ILRI scientist Vijayalakshmy Kennady receives Sushila Pathak Memorial Award
ILRI scientist Vijayalakshmy Kennady (second right) receiving the Sushila Pathak Memorial Award from Trilochan Mohapatra, director general, ICAR (photo credit: Pashu Poshan Kalyan Samiti).
Vijayalakshmy Kennady, a scientist working with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in New Delhi, India, was on 3 November 2019 awarded the Sushila Pathak Memorial Award for best master’s degree thesis in veterinary sciences 2017 at the inaugural National Conference on Livelihood Improvement through Sustainable Livestock Production.
She received the award from Trilochan Mohapatra, director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and J. K. Jena, deputy director general (Animal Sciences and Fishery Sciences) ICAR; in the presence of Habibar Rahman, ILRI regional representative for South Asia; N. V. Patil, director of ICAR’s Central Institute for Research on Cattle and other dignitaries at the conference.
Vijayalakshmy’s winning thesis was on transcriptome analysis of buffalo bull spermatozoa for identification of fertility associated gene(s). Findings from her in-depth assessment will contribute to identifying the potential fertility-associated genes that will differentiate between fertile and sub-fertile buffalo bulls. Vijayalakshmy has in the past worked in projects focusing on stem cells research, animal cloning, in-vitro fertilization and various semen-analysing techniques in India, which were funded by ICAR’s Department of Biotechnology and the Indian government.
The award was given by the National Academy of Veterinary Nutrition and Animal Welfare, Pashu Poshan Kalyan Samittee (PPKS) – an Indian scientific society.
Habibar Rahman (second right) was guest of honor at the National Conference on Livelihood Improvement through Sustainable Livestock Production (photo credit: Pashu Poshan Kalyan Samiti).
ILRI’s Rahman, who was the guest of honour at the conference, was also recognized for his contribution to animal science research in India particularly in the areas of animal health, public health and epidemiology.
More than 300 participants from across India participated in the conference.
