Rate My Professor Shafiqul Chowdhury

Shafiqul Chowdhury is a Professor in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, where he joined the faculty on July 1, 2008. He holds a DVM (1978) and MS (1983) from Bangladesh Agricultural University and a PhD (1987) from the Free University of Berlin. Prior to his appointment at LSU, Chowdhury was affiliated with Kansas State University, receiving the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence there in 2004.

Chowdhury's research focuses on molecular virology, neurovirology, neuro-pathogenesis of alphaherpesviruses, and recombinant herpesvirus vaccine technology. He studies the molecular and immunological basis of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) pathogenesis in cattle, with particular emphasis on the role of the BHV-1 tegument protein VP22. His work includes developing novel herpesvirus-vectored vaccines, such as BHV-1-based vaccines against bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC)-associated viruses, Rift Valley Fever virus, and pseudorabies virus-vectored vaccines for classical swine fever, African swine fever, and porcine circoviruses. A key achievement is his patented BHV-1 vectored vaccine incorporating protective proteins from bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) types 1 and 2 and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), licensed to RTI for commercialization to combat BRD, which causes significant economic losses in the cattle industry.

Chowdhury has earned major awards including the Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award (2024), Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (2018), LSU Excellence in Innovation (2016), Zoetis Award for Research Excellence (2015), and DAAD Scholarship for doctoral studies. His influence is evident in over 2,400 Google Scholar citations and multiple patents. Key publications include 'Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) UL49.5 luminal domain residues 30-32 are critical for MHC-I down-regulation in virus-infected cells' (PLoS One, 2011), 'A triple gene mutant of BoHV-1 administered intranasally is significantly more efficacious than a BoHV-1 glycoprotein E-deleted virus against a virulent BoHV-1 challenge' (Vaccine, 2014), 'Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) envelope protein UL49.5 interacts with VP22 directly via its cytoplasmic tail' (Journal of Virology, 2018), and 'BoHV-1-Vectored BVDV-2 Subunit Vaccine Induces BVDV Cross-Reactive Cellular Immune Responses and Protects against BVDV-2 Challenge' (Vaccines, 2021).