2006 PSA Awards

Steven C. Ricke

Steven Ricke received his BS degree in animal science (1979) and MS degree in ruminant nutrition (1982) from the University of Illinois and his PhD degree (1989) from the University of Wisconsin with dual majors in animal science and bacteriology. From 1989 to 1992 Ricke was a USDA-ARS postdoctorate in the Department of Microbiology at North Carolina State University. He was at Texas A&M University for 13 years and was a professor in the Department of Poultry Science with joint appointments on the Food Science and Technology, Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences, and Nutrition Faculties and the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. He received the Poultry Science Association Research Award in 1999 for outstanding research published in the previous year and was honored with an appointment in 2002 as a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Faculty Fellow. In 2005, he became the first holder of the new Donald "Buddy" Wray Chair in Food Safety and was appointed director of the Center for Food Safety in the Institute of Food Science and Engineering at the University of Arkansas. He is currently serving as an editorial board member of several journals and is editor-in-chief of the international journal, Bioresource Technology. He has published 28 review articles, 12 book chapters, and 158 original research papers and has given 56 invited talks.

Ricke's research program is primarily focused on virulence and pathogenic characteristics of foodborne salmonellae. His salmonellae research projects have emphasized studies on the growth, survival, and pathogenesis of the organism under conditions encountered during food animal production and processing. During its life cycle, Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis can encounter various environmental stress conditions that may have dramatic effect(s) on their survival and virulence. The success of prebiotics and probiotics to control pathogen colonization in chickens has given rise to the concept that the gastrointestinal anaerobic microflora and their activities can compete against Salmonella spp. colonization and that preharvest preventive strategies are an important component in food safety programs. However, the success of Salmonella spp. in becoming re-established in the gastrointestinal tract of birds during certain phases of poultry production indicates that Salmonella spp. can competitively interact with the dynamics of the gastrointestinal microflora. Based on these observations, Ricke's research group has focused on salmonellae metabolism and genetic regulation of stress responses when grown under anaerobic and gastrointestinal-type conditions and how these overlap with expression of virulence when foodborne salmonellae become pathogenic. Although there is considerable evidence that establishment of indigenous microflora and their continued presence in the gut are essential for preventing pathogen colonization, little is known about the mechanism(s) involved when salmonellae are successfully repulsed as well as when they are able to surmount these unknown mechanism(s) and successively colonize the gut. Consequently, although there is considerable information about environmental signals that control growth and pathogenesis during and after invasion of the intestinal tract, little is known about the biology of Salmonella spp. in the gastrointestinal tract before attachment and invasion. Research in Ricke's program has been focused on how gastrointestinal growth conditions influence virulence and pathogenic characteristics of salmonellae. He and his students have used these research findings to develop practical alternative molt induction practices that minimize S. Enteritidis infection in susceptible laying hens. They have developed low-energy–high-fiber alfalfa-based diets that not only support optimal egg production but maximize gastrointestinal bacterial fermentation activities antagonistic to S. Enteritidis colonization.

Sally Noll

Sally Noll received her MS and PhD degrees in animal science with an emphasis in poultry nutrition at the University of Minnesota. Noll has been a professor and extension animal scientist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul since 1985.

Noll conducts extension programs directed toward the turkey industry in the state and applied research in turkey management and nutrition. Her extension program in nutrition has focused on improving turkey meat yield through nutrition and specifically examining protein nutrition of alternative feed ingredients. Recently, her research emphasis has been on the use of distillers dried grains with solubles in market turkey diets. Another area of interest is the effect of environment on poultry production performance and well-being.

Sally has served on numerous committees for several associations: Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, Midwest Poultry Federation Education Program, and Poultry Science Association. She also participates in the NE1022 regional research project on "Poultry Production Systems: Optimization of Production and Welfare Using Physiological, Behavioral, and Physical Assessments." In 1998 she was awarded the Ranelius Award by the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the Pfizer Extension Award in recognition for her service to the industry.

Annie M. Donoghue

Annie Donoghue is an appropriate and deserving recipient of this year's Helene Cecil Award. She is an outstanding researcher, excellent collaborator and mentor, and exceptional leader. In her research, Donoghue has made important contributions to in turkey physiology and semen preservation as well as in the field of food safety. Her contributions in these areas are timely and address issues critical to the poultry industry. Her research accomplishments have been recognized, not only within her agency but also by numerous awards, significant research funding, and countless invited talks at national and international professional meetings. Donoghue is valued by her colleagues at the University of Arkansas for her mentoring of students and collaboration with their program. She has also been extremely effective as research leader for the Poultry Production and Product Safety Unit at the USDA-ARS in Arkansas. Donoghue has been very active in the Poultry Science Association as a member of the Board of Directors and on a number of our committees as well as an Associate Editor of our journal Poultry Science. She has also taken the time to participate in the ARS summer mentorship programs for high school students and college undergraduates. Annie Donoghue, therefore, has served an exemplary role model as a scientist, mentor, and colleague. She is highly deserving of the Helene Cecil Award, and it is an honor to have her as our colleague.

