Outstanding Alumnus Early Career Award

Dr. Aruna Panda joined the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1999 to pursue a Ph.D in molecular virology. She earned her bachelor of veterinary science from the TamilNadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Chennai, India in 1996 and continued on to receive her M.S. in virology from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Panda joined Dr. Siba Samar’s lab in 1999 to begin research on the Newcastle disease virus, producing substantial, valuable results that have benefitted poultry industries throughout the nation and the world.

After receiving her Ph.D in the winter of 2003, Dr. Panda accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore (UMSOM), where she currently pursues her academic career. Appointments to Assistant Professor at a medical school are extremely rare immediately after graduation, but Dr. Panda’s immense potential and extraordinary graduate training made her an ideal candidate.

Since joining the School of Medicine faculty, Dr. Panda has expanded her knowledge and expertise by obtaining a Master of Public Health degree. This feat is indicative of the tenacity with which Dr. Panda pursues her career, as it is quite difficult to maintain responsibilities as a faculty member while simultaneously earning another degree.

Dr. Panda has continued her research career by publishing papers in high-quality journals and acting as co-investigator for six extramural grants totaling over $15.9 million; the most recent of which will began in 2010 to support her work in defense against biowarfare, emerging infectious agents and vaccine development.

During Dr. Panda’s short career she has already been recognized with several awards including the 2002 David B. Snyder Graduate Student Research Award and the 2003 Marcie Becker Graduate Student Scholarship for Outstanding Research, both from the University of Maryland as well as several travel grants to attend American Society of Virology meetings. She is a current member of the American Society for Virology, the University of Maryland School of Medicine Council, the Institutional Animal Care and Us Committee at UMSOM, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the National Academy of Veterinary Sciences (India), as well as being a Contributing Member of the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Panda’s position at UMSOM has provided a valuable link between the University of Maryland – College Park and the medical school that has resulted in opportunities for collaborative research between the two institutions. She has also remained active in the UMCP community by assisting Dr. Bettye Walters with the Opportunities and Options in Veterinary Medicine course offered to undergraduate students by serving as a guest lecturer.

Dr. Panda is an outstanding alumna who has accumulated an impressive list of achievements in a very short time span. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is fortunate to have an alumna of her caliber.