• To understand host cell-virus interactions at cellular level and identification of host restrictive factors by using Single cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics.
• To identify and target mechanisms of cellular response during persistence infections of picornaviruses.
• To develop diagnostic assays for genomic surveillance of emerging and re-emerging viral pathogens.

• PhD (Veterinary Pathology), The University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Pathology, USA, 2014-2019
• MS (Veterinary Pathology) University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Department of Pathology, Pakistan, 2010-2013
• DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Pakistan, 2005-2010

• 2022-present, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Virology
  Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, USA.
• 2019 to 2021, Lecturer, Veterinary Pathology
  University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
• 2014 to 2019, Graduate research assistant (NDV diagnostics and genomics)
  University of Georgia. College of Veterinary Medicine. Athens, GA, USA.
• 2015 to 2019, Graduate student, Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research
  USDA-ARS, U.S. National Poultry Research Center, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, GA, USA.
• 2011 to 2014, Lecturer, Veterinary Pathology
  University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.

1. Leonardo C. Caserta, Elisha A. Frye, Salman L. Butt, Melissa Laverack, Mohammed Nooruzzaman, Lina M. Covaleda, Alexis C. Thompson, Melanie Prarat Koscielny, Brittany Cronk, Ashley Johnson, Katie Kleinhenz, Erin E. Edwards, Gabriel Gomez, Gavin Hitchener, Mathias Martins, Darrell R. Kapczynski, David L. Suarez, Ellen Ruth Alexander Morris, Terry Hensley, John S. Beeby, Manigandan Lejeune, Amy K. Swinford, François Elvinger, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Diego G. Diel. Spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus to dairy cattle. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07849-4. [Q1]
2. Jessica C. G. Noll, Ruchi Rani, Salman L. Butt, Maureen Hoch Vieira Fernandes, Gabriela Mansano do Nascimento, Mathias Martins, Leonardo C. Caserta, Diego G. Diel. 2024. Identification of an immunodominant B-cell epitope in African swine fever virus p30 protein and evidence of p30-antibody-mediated antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Viruses. [Q1]
3. Gabriela Mansano do Nascimento, Pablo Sebastian Britto de Oliveira, Salman L. Butt and Diego G. Diel. 2024. Immunogenicity of chimeric hemagglutinins delivered by an Orf-virus vector platform against Swine Influenza virus in pigs. Front. Immunol., 27 February 2024. doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1322879. [Q1]
4. Leonardo C. Caserta*, Mathias Martins*, Salman L. Butt*, Nicholas A. Hollingshead, Lina M. Covaleda, Sohel Ahmed, Mia Everts, Krysten L. Schuler, Diego G. Diel. 2023. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) may serve as a wildlife reservoir for nearly extinct SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. PNAS. January 31, 2023, 120 (6) e2215067120. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2215067120. [Q1].
5. Salman L. Butt, Henry M. Kariithi, Jeremy D. Volkening, Tonya L. Taylor, Christina Leyson, Mary Pantin-Jackwood, David L. Suarez, James B. Stanton, and Claudio L. Afonso. 2022. Comparable outcomes from long and short read random sequencing of total RNA for detection of pathogens in chicken respiratory samples. Front. Vet. Sci., 01 December 2022. doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.1073919. [Q1].
6. Kelsey T. Young, Jazz Q. Stephens, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Salman L. Butt, James B. Stanton. 2022. Putative Novel Avian Paramyxovirus (AMPV) and Reidentification of APMV-2 and APMV-6 to the Species Level Based on Wild Bird Surveillance (United States, 2016-2018). Applied Environmental Microbiology. Jun 14;88(11): e0046622. doi. 10.1128/aem.00466-22. [Q1].
7. Valerie Marcano, Stivalis C. Garcia, Robert M. Gogal Jr., Patti J. Miller, Corrie C. Brown, Salman L. Butt, James Stanton, Iryna V. Goraichuk, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Tonya L. Taylor, Dawn Williams-Coplin, Tim Olivier, Claudio L. Afonso. 2021. A novel recombinant Newcastle disease viral vaccine improves post- in ovo vaccination survival with sustained protection against virulent viral challenge, 2021. Vaccines 9.9 (2021): 953 [Q1].