 

 

William A. Dozier

William A. Dozier currently serves as a Research Animal Scientist at the USDA-ARS Poultry Research Unit at Mississippi State, Mississippi, and holds adjunct faculty status at Mississippi State University in the Department of Poultry Science. He received a BS in animal and dairy science from Auburn University, an MS in animal science from the University of Kentucky, and a PhD in poultry science from Auburn University.

Selected research accomplishments to date include the determination of dietary threonine needs of broilers from six to eight weeks of age. These findings were disseminated to the poultry industry globally through technical reviews in addition to peer-reviewed manuscripts. Further, Dozier's research comparing sources of poultry by-product meal determined that pet-food–grade sources had less variability for amino acids, crude protein, and metabolizable energy (10 fold) than feed-grade sources. This research also reported that the currently available poultry by-product meal sources contain approximately 180 kcal of TME/kg more than previously published values. As a consequence, ingredient composition tables have been updated. Dozier's research on stocking density has determined the optimum density for broiler production efficiency and well-being. These data have been integral to the US broiler industry in allaying well-being concerns raised by the food service sector. In addition, this information has been requested by European countries for use in considerations of re-evaluation of animal well-being guidelines.

During his career, Dozier's publications include 25 senior-authored and 22 co-authored peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has also published 39 industry trade articles and has given 65 presentations at international, national, regional, and state levels. Dozier served as co-chair of the Nutrition section of the 2005 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting and currently is an associate editor for Journal of Applied Poultry Research and Poultry Science.

 

Mark M. Compton

Mark M. Compton, The University of Georgia, Athens, is the 2006 recipient of the Land O' Lakes Teaching Award. Compton is a native of Virginia, where he attended Virginia Tech and received a BS degree in biology, an MS degree in poultry science, and a PhD in avian reproductive biology in the Department of Poultry Science under the direction of Harry Van Krey. He received postdoctoral training in molecular and cellular biology at the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1987, Compton joined the faculty in the Department of Poultry Science at The University of Georgia (UGA).

During his tenure at UGA, Compton has taught several laboratory-based courses, including Introduction to Poultry Science, Avian Anatomy and Physiology, Laboratory Exercises in Biomedical Sciences, and he has assisted with the instruction of Birds in Our Lives. His teaching philosophy is based on providing students a broad academic experience using a variety of teaching formats. His laboratory exercises make extensive use of live animals, and the chicken provides an excellent model for teaching a wide array of biological principles using an experiential, hands-on approach. Laboratory exercises in these courses provide an excellent background in gross anatomy and microanatomy. Students perform mini nutrition, endocrine, and reproductive experiments in which they collect and analyze the data as well as acquire technical skills to perform spectrophotometric assays, ELISA assays, hemagglutination assays, and hematological procedures. In the more advanced courses, students learn to perform surgical procedures (e.g., ovarian follicle removal and cecectomy) and collect physiological data (e.g., arterial blood pressure and heart rate) on anesthetized chickens.

Compton uses a variety of testing formats in these courses. His written exams are always accompanied by an oral question. In addition, an in-depth lab practical exam is given and a laboratory skills test is administered in which students demonstrate the operation of instrumentation and their surgical skills (e.g., suturing technique). Students also participate in a "chicken bowl" exam in which they competitively respond to oral questions. This competition is typically followed by a "Stromboli social" in which students are provided the ingredients to make a Stromboli dinner. And, the final course tradition is an extracurricular, all-day kayaking trip on the nearby Broad River.

In addition to classroom instruction, Compton consistently has several undergraduate students working in his laboratory on a variety of independent research projects. Previously, students have undertaken projects involving bacterial over-expression of proteins and protein purification, antibody production, plasmid preparation, in vitro gene expression, and the development of surgical techniques. In a number of cases, these projects have been used to develop laboratory exercises that were incorporated into the curriculum. For example, a group of students worked last summer to produce a series of sophisticated video recordings that demonstrates anesthesia and surgical techniques using chickens. These video recordings are routinely used to demonstrate surgical procedures in the undergraduate courses.

Compton's research interests are in cellular and molecular biology where he has been studying genes involved in the pathway of apoptotic cell death. More specifically, his research efforts have focused on analyzing the role of Thy 28, a gene first identified in his laboratory, in the apoptotic process. He is currently investigating the expression of this gene in transfected cell lines using Northern and Western assay techniques, as well as immunofluorescence, flow cytometric, and RNA interference approaches.

Compton's service activities at the university level include work on the admissions committee, and he has served as a university council member. At the college and departmental levels he has served on numerous committees involved in undergraduate teaching, curriculum development, and student recruitment, and he has served as the departmental undergraduate coordinator and faculty advisor to the UGA Poultry Science Club for numerous years.

