In recognition of the value and need for research with direct application to the swine veterinary profession, the AASV Foundation increased the amount of funding available for research proposals in 2021 from $60,000 to $100,000. Dr Lisa Tokach, chair of the AASV Foundation, announced the selection of four research proposals for partial funding during the foundation’s annual meeting, which was held virtually during the AASV annual meeting. The foundation granted funds to support efforts by researchers at the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, and South Dakota State University.

The Foundation granted $25,111 to Dr. Guilherme Milanez Preis and co-investigator Dr. Cesar Corzo from the University of Minnesota to fund the proposal, “Assessing senecavirus A shedding and transmission in growing pig populations.” The two objectives of the study are to describe SVA shedding patterns over time in growing pig populations and assess the state of infection in piglets after comingling in the nursery. The project will expand current knowledge on the epidemiology of SVA, especially during the grow-finishing phases, and be key to enabling swine veterinarians to build the next steps toward controlling and eliminating SVA. Results will be shared as a summary in producer-oriented publications, in a peer-reviewed journal, and as oral presentations at swine veterinary conferences.

Dr. Jianqiang Zhang and co-investigators from Iowa State University received $30,000 to fund the proposal “Generation of antisera against six commercial PRRSV modified live virus vaccines to evaluate their in vitro cross-neutralization against genetically diverse field and laboratory isolates of PRRSV.” They plan to generate antisera against six commercial PRRSV-2 MLV vaccines in experimentally vaccinated pigs and conduct in vitro cross-neutralization assays to determine the neutralizing antibody titers of each vaccine antisera against PRRSV-2 field isolates representing different genetic lineages and sublineages. Investigators will share results at various swine meetings and expect one publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Drs. Ben Hause, Chun-Ming Lin and Eric Nelson at South Dakota State University and co-investigators were awarded $27,700 to fund the project, “Etiological role of rotavirus infection in enteritis and porcine respiratory disease complex.” The overarching goal of this project is to understand the nature of porcine rotavirus infections and associated pathological changes in porcine lungs. Results will be shared in the form of a peer-reviewed scientific manuscript, submitted for consideration for presentation at conferences, and shared in trade publications.

The Foundation granted $17,189 to partially fund Dr. Darwin Reicks’ project, “Investigating differences in the source of Serratia and other bacteria in boar semen.” The objective of this project is to build on previous studies and identify more specifically identify the differences between boars who are part of a batch of semen where Serratia was identified and boars who were not. In addition, further comparisons will be made between boar studs which have never identified Serratia in extended semen and those that frequently identify Serratia and experience downstream fertility losses. Results will be shared at the 2022 AASV meeting and through peer-reviewed publication.

Dr. Teddi Wolff chaired the scientific subcommittee responsible for reviewing and scoring the proposals received for consideration, and she joins the Foundation in thanking Drs. Deb Murray, Tom Petznick, Joe Rudolphi, Jess Waddell, and Mike Eisenmenger for their participation on this important subcommittee. Each of the 14 proposals submitted was given careful consideration.

An overview of past and current projects funded by the foundation is available at http://www.aasv.org/foundation/research.htm. The foundation will issue its next call for research proposals in the fall of 2021.