Girish Sarma

Girish joined Hygieia in 2009, and oversees research activities, product development, and related regulatory activities leading to viral vaccine licensing (both live and inactivated) through the USDA. Throughout his career, Girish has worked on research and development of vaccines for livestock, companion animals and poultry, and licensed more than 72 products through the USDA in addition to helping register several vaccines outside the United States. His most notable contribution to the animal health industry is the “O”/India/R2/75 strain of FMD (foot-and-mouth disease) virus type “O”, developed from his research at IVRI in Bangalore, India in the late 70’s. India and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region continue to use this virus strain for manufacturing vaccines against FMD.

Since Girish’s move to the United States in 1985, he has worked on many viral vaccines for poultry, some the first of their kind to be licensed by the USDA. Some of the vaccines he developed are trivalent MD, liposome adjuvanted inactivated NDV+IBV, drinking water-administered turkey coryza, inactivated MG+NDV+IBV, combined fowl pox+pigeon pox+AE, and drinking water-administered CIAV. He also developed a monoclonal antibody based rapid diagnostic test kit for canine heartworm.

Girish has worked for Ceva-Biomune, Tri Bio Laboratories/ Hoechst Roussel Vet, Vineland Laboratories/IGI, Inc., Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology as a postdoctoral fellow, Indian Veterinary Research Institute as postgraduate research scholar, and Assam Agricultural University as Associate Professor of Microbiology.

Girish has published extensively in peer reviewed research journals, and routinely presents research papers at conferences in the United States and abroad. He has received several awards including the Pennsylvania Governor’s Export Excellence Award, Ten Years Outstanding Service Awards from both Tri Bio/HR Vet and Hygieia, Japan’s Monbusho Scholarship, and the Assam Agricultural University Gold Medal as a highest scoring student of his DVM class.

Girish is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Avian Pathologists, and maintains many connections with India’s vaccine industry. A former long-distance runner and university yogasana champion, he enjoys speed-walking and hiking. Most of all, he deeply savors his time in the lab, doing research and finding innovative solutions for disease prevention. Both professionally and personally Girish is always eager “to embrace happily every gift time brings.”