He has served as an associate editor of Poultry Science and a reviewer of USDA grant proposals. Compton's teaching accomplishments have been previously recognized by the Dr. Henry L. Marks Excellence in Teaching Award (2001, 2006) from the UGA Poultry Science Club and the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Teaching (2001) from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science at UGA.

Vanessa K. Kretzschmar-McCluskey

Vanessa K. Kretzschmar-McCluskey graduated from Cleveland High School in Cleveland, Alabama, and received a BS in poultry science with a minor in Spanish from Auburn University. Vanessa entered into her PhD research immediately after graduation with her BS and is currently perusing her studies at Auburn under the direction of Patricia A. Curtis. Her research focuses on the natural prevalence of Salmonella Enteritidis and other microflora on the exterior, in the interior shell, and in the contents of shell eggs. Vanessa manages the Auburn University Egg Quality Lab, where research is done on the functional properties of eggs. She is a member of the International Association for Food Protection and is serving as the 2005–2006 secretary for IAFP's Student Professional Development Group. She is also a member of the Poultry Science Association. In the future, Vanessa hopes to work in an educational or research and development field focusing on food safety.

Vanessa's research focuses on the natural occurrence of Salmonella Enteritidis in the shell eggs of laying hens from the 35th North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. Eggs from Hy-Line W36 and W-98 strains were used to perform the microbial portion of her study, and frozen samples from those strains will be used for the analysis of proteins, fats, and fatty acids as part of her PhD research.

 

 

 

Hyun S. Lillehoj

Hyun S. Lillehoj received her BS degree in biology from the University of Hartford, MS degree in microbiology from the University of Connecticut, and PhD in immunology under the guidance of Noel Rose from Wayne State University, School of Medicine in 1979. After graduation, she was a NIH postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University, and conducted research on the immunology of prostate cancer and immunogenetics of autoimmune diseases. In 1981, she was appointed as a staff fellow in the Laboratory of Immunology, NIAID, NIH, under the direction of Ethan Shevach where she studied T-cell immunity and immunosuppression. In 1984, Lillehoj was recruited by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Since joining the USDA-ARS, she has progressively risen in the ranks to where she is now highest grade level, Supergrade, ST-1.

Her research career has focused on the immunobiology of host-parasite interactions, vaccine development, mucosal immunology, and immunogenetics using avian coccidiosis and Salmonellosis as model systems. Lillehoj developed the first set of mouse monoclonal antibodies detecting chicken lymphocyte subpopulations that have been used by poultry scientists worldwide and have been instrumental for investigation of avian cell-mediated immunity. More recently, she constructed the first chicken intestinal cDNA microarray containing 10,000 expressed sequence tags that has been of seminal importance in national and international poultry genomics research. Her research has resulted in more than 250 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 15 book chapters, 200 meeting abstracts, and 6 US patents. She has been awarded more than $5 million in research funding, including 7 CSREES NRI, BARD, IFASA, and Food Safety Initiative grants and 20 formal collaborations (CRADA) with private industry. In addition, she has served on numerous editorial boards, national grant panels, award and technical committees of the AAAVP and PSA and chaired multiple sessions at national and international meetings including PSA, AAAVP, AAVP, and International Avian Immunology and International Coccidiosis meetings.

Lillehoj holds adjunct professorships at the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, and the University of Guelph and has guided the research of 20 graduate students and 58 visiting scientists from Asia, Europe, and South America. Her accomplishments have been recognized by the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Technology Transfer Award (1998), the ARS Technology Transfer Award (1999), the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Technology Transfer Award (1999), the PSA Helen Cecil Leadership Award (2001), the AAAVP/AVMA Pharmacia/Upjohn Animal Health Achievement Award (2001), the Korean Poultry Science Association Distinguished Research Achievement Award (2001), the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Senior Scientist of the Year Award (2003), and the ARS Outstanding Scientist of the Year Award (2004).

Roselina Angel

Roselina Angel graduated from Iowa State University with a BS degree in animal science in 1984 and completed graduate work in animal nutrition with Jerry Sell at Iowa State University with an MS degree in 1987 and a PhD degree in 1990. During her graduate program, she worked in the areas of soybean meal carbohydrates for her MS degree, and for her PhD she developed a model for stunting syndrome in turkey poults, established physical and physiological changes associated with this stunting syndrome model, and explored dietary changes as a means for ameliorating the deleterious effects of this syndrome. After leaving Iowa State she joined Purina Mills, Inc., in St Louis, Missouri, where she worked in the area of exotic, lab, and companion animal nutrition with primary responsibilities for research and development. During her time at Purina she established an internally known research program in ratite nutrition. In 1998, Angel joined the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences at the University of Maryland and quickly established a research program with emphasis on the effects of poultry production on the environment. Her research group has concentrated its efforts on ways to maximize the ability of broilers to utilize dietary phosphorus in establishing broiler phosphorus requirements and exploring actual calcium and phosphorus needs when considering processing losses rather than bone ash as the need criteria. Recently Angel has started to work on other aspects of poultry dietary changes to minimize nutrient excretion and emissions to the environment.