8. Zaib Ur Rehman, Shanhui Ren, Salman L. Butt, Muhammad N. Anwar, Yingjie Sun, Zahir manzoor, Xusheng Qiu, Tan Lei, Ying Liao, Cuiping Song, Weiwei Liu, Chunchun Meng, Chan Ding. Newcastle Disease Virus induced pathologies severely affect the exocrine and endocrine functions of pancreas in chickens, 2020. Genes (1108493) [Q1].
9. Letícia Batelli de Oliveira, James B. Stanton, Jian Zhang, Corrie C. Brown, Salman L. Butt, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Claudio L. Afonso, Jeremy D. Volkening, Leonardo J. C. Lara, Camila Stefanie F. de Oliveira, Roselene Ecco. Runting and Stunting Syndrome in Broiler Chickens: Histopathology and Association with a Novel Picornavirus, 2020. Veterinary Pathology, (DOI: 10.1177/0300985820969971) [Q1].
10. Zaib Ur Rehman, Shanhui RenBin Yang, Xiaofeng Yang, Salman L. Butt, Alia Afzal Muhammad I Malik, Yingjie Sun, Shengqing Yu, Chunchun Meng, Chan Ding. 2020. Newcastle disease virus induces testicular damage and disrupts steroidogenesis in specific pathogen free roosters. BMC Veterinary Research (https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-020-00801-0) [Q1].
11. Salman L. Butt, Eric C. Erwood, Jian Zhang, Holly Sellers, Kelsey T. Young, Kevin K. Lahmers, James B. Stanton. 2019, Real-time, MinION based amplicon sequencing for lineage typing of infectious bronchitis virus from upper respiratory samples. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (https://doi.org/10.1177/1040638720910107) [Q2]
12. Salman L. Butt, Veridiana MBD Moura, Leonardo Susta, Patti J. Miller, Jessica M. Hutcheson, Stivalis Cardenas-Garcia, Corrie C. Brown, Franklin D. West, Claudio L. Afonso, James B. Stanton. Tropism of Newcastle disease virus strains for chicken neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. 2019, BMC Veterinary Research, 2019, 15:317. (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-019-2053-z) [Q1].
13. Salman L. Butt, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Jian Zhang, Abdul Wajid, Tasra Bibi, Asma Basharat, Corrie C. Brown, Shafqat F. Rehmani, Claudio L. Afonso, and James B. Stanton. Enhanced phylogenetic resolution of Newcastle disease outbreaks using complete viral genome sequences from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples. 2019, Virus Genes. (doi: 10.1007/s11262-019-01669-9) [Q3].
14. Helena L. Ferreira, Tonya L. Taylor, Angel E. Absalon, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Diana V. Espinosa, Salman L. Butt, Jorge L. Marín-Cruz, Iryna V. Goraichuk, Jeremy D. Volkening, David L. Suarez, Claudio L. Afonso. Presence of Newcastle disease viruses of sub-genotypes Vc and VIn in backyard chickens and in apparently healthy wild birds from Mexico in 2017. Virus Genes, 2019; doi.org/10.1007/s11262-019-01663-1) [Q3].
15. Jennifer L. Mumaw, Lorelei Clarke, Salman L. Butt, Elizabeth W Uhl, Pulmonary histiocytic sarcoma in a dog. 2019. JAVMA, May 1, 2019, Vol 254, No. 9, 1057-1059 [Q2].
16. Altaf Hussain, Tiantian Wu, Hui Li, Linjin Fan, Kai Li, Li Gao, Yongqiang Wang, Yulong Gao, Changjun Liu, Hongyu Cui, Qing Pan, Yanping Zhang, Asim Aslam, Khan Muti-Ur-Rehman, Muhammad Munir, Salman L. Butt, Xiaomei Wang, Xiaole Qi. Pathogenic Characterization and Full-Length Genome Sequence of a Reassortant Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Newly Isolated in Pakistan. Virologica Sinica 2019; 1-4 [Q2].
