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Brahmakshatriya takes first place in DHS-sponsored student poster contest

Texas A&M University graduate student Vinayak Brahmakshatriya won first place in the student poster contest held during first DHS University Network Summit on Research and Education, March 15-16, in Washington, D.C. Brahmakshatriya's winning entry was titled "Evaluation in Chickens of a Live Attenuated NS1 Mutant Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) Vaccine."

FAZD Center investigators on the project are Dr. Blanca Lupiani and Dr. Sanjay Reddy, both of Texas A&M. Brahmakshatriya was among seven students representing the FAZD Center in the contest.

By winning the Under Secretary's Award, Brahmakshatriya earned an expense-paid trip to the DHS S&T Stakeholders Conference in May in Washington D.C., and a lunch with Jay Cohen, the Under Secretary for Science and Technology for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Each submitted an abstract in a DHS-sponsored competition to earn a trip to the summit. The abstracts summarized a major project in which the students are participating through a Center of Excellence. Each project contributes to DHS priorities and the national goal of an all-emergencies response to attack or catastrophe.
The other students from the FAZD Center were:

  • Carlos A. Rosetti, Texas A&M University: "Host and Brucella gene expression biosignatures in an in vitro model of infection." FAZD Center investigator: Dr. Garry Adams.
  • Sungyong Won, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston: "Rift Valley fever virus NSm protein inhibits virus-induced apoptotic cell death." FAZD Center investigator: Dr. C.J. Peters.
  • Douglas S. Watson, Texas A&M University: "Multiplex immunoassays for detection of antibodies against avian influenza." FAZD Center investigators: Dr. Sanjay M. Reddy and Dr. Blanca Lupiani.
  • Qi Gao, Texas A&M University: "Animal Carcass Disposal under Trial Event." FAZD Center investigators: Dr. Bruce A. McCarl, Dr. Michael P. Ward and Dr. Raghavan Srinivasan.
  • Rong Hu, Texas A&M University: "Impact of Animal Disease-related Trade Disruption on the U.S. Beef Market." FAZD Center investigator: Dr. Bruce A. McCarl.
  • Shannon H. Degenhart, Texas A&M University: "Effectiveness of Train-the-Trainer for Foreign and Emerging Animal Disease Curriculum."FAZD Center investigators: Dr. Floron C. Faries and Dr. Andy T. Vestal.


To view Brahmakshatriya's winning poster, click here. To view his winning abstract, click here.