Layi Adeola

Olayiwola (Layi) Adeola is a professor of animal science at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Born in Nigeria, Adeola received a bachelor's of agriculture degree in animal science with first class honors from the University of Ife, Nigeria, in 1982. He earned both MS and PhD degrees with distinction from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 1986 and 1989, respectively. In November 1991, he accepted a faculty position as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University. He was promoted to associate professor in 1996 and full professor in 2001. Adeola has served as nonruminant nutrition program chair for the American Society for Animal Science national meeting, as nonruminant nutrition section editor for the Journal of Animal Science, and on the editorial board of Poultry Science. Adeola received the American Feed Industry Association Poultry Nutrition Research Award in 2005.

Before Adeola's pioneering development of methods for accurately collecting contaminant-free excreta from ducks (published in Adeola, O., D. Ragland, and D. King. 1997. Feeding and excreta collection techniques in metabolizable energy assays for ducks. Poultry Science 76:728–732), nutrient and energy utilization values for ducks were less reliable. Problems are normally encountered in collecting highly liquid excreta for assays of nutrient utilization and metabolizable energy in ducks. The practice of total excreta collection in trays placed under ducks housed in cages is subject to error due to splatter arising from contact of forcefully ejected excreta with trays and as a result of contamination of excreta with feed, dander, or scales. Adeola developed tube-feeding and harness-aided excreta collection methods that provided the means of precisely feeding known amounts of ingredients and accurately collecting contaminant-free excreta, which are essential for obtaining reliable values in nutrient utilization and metabolizable energy assays. The technique provides a viable alternative to pan collection and is currently being used to provide data on nutrient utilization, metabolizable energy, and amino acid digestibility values for a variety of feed ingredients and by-products. This fits into the long-range goal of Adeola's research program to reduce the environmental impact of manure nutrients. One of the approaches for reducing manure nutrients is to have reliable energy and nutrient utilization data on feed ingredients used in formulating duck diets. Several studies have been conducted through the years to determine nutrient and energy utilization in a variety of grains, meals, and by-products for ducks in Adeola's laboratory. The results of these duck studies appeared in 23 publications in several journals including Poultry Science, Journal of Animal Science, British Poultry Science, Journal of Poultry Science (Japan), and British Journal of Nutrition.

Adeola teaches Nonrunminant Animal Nutrition and Proteins and Amino Acids in Nutrition. Adeola has authored or coauthored 236 publications, including 95 refereed papers, five book chapters, 95 abstracts, and 41 conference proceedings or technical articles. Fourteen students have received advanced degrees under his direction, and four others are currently pursing advanced degrees in his laboratory.

Adeola and his wife, Mopelola, a registered nurse on faculty at Purdue University School of Nursing, are blessed with one son, Oluwatola.

Sandra G. Velleman

Sandra G. Velleman, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), The Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio, is the 2006 recipient of the National Turkey Federation Research Award. Sandy obtained her training in a biology and medical background but has done almost all of her research with poultry with a primary interest in muscle development. She obtained her BA degree with distinction in biology from Boston University and her PhD degree from the University of Connecticut. Upon obtaining her PhD degree, she spent a total of over 9 years at the Connective Tissue Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, and University of Connecticut. At Connecticut, Sandy conducted research on several mutations affecting muscle and limb development in chickens.

In 1995, Sandy accepted an assistant professor position at the OARDC, and the first few years of her research was devoted to the study of the inheritance of the Low Score Normal mutant and muscle development in the Low Score Normal and muscular dystrophy mutants in chickens. In addition to continuing her research with chickens, Sandy has placed a major emphasis on turkey research in recent years. During the last six years, the period of the National Turkey Federation Research Award, Sandy has been very active in turkey research. She is senior author or co-author of 23 full-length peer-reviewed papers with turkeys as the experimental animal. She also has 8 turkey gene sequences published in GenBank.

Sandy's research is funded by grants from the USDA and poultry industry. She first established that muscle cells from a line (F) of turkeys selected long-term for increased 16-wk body weight have increased proliferation and differentiation rates compared with muscle cells from a randombred control (RBC2), which served as the base population for the F line and is not intentionally selected for any trait. Her research has also indicated that the expression of the extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules proceeds in a well-defined fashion with those involved in organizing the muscle being expressed first followed by those involved in growth. Her research has also shown that F line turkeys express earlier and greater levels of proteoglycans involved in increasing muscle cell number than the RBC2 line, which result in larger muscle size in the F line. The expression of these ECM proteoglycans has been correlated with the growth factor fibroblast growth factor-2.

Through microscopic measurement analysis, Sandy has established the parameters for ECM spacing and muscle fiber size in a commercial turkey sire line and the experimental F and RBC2 turkey lines at the embryonic and posthatch stages of growth. The morphological characteristics for how growth selection has affected muscle morphology have been determined as well as the affect on the expression and localization of myosin heavy chain molecules. During these and other studies, it has been demonstrated that, at 16 weeks posthatch breast muscle morphology is strongly influenced by maternal inheritance, and muscle damage occurs in growth-selected lines. The finding of maternal inheritance of breast muscle morphology will have a tremendous effect on the selection of dam lines for the production of commercial turkeys.

