ILHAC funds are applied to research projects that advance knowledge of animal health, food safety and animal well-being in Iowa livestock. Several national studies have identified a critical shortage of veterinarians who pursue research-oriented careers. ILHAC funding provides ISU veterinary students with an opportunity to explore the field of research. For 13 weeks each summer, students gain first-hand experience in research by working with veterinary mentors on ILHAC-funded projects.
| 2025-2026 ILHAC Funded Projects | ||
| Principal Investigator | Title | Species |
| Joaquin Caceres | Influenza A(H5N1): Predicting Host Range in Livestock Species and Susceptibility to Ex Vivo air-liquid Interface Swine Respiratory Epithelial Cell Culture Models | Multi-Species |
| Silvia Carnaccini | Development of an avian metapneumovirus reverse genetics system for the generation of modified live vaccines and pathogenesis studies | Poultry |
| Terry Engelken | Development and Evaluation of a Multi-Bacterial Bacterin for Vaccination Against Digital Dermatitis | Ruminant/Beef |
| Patrick Gorden | Evaluation of an Innovative Dairy Cattle Vaccine for High Path Avian Influenza | Ruminant/Dairy |
| Katy Martin | Evaluation of Geraniol and Carvacrol as novel therapeutics for anthelmintic resistant Haemonchus contortus | Ruminant/Sheep and Goats |
| Marcelo Almeida | The efficacy of competitive exclusion culture to control contemporary enterotoxigenic strains of E. coli in the face of an outbreak | Swine |
| Derald Holtkamp | Identification of biosecurity hazards by conducting prospective biosecurity hazard analysis using the Standardized Outbreak Investigation Program | Swine |
| Accelerated 6-month 2025-2026 ILHAC Funded Projects | ||
| Principal Investigator | Title | Species |
| Yuko Sato | Development of a Nested PCR Assay to Differentiate Vaccinal and Wild-Type Avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) Subtypes A and B in U.S. Poultry | Poultry |
| Jianqiang Zhang | Safety and efficacy of a bivalent inactivated vaccine against avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) subtypes A and B: a proof-of-concept study in turkeys | Poultry |
| Daniel Linhares | Genomic Monitoring of PRRSV Recombination Following Therapeutic Vaccination | Swine |
| Pablo Piñeyro | Detection and genomic characterization of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae using NGS approaches to identify genes associated with antimicrobial resistance | Swine |