Dr. Hari Mohan Saxena, Professor of Immunology and Head of Veterinary Microbiology Department of GADVASU, Ludhiana presented research papers at the Keystone Symposium on Immunological Mechanisms of Vaccination at Seattle, USA and the XXVI World Buiatrics Congress in Santiago, Chile, recently. His papers were on immune response to vaccination against Haemorrhagic Septicaemia, a bacterial disease, in buffaloes. The co-authors in the papers were Drs. Paviter Kaur, Krishan Sharma, Mudit Chandra, TS Rai and Madhu Saxena from the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, GADVASU. Dr. Saxena is one of the 58 scientists from 27 countries to receive the coveted Global Health Travel Award of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for participation in the prestigious Keystone Symposium. The meeting was addressed by leading immunologists and vaccinologists of the world including the Director of NIAID of the National Institutes of Health, USA, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the President of the International Union of Immunological Societies, Dr. Stefan Kaufman of Germany, and the Nobel Prize Winner Veterinary Immunologist, Dr. Peter Doherty from Australia. The meeting was attended by more than 600 scientists from around the world and included lectures by eminent scientists on immune responses to vaccines against infectious diseases like AIDS, Influenza, Malaria etc.
The World Buiatrics Congress in Santiago, Chile was attended by about 2000 delegates from 60 countries and covered all aspects of production and health of ruminants with special emphasis on cattle and buffaloes. Dr. Saxena’s lecture at the congress was appreciated by the chairman of the session, Dr. Valentim Gheller from Brazil, Dr. Luigi Zicarelli, an FAO expert and world authority on buffaloes, from Italy, as well as by the delegates. Dr. Saxena’s visit to Chile was supported by travel grants from the Indian National Science Academy and the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of S&T of India.
