Dr. Fatai Oladunni is studying how EHV-1 suppresses type I interferons (a large subgroup of interferon proteins that help regulate immune system activity) responses.||| Photo: University of Kentucky

Fatai Oladunni, DVM, MS, a PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky (UK) Gluck Equine Research Center recently received an American Quarter Horse Foundation Young Investigator Award to study how equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) suppresses type-1 interferon (IFN, a large subgroup of interferon proteins that help regulate immune system activity) responses.

“Funding agencies are a vital part of the research process,” Oladunni said. “Without the help of groups like the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) it would be difficult or impossible to make progress in the world of science. For this reason, I am genuinely grateful to AQHA for selecting my work amongst the pool of other great ideas.”

Oladunni’s mentor, Thomas Chambers, PhD, professor at the Gluck Center, said 100 years ago viruses were just being discovered to be causes of infectious diseases