Sandy is a very productive scientist (73 full-length peer-reviewed scientific publications), who is the leader in the study of the ECM in poultry and in muscle development in turkeys. She received the Poultry Science Association Inc. Research Award in 1998. Sandy is well deserving of the 2006 National Turkey Federation Research Award.

Nicolas M. Dale

Nick Dale graduated from Florida Presbyterian College in 1968 with a degree in Latin American history. After two years of service in the Peace Corps in Chile, he elected to switch fields and study agriculture. He settled in Athens, Georgia, in 1973 earning MS and PhD degrees in poultry nutrition under the direction of Henry Fuller. During his graduate program, Dale initially worked to develop feeding strategies for broilers during periods of heat stress and subsequently focused on the nutritional evaluation of feed ingredients. Upon graduation from the University of Georgia, he joined the poultry extension faculty at that institution, where he has remained until the present time.

In providing support to the poultry industry, Dale has established an internationally recognized program in feed ingredient evaluation. His laboratory is the recognized leader in metabolizable energy determinations in the western hemisphere. Serving in extension, Dale recognized the need for effective dissemination of poultry technology. Toward this end, he established a Spanish language poultry technology magazine Avicultura Profesional in 1983 and the Journal of Applied Poultry Research in 1991. Since 1992, Dale has chaired the organizing committee for the Georgia International Poultry Course, held following the International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta. The course, held on the campus of the University of Georgia, has attracted participants from more than 35 countries. Dale is the author or co-author of 63 refereed journal publications and is a frequent speaker at professional meetings in the United States and overseas. He currently serves as president of the USA Branch of the World's Poultry Science Association.

 

 

Inmaculada Estevez

Inmaculada Estevez obtained her BS in zoology in 1988 and her PhD in ethology in 1994 at the University of Cordoba, Spain. After completing her PhD, she took positions as a postdoctoral researcher in poultry behavior, welfare, and management at the Swedish Agricultural University; the Institute National de Recherche Agricole INRA, France; and a poultry company, Hermanos Alameda (Spain). In 1997 she joined the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences at the University of Maryland as assistant professor of poultry behavior, management, and welfare. She was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2003.

Inma received two awards in ethology from the Basque Government in Spain, the "2002 Junior Faculty Award" from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland, and the 2003 the Hy-Line International Research Award from the Poultry Science Association. Inma has been the recipient of two awards of the USDA-NRI Reproduction Program (2001) and the Animal Protection Program (2005). She has authored a US patent and has published 39 papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals, 2 book chapters, and 8 invited articles, and has given over 60 presentations at national and international conferences. Inma is co-editor of the extension newsletter "Poultry Perspectives" and has published several extension articles and newspaper columns. She also has been invited to speak at numerous scientific conferences, institutions, and industry meetings and has participated in review panels for the National Academy of Science (NAS) and the National Research Initiative (NRI). Inma has participated in relevant committees, such as the Scientific Veterinary Committee, Animal Welfare Section of the European Union in Brussels, and the IX Working Group (Poultry Welfare) of the World Poultry Science Association. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science and Poultry Science and is an advisory member of the National Chicken Council Animal Welfare Program and Perdue Farms Poultry Welfare Program. She has served as the regional secretary for the United States for the International Society for Applied Ethology since January 2005.

 

 

 

 

Karen V. Schwean-Lardner

Karen Schwean-Lardner was hired as a research technician at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S), Department of Animal and Poultry Science 15 years ago. At that time, her job description consisted of data entry, data entry, and data entry and providing support to research staff during data collection periods at the U of S Poultry Centre. While still performing these duties, Karen has taken on much more.

Karen has become heavily involved in teaching poultry science to students in the College of Agriculture (degree and diploma) and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, which has become an aspect of her job that Karen loves. Her response from students is always positive. Student questionnaires from a diploma class taught this winter (students primarily beef oriented with no prior interest in poultry!) included comments such as "She was easy to talk to and to discuss questions with," "She is one of the best instructors I've had teach me," "Really great attitude and worked hard at making sure students understood the material," and "Good positive attitude trying to get us involved." Even after the poultry classes are over, Karen often has students visiting her office for questions about other classes or just to chat! Karen is also a resource person for many of the poultry graduate students. She is someone to talk to, bounce ideas off, help with writing protocols, designing experiments, statistical analysis, and writing SAS procedures.

