2011 PSA Awards

A. Brooke Caudill

A. Brooke Caudill was born and raised in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. She attended North Carolina State University for her undergraduate studies, where she attained a BS in poultry science with a minor in microbiology. Upon graduation, she moved to Alabama and pursued an MS in poultry science at Auburn University under the direction of Patricia A. Curtis. Her thesis research focused on egg quality and safety, specifically the effects of commercial cool-water washing of shell eggs on functional and microbiological quality.

While completing her degree, she was employed by Tyson Foods Inc. as quality assurance superintendent at the Obion County Complex in Tennessee. Caudill received her MS in 2007 and currently works as a researcher for Marel Stork Poultry Processing in Gainesville, Georgia. She is also currently pursuing a master of public health through the University of Florida.

Velmurugu Ravindran

Velmurugu Ravindran is currently professor of poultry science at Massey University, New Zealand. Ravindran received his BS (1974) from the University of Sri Lanka and MS (1983) and PhD (1985) in animal nutrition from Virginia Tech University. He has had a distinguished international career in nutritional science and held academic and research positions in Sri Lanka, Canada, the United States, and Australia prior to moving to New Zealand in 1998.

He is internationally recognized for his work on nontraditional feed resources, measurement of amino acid digestibility, and feed enzymes, particularly microbial phytases. His current research interests include feed processing technology, lipid digestion, whole grain feeding, and ileal phosphorus digestibility of feed ingredients. Ravindran has given more than 100 plenary, special, guest, or invited lectures at national or international congresses, workshops, and symposia. His research comprises more than 400 scientific works, including more than 190 peer-reviewed research publications and 31 book chapters. Ravindran is an associate/senior editor of British Journal of Nutrition, Animal Feed Science Technology, Animal Production Science, and Animal. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Poultry Science and Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science. Previously, he served on the editorial board for Journal of Animal Science as section editor. Since 1983, he has served as a member of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Expert Committee on new feed resources in animal nutrition.

Hans H. Cheng

Hans H. Cheng is a supervisory research geneticist at the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory in East Lansing, Michigan, where he serves as the lead scientist for the Genomics and Immunogenetics CRIS Project. The focus of this group is to identify and characterize genes of importance to the US poultry industry, especially those involved in immunological and genetic resistance to Marek's disease and avian leucosis virus. Highlights of Cheng’s research include the development of the East Lansing genetic map; novel integration of quantitative trait loci, expression profiling, and virus–host protein interactions screens that have identified quantitative trait loci and specific genes conferring resistance to Marek’s disease; and the generation of the first infectious and fully virulent Marek’s disease virus bacterial artificial chromosome clone.

Cheng received his BS from the Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University, and his PhD from the Department of Molecular Biology, University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining ARS in 1992, Cheng spent two years as a National Science Foundation-funded postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at Davis and as head of molecular biology for Petoseed, a vegetable seed company in Woodland, California. Cheng is an active member in the scientific community. He is the US Poultry co-coordinator and a member of the US National Animal Genome Preservation committee and serves on the editorial boards of multiple journals. He is also an adjunct faculty member of the Genetics Program and Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology, Michigan State University.

Dong U. Ahn

Dong Uk Ahn was born in South Korea and received his BS and MS from Seoul National University in Korea and his PhD from University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1988 with a joint major in poultry science and meat and animal science. After additional professional experience at the Universities of Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, he joined Iowa State University in 1994 as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science.

His main research emphases are in both basic and applied areas of poultry products, including meat and eggs. His research projects use chemical, nutritional, biochemical, and physiological approaches to obtain data of fundamental and practical importance. Some of his major research accomplishments are summarized as follows. His PhD research has elucidated the mechanisms of pink color problems and characterized the color compounds in oven-roasted turkey breast meat, which helped develop methods that can solve pink color problems in uncured cooked breast meats. His postdoctoral research projects were determining pro- and antioxidant mechanisms in meat and meat products and prevention of lipid oxidation using packaging approaches. His work involved testing various pro- and antioxidant materials and conditions and clearly showed the importance of oxygen in lipid oxidation. On the basis of the work, he developed a hot-packaging system that could prevent lipid oxidation in cooked meat products without using antioxidants.

