan Graham, DVM, MS, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn., “Effect of vaccinating growing pigs with both a modified-live PRRS and Influenza vaccine on the severity of respiratory disease when administered a simultaneous co-infection with PRRSv and IAV ”

• Juan Sanhueza, DVM, MS, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., “Evaluation of parity as a delaying factor to reach PRRSv stability in sow farms”

“This award continues to bring research proposals focused on addressing key questions important to the industry,” says Reid Philips, DVM, Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS technical manager. “Our goal has always been to ensure that the research we do can be implemented at the farm level. The research sponsored by this program offers field-applicable advancements for respiratory disease control, including the investigation and field application of new technologies to address key questions.”

Over the last 14 years of the program, the Awards for Advancing Research in Respiratory Disease have provided more than $1.2 million in support of the development of less costly, innovative diagnostic testing and sampling processes, identified more effective biosecurity practices, sought to better understand respiratory diseases, and developed risk assessment tools, intervention programs and vaccination strategies. The program is supported through funding from Boehringer Ingelheim.

Applications for the 2019 awards will be open for submission in late 2018. For more information on the Respiratory Disease Research Board and the Awards for Advancing Research in Respiratory Disease program, visit SwineResearchAwards.com.