17. Salman L. Butt, Tonya L. Taylor, Jeremy D. Volkening, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Dawn Williams-Coplin, Kevin K. Lahmers, Asif M. Rana, Patti J. Miller, David L. Suarez, Claudio L. Afonso, James B. Stanton. Rapid virulence prediction and identification of Newcastle disease virus genotypes using third-generation sequencing. Virology journal; 2018; 15: 179 [Q1].
18. Ying He, Tonya L. Taylor, Kiril M. Dimitrov, Salman L. Butt, James B. Stanton, Iryna V. Goraichuk, Heather Fenton, Rebecca Poulson, Jian Zhang, Corrie C. Brown, Hon Ip, Marcos Isidoro-Ayza, Claudio L. Afonso. Whole-genome sequencing of genotype VI Newcastle disease viruses from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from wild pigeons reveals continuous evolution and previously unrecognized genetic diversity in the U.S. Virology Journal. 2018; 15:9 [Q1].

Conference Presentations and Posters/Communication Skills

1. SL Butt, LC Caserta, M Martins, NA Hollingshead, LM Covaleda, S Ahmed, MR Everts, KL Schuler, and DG Diel. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) may serve as a wildlife reservoir for nearly extinct SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. American Society for Virology Annual Meeting. June 24-28, 2023, Athens, Georgia.
2. M Nooruzzaman, M Martins1, SL Butt, C Ye, L Martinez-Sobrido, Y Fang, DG Diel. SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein ORF3a contributes to the virus virulence and pathogenicity in a naturally susceptible feline model of infection. American Society for Virology Annual Meeting. June 24-28, 2023, Athens, Georgia.
3. JB Stanton, K Young, SL Butt, KK Lahmers, HS Sellers, AB Kulkarni. MinION-based semi-targeted PCR-Seq of infectious bronchitis viruses: balancing inclusivity and sensitivity. Conference of Research Workers in in Animal Diseases. Jan 20–24, 2023. Chicago, IL
4. JB Stanton, KT Young, JQ Stephens, RL Poulson, DE Stallknecht, KM Dimitrov, SL Butt. MinION-based sequencing rapidly identifies several putative new avian paramyxovirus species. Annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases. December 3–7, 2021, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
5. SL Butt, HM Kariithi1, TL Taylor, JD Volkening, C Leyson, M Pantin-Jackwood, M Jackwood, N Ferguson, DL Suarez, JB Stanton, CL Afonso. Comparative Analysis of Detection of Chicken Respiratory Pathogens in Clinical Swabs using MinION- and MiSeq-based Sequencing of Total RNA. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. July 31 - August 4, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
6. JB Stanton, KT Young, SL Butt, KK Lahmers, HS Sellers, AB Kulkarni. “MinION-based RACE-Seq of infectious bronchitis viruses from tissues and FTA cards.” Annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases. Chicago, IL. December 4–8, 2020.
7. SL Butt, JD Volkening, HM Kariithi, CN Welch, LO Ateya, YS Binepal, AA. Apopo, TD Dulu, D L Suarez, and CL Afonso. Use of long read oxford nanopore sequencing for avian diagnostics in Kenya. Annual meeting of Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Poland, September 16, 2019.
8. JQ Stephens, KT Young, SL Butt, RL Poulson, DE Stallknecht, JB Stanton. Random, Real Time Sequencing of Avian Avulaviruses Isolated from Wild Bird Samples. Annual meeting of American College of Veterinary Pathology, November 9-13, 2019, San Antonia, Texas, USA.
9. JB Stanton, KK Lahmers, K Young, SL Butt, HS Sellers, DE Stallknecht, JT. Saliki, SM Tompkins, I Padykula, C Siepker, EW Howerth, and M Todd. Culture and metagenomic minion sequencing to detect and characterize RNA viruses. Annual meeting of American College of Veterinary Pathology, November 9-13, 2019, San Antonia, Texas, USA.