Karen is involved in the planning and organizing of many research trials at the Poultry Centre, including developing detailed protocols, organizing of data collection, statistical analysis and interpretation, and generating final reports. She also has her own interests and has led research in a number of areas, particularly those of poultry welfare. She has been working recently on the welfare of beak-trimmed hens and presented a poster and won an award for that poster at the European Poultry Welfare Conference in Lublin, Poland. She has also been asked to speak on poultry welfare and production issues at a number of conferences, including the Saskatchewan Poultry Conference; the Poultry Service Industry Workshop in Banff, Alberta; and the Atlantic Poultry Conference in Nova Scotia. Karen has also presented many times at PSA and Canadian Society of Animal Science meetings.

Karen is also involved in many facets of daily running of the Poultry Centre. This includes writing animal care protocols and developing standard operating procedures (SOP) and the disaster plan guide for the Poultry Centre. The SOP manual was the first for any livestock unit in the department and has served as a model for others.

While working, Karen completed her MS with a project on the welfare of hens in alternative housing systems. She recently started working on a PhD and is examining the effects of photoperiod length on welfare of broilers.

Craig D. Coufal

Craig D. Coufal joined the faculty of the Mississippi State University Department of Poultry Science in March 2006 as an assistant extension professor. He is a native of central Texas, where he grew up working on both of his grandfathers' farms, was active in FFA programs, and raised poultry and swine for livestock shows in the local county, Houston, and San Antonio. He received a BS degree in poultry science from Texas A&M University in 1997. After graduation, he went to work for Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., at their south Texas egg-laying operations. After a year with Cal-Maine, he returned to Texas A&M and completed an MS degree in 2000. Coufal then worked for the Texas A&M University Department of Poultry Science as an extension associate from 2001 to 2003. He completed a PhD in poultry science at Texas A&M in August 2005. His areas of work include broiler and layer husbandry, hatching egg sanitation, and ammonia and waste management.

 

 

David H. Baker

David H. Baker was born February 26, 1939, in Waterman, Illinois. He graduated from Waterman High School in 1957 and then attended the University of Illinois (UI), where he received BS (1961), MS (1963), and PhD (1965) degrees. He worked as a senior scientist at Eli Lilly from 1965 to 1967, after which he returned to UI as an assistant professor of nutrition. He was promoted to associate professor in 1970 and to professor in 1974, all in the Department of Animal Sciences. He later received professor appointments in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and in the Department of Internal Medicine. During 1986 he was the Underwood Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland. From 1988–1990, he served as acting head of the UI Department of Animal Sciences. Since 1999, Baker has held the title of Professor Emeritus of Nutrition and University Scholar at the University of Illinois.

During Baker's tenure on the UI faculty, he has directed 37 PhD students, 18 MS students, and 4 postdoctoral students. He has published 493 peer-reviewed papers (journals, books), 288 abstracts, and 203 popular articles. He has given invited speeches throughout the world. He has also won numerous awards for his research and teaching: 6 from the University of Illinois, 6 from American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), 5 from the Poultry Science Association., and 4 from the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). Baker has served on the editorial board of J. Anim. Sci., J. Nutr., Poult. Sci., Nutr. Res., and Nutr. Rev. (associate editor from 1985–1989). He has also served on the Executive Council of ASN (1989–92) and as a Board Member of the Board on Agriculture and National Resources (1998–2001) and FASEB (2003–07).

In 2005, Baker was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He remains active in research. A symposium in his name is held each March at the Midwest ASAS meeting in Des Moines. He is married to the former Norraine Tuestad. They have 6 children and 11 grandchildren.

 

 

 

 

John T. Brake

John T. Brake, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Poultry Science, Physiology, and Nutrition in the Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University, has established an outstanding reputation as a scientist, teacher, and advisor. He has become known worldwide for his expertise in broiler breeder and hatchery management, for the reproductive and environmental management of poultry, and for development of a widely used method for induced molting of poultry. He has been honored with the Merck Award for Achievement in Poultry Science, the NC State University Sigma Xi Research Award and Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and the PSA Broiler Research Award. He was elected to the Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 1990 and named as an Outstanding Graduate Instructor in 2003 in recognition of his efforts in his undergraduate and graduate courses. His students have won 15 Certificate of Excellence Awards at PSA and SPSS meetings. Brake received such a PSA Certificate of Excellence in 1977 and has been an active participant in our scientific societies ever since. He has served PSA, WPSA, ARPAS, and SPSS on their editorial boards and committees, in their scientific sessions, and as an organizer of several national and international symposia. He has published, as author or co-author, 132 peer-reviewed publications, 8 extension technical guides, 295 abstracts of scientific presentations, 221 invited proceedings from industry conferences, and 91 popular press and miscellaneous articles. He has also made 141 other invited presentations at industry conferences in the United States and more than 40 countries around the world. He produced five teaching videos related to various aspects of poultry management during these same years and was awarded 3 patents. This is a total of over 750 citations, a staggering number for any faculty member.

