February 15, 2017
CEVBD director Roman Ganta speaks at five universities in India
During Kansas State University's winter intercession break, the College of Veterinary Medicine's Roman Ganta returned to his home country of India where he gave invited talks at five different universities.
As the director of the Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases in the diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department, Ganta is frequently sought as an expert on human and animal vector-borne infectious disease research, diagnostics tests and vaccine development. As a native of India, his success at Kansas State University was recognized during his visits to the universities. He originally came to the United States about 30 years ago and has been at Kansas State University for the last 19 years.
"Everyone had quite a few questions for me," Ganta said. "They are very interested in learning about the opportunities that are available in the U.S. Young scientists in particular are interested to know my perspectives about the merits and challenges of visiting the U.S."
Ganta's first stop was at the International Conference on Environmental Conservation and Human Health: Challenges and Strategies Dec. 21-23 at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupathi, India. He served on the conference's International Advisory Committee and was a guest of honor for the valedictory function of the conference. Ganta presented "Molecular characterization of Ehrlichia chaffeensis RNA polymerase complex and genes in defining the pathogen's host-specific differential gene expression" at the conference.
On Dec. 27, he traveled to the Department of Biotechnology at Pondicherry University in Pondicherry. Ganta spoke about "Ehrlichia chaffeensis RNA polymerase complex to map differential gene expression and defining Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis pathogenesis."
While in Pondicherry, Ganta also spoke at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research on Dec. 27. Kansas State University is currently seeking a partnership for faculty and student exchanges in Pondicherry. Ganta addressed, "Tick-borne rickettsial and other emerging diseases; challenges and opportunities."
On Dec. 29, Ganta gave a talk about "Ehrlichia chaffeensis RNA polymerase complex to map differential gene expression and defining Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis pathogenesis," at the School of Biological Sciences at Madurai Kamaraj University, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Ganta's last stop was at the Maharaja's Postgraduate College, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, on Jan. 5, where he presented, "Opportunities for a young scientist in the U.S. vs India, my perspectives."