10. JB Stanton, KK Lahmers, KT Young, SL Butt, JQ Stephens1, HS Sellers, DE Stallknecht, JT Saliki, SM Tompkins, I Padykula, C Siepker, EW Howerth, and M Todd. Metagenomic MinION-based sequencing of cultured RNA viruses. [Oral Presentation]. Annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases. November 2–5, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
11. SL Butt, EC Erwood, J Zhang, KT Young, KK Lahmers, HS Sellers, JB Stanton. Real-time, MinION-based, amplicon sequencing for lineage typing of infectious bronchitis virus from upper respiratory samples. [Poster Presentation]. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. August 2-6, 2019, in Washington DC, USA.
12. JB Stanton, KK Lahmers, HS Sellers, CL Afonso, SL Butt, EC Erwood, M Todd, JD Volkening, TL Taylor, KM Dimitrov, D Williams-Coplin, DL Suarez, and PE Piñyero. MinION-based amplicon sequencing for rapid identification of three different RNA viruses [Oral Presentation]. Annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases. December 1–4, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
13. SL Butt, T Taylor, JD Volkening, KM Dimitrov, D Williams-Coplin, K Lahmers, JB Stanton, CL Afonso. Rapid and sensitive characterization of Newcastle disease virus genotypes by MinION nanopore sequencing [Oral Presentation]. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. July 13-17, 2018, in Denver, Colorado, USA.
14. IV Goraichuck, SL Butt, JB Stanton, JD Volkering, CL Afonso, DL Suarez. Optimization of conditions to sequence long cDNAs from viruses [Poster presentation]. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. July 13-17, 2018, in Denver, Colorado, USA.
15. SL Butt, TL Taylor, JD Volkening, KM Dimitrov, D Williams-Coplin, K Lahmers, JB Stanton, CL Afonso. Rapid and sensitive characterization of Newcastle disease virus genotypes by MinIONTM nanopore sequencing. [Poster presentation]. International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference. May 29-June 1, 2018, in Athens, Georgia, USA.
16. SL Butt, TL Taylor, JD Volkening, KM Dimitrov, D Williams-Coplin, K Lahmers, JB Stanton, CL Afonso. Efficient metagenomic recovery of RNA virus genomes by MinIONTM nanopore sequencing. [Oral presentation]. International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference. May 29-June 1, 2018, in Athens, Georgia, USA.
17. TL Taylor, KM Dimitrov, SL Butt, JD Volkening, IV. Goraichuk, JB. Stanton, CL Afonso. Co-infection of bacterial and avian viral species detected using next generation sequencing on total RNA obtained from clinical swab samples or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. [Abstract]. 2018 International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference. May 29-June 1, 2018, in Athens, Georgia, USA.
18. HL Ferreira, AE Absalon, TL Taylor, IV Goraichuk, SL Butt, KM Dimitrov, JD Volkeining, DL Suarez, CL Afonso, Identification of three different genotypes of avian paramyxoviruses 1 in healthy wild pigeons in Mexico in 2017. [Poster presentation]. 2018 International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference. May 29-June 1, 2018, in Athens, Georgia, USA.
19. SL Butt, Y He, J Zhang, KM Dimitrov, P Sharma, PJ Miller, M Isidoro Ayza, HS Ip, H Fenton, RL Poulson, A Wajid, SF Rehmani, CC Brown, CL Afonso, and JB Stanton. Next-generation sequencing of Newcastle disease virus from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. [Poster presentation], American Society of Microbiology, Microbe, June 1-5, 2017, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
20. KM Dimitrov, Y He, J Zhang, SL Butt, PJ Miller, M. Isidoro-Ayza, H.S. Ip, H Fenton, CC Brown, JB Stanton, CL Afonso. Whole genome sequencing of pigeon formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues reveals continuous circulation and evolution of sub-genotype VIa avian paramyxoviruses serotype 1 in the United States. [Abstract]. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. July 21-25, 2017, in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
21. SL Butt, Y He, J Zhang, KM Dimitrov, P Sharma, PJ Miller, M Isidoro Ayza, HS Ip, H Fenton, RL Poulson, A Wajid, SF Rehmani, CC Brown1, CL Afonso and JB Stanton. Next-generation sequencing of Newcastle disease virus from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of chickens and wild birds. [Oral Presentation]. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. July 21-25, 2017, in Indianapolis, Indiana. USA.