After his highly successful classic early work with induced molting of commercial laying hens, Brake's preeminent research area became the very difficult job of combining science with the art of broiler breeder and hatchery management. He put together a large and productive research program with investigations directed at feed program management, nutrition, mycotoxicology, feed additives, lighting programs, ventilation, and broiler progeny performance and nutrition. Brake has used biomathematics and keen observation to develop the concept of minimum cumulative nutrition for rearing broiler breeders, which has significantly changed long-standing paradigms of broiler breeder management. His work has been designed to be practical and to solve problems while defining basic principles. It can be safely stated that virtually every broiler breeder operation in the world has benefited from the work of Brake. A careful inspection of primary breeder management guides will find some of Brake's work and ideas in every manual, cited or uncited. Brake is sought out daily by the world's poultry industry, and his efforts at outreach are only limited by time. His facile interaction with the worldwide poultry industry gives many of his widely read research publications the unique virtue of having been field tested before publication. The world literally beats a path to the door of John Brake. He has been often acknowledged as the academic expert in the practical physiology and management of broiler breeders as well as of induced molting. For a faculty member to carry the distinction of such recognition by the international academic and industrial communities in more than one subject is, indeed, rare.

Brake has led an effort to more clearly define the factors involved in successful storage of modern broiler hatching eggs. Research utilizing biomathematics, as well as classical experiments, has led to the development of a comprehensive theory, first detailed at a PSA symposium, that explained many previously unexplained points of incubation (e.g., young pullet eggs require a longer incubation time because they have thick egg shells and thick albumen even though they have less water to lose). The theory also detailed why eggs from older flocks cannot be stored very long because of their poor albumen quality. This theory also explained how wild birds could lay a clutch of eggs that hatch almost simultaneously. Simply, albumen quality declines as position in clutch increases due to anorexia exhibited by feral hens during the laying cycle.

Brake has helped improve the success of incubation by more clearly defining the critical embryonic ages for turning, critical frequency of turning, critical angle of turning, role of turning during storage, and optimum combinations of these factors as affected by hen age. Brake's team has also studied the deleterious effects of elevated egg temperature and poor ventilation on embryonic development, hatchability, chick quality, and subsequent broiler performance. He has developed a successful strategy for ameliorating the adverse effects of overheated eggs by using high initial brooding temperatures. His innovations are now practiced successfully in numerous countries.

 

 

 

Nelson A. Cox

Nelson A. Cox earned his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) with majors in bacteriology, food science, and poultry science, respectively. He was hired as a microbiologist at Russell Research Center in Athens, Georgia, on June 13, 1971, and has worked there ever since. He has authored or co-authored over 700 publications, and his work has led to huge reductions in contamination of chicken and massive savings to the poultry industry. Cox and co-workers have demonstrated that condemned carcasses are microbiologically indistinguishable from carcasses that pass inspection after reprocessing, convincing Congress to approve the practice. Reprocessing has become standard in the poultry industry, resulting in over $100 million in savings. He proved that immersion chilling is superior (in microbiological terms) to air-blast chilling, preventing a European trade ban that would have hurt the US poultry industry. He has identified hatcheries as reservoirs of Salmonella and developed numerous intervention strategies that affect the commercial breeding and hatching operations. Recently Cox has focused on sources of Campylobacter in poultry, of which relatively little is known. He was the first to demonstrate that Campylobacter can be transmitted in poultry through the fertile egg and also was the first to isolate campylobacter from many internal organs and tissues of commercial poultry. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Microbiology and is the recipient of 12 major research awards including some through PSA (Merck Award, 2004; Broiler Research Award, 1997; and Poultry and Egg Institute of America Award, 1977). In December, 2005, Cox was given his highest scientific honor when he was inducted into the USDA, ARS Science Hall of Fame; only 64 other scientists throughout history have been inducted into this Hall of Fame. Nelson Cox is highly regarded and respected by poultry researchers in industry, government, and academia. His nominator, Dan Fletcher (also a recent Fellow) has been a lifelong friend, colleague, and research collaborator.

 

William Huff

William Huff earned his BS degree from the University of Central Florida and his MS and PhD (1979) degrees from North Carolina State University. Huff has worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, with the Agricultural Research Service since 1978. He worked at the Poultry Research Laboratory at Georgetown, Delaware, from 1978 to 1984, conducting research on the effects of mycotoxins in poultry. In 1984 he moved to College Station, Texas, to serve as the Research Leader of the Mycotoxin Research Unit. In 1990, Huff moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to establish and provide research leadership to the Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit within the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas. Huff has over 180 publications and is known internationally for research on mycotoxins. Huff's current research on the critical evaluation of bacteriophage as an alternative to antibiotics has established that bacteriophage may be developed as a practical method to both prevent and treat bacterial diseases in poultry. Huff's current research was recognized with the 2005 National Chicken Council's Broiler Research Award.

Huff has been a member of the Poultry Science Association since 1973. He served as a member of the Host Committee for the 73rd and 81st Annual Meetings of PSA. He was the co-chairman of the Host Committee of the 88th Annual Meeting of PSA held in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Huff has served on the editorial board of PSA since 1987 and was the section editor of the environmental and health section from 1989 to 1995. In 1998, he served as the program chair of PSA's annual meeting, held at Pennsylvania State University. Huff is currently the president of the Southern Poultry Science Society.