At Iowa State University, much of his efforts were devoted to improving the quality of irradiated meat products. He has elucidated the mechanisms of off-odor production and identified the volatile compounds responsible for off-odor production in irradiated raw and cooked meats. He also elucidated the sources and mechanisms of pink color formation in irradiated poultry breast and characterized the color compounds responsible for pink color generation in irradiated poultry breast. On the basis of his findings he developed methods that can minimize or eliminate off-odor production, color change, and lipid oxidation in irradiated meat products. His work has important implications to food safety because irradiation, the best-proven method in controlling pathogens in meat, will not be used if the quality of meat after irradiation is not acceptable. In addition, he studied the effects of various dietary additives, which include vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid, on meat and egg quality; protein oxidation and its implication to meat quality; production of ovotransferrin from egg white for antimicrobial applications; new products development using egg yolk and white; production and development of functional bioactive peptides using egg components; and separation, modification, and utilization of value-added egg components. He carried out 62 research projects as a principal or coprincipal investigator over the past 16 years, published 178 refereed journal articles, including 11 book chapters, and received a Research Award from American Egg Board in 2000 for his outstanding research in eggs.

Rami A. Dalloul

Rami A. Dalloul was born in Lebanon and received his BS and MS from the American University of Beirut. He joined John Doerr’s program at the University of Maryland and received his PhD in poultry immunology. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Maryland and US Department of Agriculture–Beltsville, Dalloul joined the faculty of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech with research focus on host–pathogen interactions and poultry immunology. He also serves as a leading member for the turkey genome sequencing project, of which the draft sequence was published in late 2010. His research focuses on understanding the immunobiology of the host protective immunity, especially in response to enteric pathogens and mucosal microbes. Considerable resources are invested in identifying protective immune mechanisms against such pathogens at the genomic, cellular, and molecular levels. Integrating these disciplines and maximizing the utility of avian genomes help to elucidate complex host–pathogen interactions and disease resistance mechanisms.

Dalloul has published more than 40 refereed papers and received Early Career Awards from the American Association of Avian Pathologists (2009), the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland (2010), and PSA (2010). He is coadvisor to the Virginia Tech Poultry Club and teaches poultry laboratory, a sophomore-level poultry-emphasis required course, and advanced avian immunology. He coteaches contemporary issues in animal sciences and contributes to teaching advanced topics in both immunology and molecular biology. A PSA member since 1999, he has regularly served as section program chair and judge of student presentations at the annual meetings. He is also serving consecutive terms as an associate editor of Poultry Science (Health and Disease) and frequently reviews manuscripts for other journals in his specialty area.

MAPLE LEAF FARMS DUCK RESEARCH AWARD

Markus Rodehutscord

Markus Rodehutscord is professor of animal nutrition in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, with duties in teaching, research, and administration. He grew up on a dairy farm and earned his diploma in agricultural sciences from the University of Bonn, Germany, in 1989. He was awarded the doctoral degree from the same university in 1992. Until 1999 Rodehutscord was a lecturer at the Institute of Animal Nutrition at Bonn University and was a guest researcher at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Perth, Western Australia, from 1996 to 1997. In 1999 he was appointed professor of animal nutrition at the University of Halle-Wittenberg, where he worked until his move to the University of Hohenheim in 2008.

Rodehutscord’s main research interests are the metabolism of amino acids and phosphorus in farm animals and related aspects of feed evaluation. He started his career with ruminant and rainbow trout projects. About 10 years ago he became involved in the poultry sector and since then he made poultry nutrition research a major field for his group. Together with his colleagues at Halle University, he conducted extensive studies with a focus on optimizing the feeding of modern-breed White Pekin ducks and reducing environmental burden with nitrogen and phosphorus from duck enterprises.

Rodehutscord is a PSA member and is active in both the German branch of World’s Poultry Science Association (WSPA) and the Working Group 2 (Nutrition) of the European Federation of WPSA. He is the president of the Society of Nutrition Physiology in Germany and member of the Committee for Requirement Standards. He is current chair of the Review Board for Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture and Veterinary Medicine of the German Research Foundation. Since 2010, he has served as a section editor for Poultry Science (Metabolism and Nutrition).

Rodehutscord and his wife Adelheid are lucky parents of one daughter and three sons.

