Melanie Prarat Koscielny

Northeast Representative, Region 1 (Term: 2024-2027)

Melanie Prarat Koscielny, MS Northeast, Region 1

Melanie Prarat Koscielny, MS, received her Master of Science in Molecular Genetics from the University of Cincinnati. She worked at Plum Island Animal Disease Center for 4 years where she developed critical research and diagnostic skills while working within the FADRU and FADDL laboratories, studying viral pathogenesis and developing molecular assays for rapid detection of rinderpest virus and sheep & goat pox. She joined the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory as a research scientist in 2014, before moving into the role of Associate Laboratory Director in 2021. In this role, she oversees a USDA NAHLN Level 1 and FDA Vet-LIRN WGS laboratory that performs >500,000 tests each year and is involved in emergency and outbreak response. Her research interests include next-generation sequencing and the diagnosis of and surveillance of viral diseases of swine, including African swine fever, foot and mouth disease, porcine enteric coronavirus, and classical swine fever. Melanie spearheaded the lab’s interest in joining the Swine Disease Reporting System (SDRS) network in 2021 and is the principal investigator for multiple federal cooperative agreements & projects with USDA NIFA, FDA GenomeTrakr, and FDA Vet-LIRN. Melanie is the previous co-chair of the AAVLD Virology Committee.

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