Two College of Veterinary Medicine graduate students earned high marks for their research presentations at the 2023 NAPRRS/NC229: International Conference of Swine Viral Diseases in December.

The conference included workshops, research updates, and sessions focused on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

Nakarin Pamornchainavakul won second place for his presentation, “Predicting PRRSV-2 Variant Emergence: Insights from a Decade of Genomic Analysis.” Pamornchainavakul is a student in the Veterinary Science graduate program and is advised by Kim VanderWaal, PhD. His research interests include understanding the transmission dynamics of PRRSV in pigs utilizing viral genetic sequences and epidemiological metadata.

Julia Baker won third place for her presentation, “Repeat Offenders: Understanding PRRSV Clinical Rebreaks.” Baker is a graduate student in the Comparative and Molecular Biosciences program and also is advised by VanderWaal. Her research interests include molecular pathogenesis of infectious diseases.