Edwin T. Moran

Edwin T. Moran is a New Jersey native from rural Wall Township. His interest in poultry began with vocational agriculture at Manaquan High School and was furthered while attending the College of Agriculture at Rutgers University, where he managed a pullet vaccinating business on the side to finance his BS. Further schooling at the University of California at Davis and Washington State University at Pullman led to graduate degrees that provided depth to his education in poultry science. Moran joined the Department of Poultry Science at the Ontario Agricultural College in 1964, which evolved to become part of the University of Guelph. While in Canada, studies on broiler nutrition were developed and extended beyond live performance to primary processing, meat yield, and consumer. At the time, body fat was a central concern, and he combined strain and feed with management to manipulate whole carcass grade as well as improve parts yield for fast-food purposes.

In 1986, Moran joined the Poultry Science Department at Auburn University in Alabama. A program was developed that continued to focus on broilers but emphasis changed to further-processing, meat yield, and quality issues that then dominated consumer concerns. Concurrent effort to understand the breeder’s contribution to egg, incubation, and chick quality was superimposed to broaden understanding of broiler production. Throughout the years, research findings were continually interpreted through diverse extension efforts for the commercial community to employ in practice. Concurrent formal teaching was largely devoted to graduate students, where an examination of feedstuffs and nutrient recovery by the gastrointestinal system complemented ongoing research. He was fortunate to have many exceptional MS and PhD students that greatly enhanced his program, and each one became successful in their own right. Moran’s primary professional interests have always been devoted to PSA, Southern Poultry Science Society, and World’s Poultry Science Association. Moran’s activity in PSA has been particularly extensive since joining in 1960 and encompasses a full range of participation. Although he recently retired from Auburn University, his broad and avid interest in poultry science continues.

R. Jeff Buhr
USDA-ARS, Athens, GA

R. Jeff Buhr earned a BS in animal science from the California State Polytechnic University-Pomona in 1979 and an MS in avian sciences (1982) and a PhD in veterinary anatomy (1987) from the University of California-Davis. In 1987 he joined the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia and in 1997 the USDA/ARS Russell Research Center in Athens, GA. Buhr has served as a research physiologist (animal), in the Poultry Processing and Meat Quality Unit (1997–2004) and is presently in the Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit. Buhr’s duties include chair of the Russell Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and operations manager for the pilot processing plant since 2009. Buhr has conducted research in poultry food safety, specifically on Salmonella and Campylobacter detection, recovery, and decontamination in breeders, broilers, and during processing. Buhr’s research evaluating processing mechanical factors (electrical stunning voltage, electrocution, decapitation, application of electrical stimulation, and extended feed withdrawal of up to 12 hours) on crop removal and intestinal strength has demonstrated that the crop and intestines rupture because of greater adhesion not because of weakness. Buhr’s research on the recovery of Campylobacter from commercial caged laying hens, broiler breeder hens and roosters, and broilers post-feed withdrawal revealed the systemic presence far beyond the digestive tract. The presence of Campylobacter on a poultry carcass no longer can be solely attributed to fecal contamination during processing but is potentially from several additional systemic reservoirs. Buhr served 2 terms as subject editor for The Journal of Applied Poultry Research (meat bird processing and products) and as an associate editor for Poultry Science for 4 terms. Buhr’s research collaborations has resulted in 142 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 251 abstracts, and 35 proceedings papers. Thirty-nine of the journal manuscripts were first-authored by undergraduate, MS, PhD, or postdoctoral students, and for many were their first published research manuscript. Buhr has valued the experience of mentoring students in many disciplines.

Alejandro Corzo

Alejandro Corzo was born in Bogota, Colombia in 1972. He completed his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Universidad de La Salle in Bogota, Colombia. He then enrolled in a master’s program at Oklahoma State University, where he performed research on mycotoxins and phase feeding in broilers. Upon completion of his degree in 2000, he enrolled at Auburn University, where in 2003 he obtained his doctoral degree on research based on amino acid needs of heavy broilers. He joined the Department of Poultry Science at Mississippi State University, where he has performed both basic and applied research and has collaborated with faculty from all over the world. In his short career, he has been an invited speaker in 13 different countries, coauthored a book chapter, been an author on 79 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Mississippi State University. He was promoted in 2010 to associate professor at Mississippi State University.

