Three research proposals were selected to receive the Awards for Advancing Research in Respiratory Disease (AWARRD) and $35,000. The program, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, provides more than $100,000 each year for research relating to infectious porcine respiratory diseases.
The Respiratory Disease Research Board, consisting of seven independent swine veterinarians and researchers, reviewed several exceptional proposals before making their final decision, according to a release. Over the past 16 years, the AWARRD program has provided more than $1.5 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.
“We’ve seen the tremendous impact that projects funded by the AWARRD program have had on the swine industry,” Montse Torremorell, DVM, University of Minnesota, and Respiratory Disease Research Board member, said in a release. “All it takes is one look around a pig farm to see the many best practices and key learnings producers and veterinarians have implemented as a direct result of findings from the more than 55 projects the program has funded. The proposals selected this year will continue to build upon that progress and help the industry understand the complexities of a wide range of respiratory diseases.”
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) continues to challenge the swine industry, both in management and profitability, but it’s not the only respiratory disease attacking producers’ bottom lines, the company said in a release. Starting in 2016, AWARRD (formerly PRRS Research Awards) announced an expansion of the program to include projects related to porcine circovirus Type 2 (PCV2), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) and influenza A virus in swine (IAV-S). This year’s recipients are focusing on research related to PRRS and Mhp.
Boehringer Ingelheim congratulates the following recipients of the 2021 Awards for Advancing Research in Respiratory Disease:
• Tanja Opriessnig, DVM, Ph.D., Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, with “Understanding the importance of the gut microbiome on PRRSv efficacy”
• Jeff Feder, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn., with “Assessing the risk of spreading PRRS-positive manure next to sensitive sites”
• Maria Pieters, DVM, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., with “Identifying the critical clinical threshold of Mycoplasma” hyopneumoniae infections
“As our industry continues to evolve, respiratory pathogens follow suit and present new challenges and questions that demand answers,” explained Reid Philips, DVM, PRRS technical manager, Boehringer Ingelheim. “We’re honored to be a part of a collaborative effort that continues to deliver groundbreaking, field-applicable findings that ultimately improve the health of pigs and profitability of producers.”
The Respiratory Disease Research Board also granted research completion awards to the following individuals for successfully completing past projects funded by the AWARRD program:
• Juan Sanhueza, DVM, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., with “Toward the best testing strategy for PRRSv stability – Time-to-negative processing fluids in breeding herds”
• Mariana Kikuti, DVM, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., with “Genetic diversity of PRRSv in piglets during an outbreak”
• Alyssa Betlach, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn., with “Spatial and temporal detection patterns for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae under controlled aerosol exposure for gilt acclimatization”
Applications for the 2022 awards will be open for submission in late 2021. For more information on how the AWARRD program is advancing the swine industry’s knowledge of respiratory diseases through game-changing research, tools and more, visit swineresearchawards.com.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Words to Live By: Perspectives from the 2021 AASV Conference
AASV Foundation Invests $100,000 to Fund Four Swine Research Proposals