22. Y He, M Isidoro-Ayza, SL Butt, P Sharma, KM Dimitrov, CL Afonso, HS Ip, JB Stanton. Detection and Sequencing of PPMV-1 in Paraffin-Embedded Tissues from Wild Pigeons by Next-Generation Sequencing [Poster presentation]. Annual meeting of American College of Veterinary Pathology, December 3-7, 2016, New Orleans, LA, USA
23. SL Butt, A Wajid, P Sharma, SF Rehmani, D William-Coplins, TL Olivier, KM Dimitrov, CL Afonso, PJ Miller. Detection of Mixed Viral Infections in Pakistani Poultry by Next-Generation Sequencing [Oral presentation], Middle East and South Asia Conference on Epigenetics and Genomics of Infectious Diseases, March 7-8, 2016, Royal Scientific Society, Amman, Jordan
24. SL Butt, A Wajid, P Sharma, SF Rehmani, AM Rana, D William-Coplins, TL Olivier, KM Dimitrov, JB Stanton, CL Afonso, PJ Miller. The use of Next generation sequencing in the diagnosis and typing of NDV isolates from commercial poultry flocks. [Oral Presentation]. The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual meeting. August 6-9, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. USA.
25. SL Butt, E Howerth, K Harris. Metastatic Carcinoma in Spleen. [Oral presentation], 44th Annual Southeastern Veterinary Pathology Conference May 14-15, 2016, Tifton, GA, USA
26. SL Butt, CL Afonso, VMBD. Moura, L Susta, S Cardenas-Garcia, PJ Miller, CC Brown, JB Stanton, Velogenic and mesogenic Newcastle Disease virus protein within neurons, astrocytes, and microglia [Poster presentation], Annual meeting of American College of Veterinary Pathology, 17 to 21 October 2015, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
27. SL Butt, MZ Khan, A Khan, MK Saleemi. Cadmium induced nephrotoxicity and gonadotoxicity in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) and amelioration by silymarin [Poster presentation], Annual meeting of American College of Veterinary Pathology, 17 to 21 October 2015, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
28. MK Saleemi., N Islam, MZ Khan, SL Butt, A Khan, N Khursheed and RZ Abbass. 2013. An Outbreak of Chicken Infectious Anemia in Commercial White Leghorn Layer Flocks from Pakistan: Molecular Diagnosis and Pathology.Pp.585. (Proceedings of World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress WPAC-2013 Nantes, France 19-23 August 2013).

1. Resource Person & Panelist, 2nd National Training Course on Diagnosis of Poultry Diseases through Modern Diagnostic Techniques”, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science University of Agriculture Faisalabad, and World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA-Pakistan Branch), October 7-8, 2020, Faisalabad, Pakistan
2. Resource Person & Panelist, Basic mechanisms of disease and poultry pathology, March 2-4, 2020, University of veterinary and animal sciences Lahore, Pakistan
3. Certificate of Completion of Fulbright Scholarship Program, August 2019
4. Phi Zeta Veterinary Medical Honor Society, 2019, USA
5. Dennis Sikes award in Experimental Pathology, Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society, 2018, USA
6. Travel award to present at Middle East and South Asia Conference on Epigenetics and Genomics of Infectious Diseases at the Royal Scientific Society in 2016, Amman, Jordan
7. Fulbright scholarship for doctoral studies in Veterinary Pathology, 2014, Pakistan
8. UAF Merit Scholarship as postgraduate student, 2011-12, Pakistan
9. UAF Merit Scholarship for veterinary students from 2006-10, Pakistan
10. Silver Medal (second position) in DVM cohort 2005-10, Pakistan
11. Registered Veterinary Medical Practitioner (RVMP/ 5279, 22.07.2010), Pakistan

1. American society of virology, since 2023
2. Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network, since 2019
3. World Veterinary Poultry Association (since 2018), Contributory member
4. American Association of Avian Pathologists (since 2017), Contributory and a regular presenter
5. American Society for Microbiology (since 2017), Global Outreach - Contributing member