 

John Proudman

John Proudman was born in Boston, Massachusetts. A "city boy," his first experience with poultry came during high school when his oldest brother gave him a dozen Easter chicks that had outgrown their city apartment. Naively hoping for eggs, John raised the chicks in the suburbs and enjoyed the experience, if not the eggs. Undeterred, he purchased chicks and started a thriving egg business, selling all the birds could produce to his father's co-workers in Boston. After high school, he decided to continue in poultry farming and earned an associate degree in poultry husbandry from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture in 1963. However, the poultry industry was changing dramatically at this time, and he decided to continue in college rather than start a farm. He earned his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in animal science and avian physiology. His major advisor was thyroid physiologist William J. Mellen. He then studied under Bernard Wentworth in a postdoctoral position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for four years, gaining the experience with turkeys and hormone assay techniques that would provide the basis for his future career. In 1976, he joined the Avian Physiology Laboratory at the USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland. He has conducted research at Beltsville for 30 years and is currently a research physiologist in the Biotechnology and Germplasm Laboratory.

Proudman is an internationally known endocrinologist, recognized for his expertise in the purification and assay of avian hormones and for his extensive studies of the role of pituitary hormones and brain peptides in the regulation of growth and reproduction. He has purified many avian pituitary hormones and has developed and distributed highly reliable hormone assay reagents to scientists worldwide. Approximately 60 laboratories in the United States and 19 foreign countries have utilized his reagents for poultry research. His recent research has focused on improving the reproductive efficiency of the turkey hen through studies of incubation behavior and photorefractoriness. He has contributed 94 refereed journal articles, book chapters, and reviews and has published 109 abstracts of presentations at scientific meetings. He was awarded an OECD Fellowship in 1997 to conduct collaborative research in Belgium and received the National Turkey Federation Research Award in 1998. He has received a USDA Certificate of Merit for his achievements nine times during his career.

John has been involved in the training of students through adjunct appointments at the University of Maryland, University of Delaware, and Texas A&M University. He has served on the committees of four MS students and seven PhD students. He has served as a Director on the Board of the Poultry Science Association (PSA) and has been a member of numerous PSA committees. He currently serves on the editorial board of Poultry Science. He also serves his local community through membership in a Mounted Search and Rescue Team and a Citizen Emergency Response Team.

 

 

Joseph M. Vandepopuliere

Joseph M. Vandepopuliere earned an AB from Central Missouri State College with a double major in biology and chemistry, an MS from the University of Missouri in agriculture chemistry, and a PhD from the University of Florida in animal husbandry. He began his career with Ralston Purina in 1954 after having receiving his MS degree. During the first three years at Ralston Purina he was intimately involved in the development of a new technology, extruded diets for companion and other small animals, which led to a highly successful line of "Chows" for dogs, cats, monkeys, and fish. After completion of his PhD, Joe was rehired by Purina and spent 12 more years with them in the areas of broiler research and technical support of poultry sales personnel and producers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Vandepopuliere joined the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Missouri as associate professor in 1972. He was named full professor in 1982. He had a split appointment in teaching and reasearch. He has taught nutrition in team-taught courses, graduate-level seminars, and special problems. Graduate students have completed 15 MS and 5 PhD degrees under his guidance. His research efforts have revolved around the wide area of industry-related issues: utilization of poultry and industrial by-products and spent hens, skeletal problems, and ectoparasite control. Some of the by-product processing procedures he has used include deep-fat frying, dry-heat drum drying, anaerobic digestion, extrusion, comminuting, and composting. These technologies have been used to treat residuals from egg hatcheries; egg breaking plants; comminuting, processing, and rendering plants; poultry houses (field mortalities, litter, and manure); spent hens; and brewery and alcohol production plants.

Vandepopuliere holds three US patents. The US Patent No. 3,192,903 issued July 6, 1956, was titled "Protective keel bone covering for domestic fowl." Other patents (6,004,603 and 6,303,176) have resulted from research involving "Methods of controlling Salmonella in shell eggs." Pasteurized shell eggs produced by these methods have been successfully test marketed. Over $500,000 in research support and grants have been awarded for his work. He has contributed over 180 scientific articles and numerous trade publication reports. He served 3 years as secretary of the Poultry Science Association and director (1984–1988) and president (1988–1992) of the World's Poultry Science Association.

Vandepopuliere was instrumental in organizing and being club advisor for the UMC Poultry Science Club for 18 years. Under his leadership, the club established a $10,000 trust to support poultry scholarships. He has annually conducted the state 4-H poultry contest and assisted in the FFA Poultry Judging Contest and in the annual Midwest Poultry Federation Youth Progam.

Joe has established the Katherine H. Wilson Education Scholarship at Central Missouri State University. He was selected to receive the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award from C MSU. The career outlined above illustrates determination, dedication, and success in the field of poultry science.