Pfizer Animal Health Award for Excellence in
Research by Faculty Member
T.G. Nagaraja, Professor of Microbiology, receives the award from
Dr. Fred Oehme, Professor of Toxicology, Pathobiology, Medicine and Physiology.
Dr. T.G. Nagaraja received his bachelor of veterinary science degree
(BVSc) from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India in 1970. He
completed the master of veterinary science degree (MVSc) in veterinary microbiology from
the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India in l975 and the PhD in
microbiology from Kansas State University in 1979. After research associate and instructor
positions in the Department of Animal Science, Kansas State University, he was appointed
as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science in 1980. He was promoted to
associate professor in 1985 and professor in 1990. During the 1989-1990 academic year, he
spent a sabbatical at the Beef Production Division, Department of Agriculture, Perth,
Australia. He joined the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology in the College
of Veterinary Medicine in 1998.
Dr. Nagaraga's major areas of research interest include rumen microbiology, microbial
ecology of the rumen and pathogenesis of liver abscesses caused by Fusobacterium
necrophorum. His early studies focused on the role(s) of bacterial endotoxin in lactic
acidosis in cattle. His studies have characterized lactic acid production and utilization
by rumen bacteria and developed methods to prevent feedlot bloat in cattle. Other projects
have studied the development of microbial populations in the rumen and the importance of
ruminal microflora in function and dysfunction of the rumen. More recent studies have
focused on prevention of liver abscesses in cattle caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum.
Dr. Nagaraga has published over 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals and a total of over
230 book chapters, symposia proceedings, abstracts and non-refereed research reports. He
has received three U.S. patents for bovine vaccines directed against liver abscesses. He
has trained 23 graduate students during his career at Kansas State University and teaches
courses in rumen microbiology for graduate students and anaerobic microbiology for both
undergraduate and graduate students. His research program has been supported by over
$1,162, 000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Kansas Agricultural Experiment
Station and various commercial companies.
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