Audrey P. McElroy

Audrey P. McElroy is an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1999. She is a native of Texas and earned her BS, MS, and PhD degrees in poultry science at Texas A&M University. At Virginia Tech, she has a three-way appointment, conducting intestinal health research, teaching undergraduate courses, and providing extension programming for the Virginia poultry industry. Her research is focused on intestinal responses to enteric pathogens, the host–pathogen interaction, and the ability to minimize the impact of these on growth and performance in commercial broilers and turkeys. Goals are to investigate gut integrity and mechanisms of immunity to pathogens and how they can be modulated by various strategies to improve intestinal response during a disease challenge in relation to its ability to function optimally for immune defense, digestion, absorption, secretion, and transport. McElroy currently teaches courses in commercial poultry management and contemporary issues in animal and poultry sciences and lectures in introduction to animal and poultry sciences. She serves as an undergraduate curriculum advisor, advises undergraduate research projects, coadvises the Virginia Tech Poultry Science Club, and serves on departmental undergraduate curriculum, graduate curriculum, scholarship, and capstone committees.

In 2010, she was awarded a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Certificate of Teaching Excellence. In addition to working with the poultry industry on problem solving and research directly related to her specific areas, she provides leadership for the annual Virginia Poultry Health and Management meeting, is responsible for the Virginia commercial poultry biosecurity audit program, and serves on the poultry committee for the Mid-Atlantic Nutrition Conference. McElroy has been author or coauthor on 36 peer-reviewed publications, more than 100 abstracts published in proceedings from national or international scientific meetings, and three trade journal articles. She has been a member of PSA since 1994 and has served the society as a member of the Nominating Committee and the Phibro Extension Award Selection Committee and chair of the Frank Perdue Live Poultry Food Safety Committee and National Poultry Extension Workshop Committee. Other society service includes serving as president of the Southern Poultry Science Society in 2008 to 2009. She served consecutive terms as an associate editor of Poultry Science and frequently reviews for Journal of Applied Poultry Research and Avian Diseases.

 

Joseph B. Hess

Joseph B. Hess, a native of Pennsylvania, grew up in Lancaster County’s farming country. He was introduced to the commercial poultry industry at an early age through family friend Bob Woodward, broiler manager for Pennfield Corporation. Hess completed a BS in poultry science from The Pennsylvania State University (with significant mentoring by Owen Keene) and worked for a time as a flock advisor for Wenger’s Feeds in Rheems, Pennsylvania before entering a graduate program at the University of Georgia. Hess completed MS and PhD degrees from the University of Georgia in poultry science under the direction of Walter Britton with a specialization in nutrition. His research focus at Georgia explored mineral nutrition of commercial laying hens and egg shell quality.

After completing his graduate program, Hess worked as a technical service nutritionist for Central Soya in Decatur, Indiana (under the direction of Mike Hellwig) for a number of years before taking an extension poultry scientist position at Auburn University. Hess is currently a professor and extension specialist with Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. At Auburn, Hess has a primary extension appointment, which directs the bulk of his efforts toward working with the poultry industry in technology transfer. Areas of interest include nutrition, broiler and breeder management, and waste management issues. Hess has been involved for many years in supporting the National Poultry and Animal Waste Management Symposium and is an advisor to the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association and the Alabama Feed and Grain Association. In addition, Hess participates in practical research projects to produce information of immediate interest to poultry producers. Recent areas of interest include pododermatitis (with Sarge Bilgili), deep pectoral myopathy (with Roger Lien and Sarge Bilgili), and litter management (with John Blake, Ken Macklin, and Sarge Bilgili).

 

 

Craig D. Coufal

Craig D. Coufal is an assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University. His extension activities include providing educational programs and technical assistance to the poultry industry, small flock producers, and youth of Texas. New programs include nuisance odor prevention training for poultry growers and egg grader training for small-flock producers. He is involved with many youth programs such as judging contests, livestock shows, and workshops and is the lead specialist for youth programs in the poultry extension unit. He leads the production of a youth newsletter three times a year and coordinates the wing banding and distribution of more than 58,000 chicks and poults each year to the youth of Texas for the major livestock shows held in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. His major areas of applied research include litter, waste, and environmental management and egg sanitization. He also teaches the commercial egg industry and animal waste management undergraduate courses in the Department of Poultry Science.

Coufal is a native of central Texas and received a BS in poultry science from Texas A&M University in 1997. After working for one year with Cal-Maine Foods Inc. in Texas, he returned to Texas A&M and completed an MS in poultry science in 2000. He then worked for the Department of Poultry Science as an extension associate from 2001 to 2003. He completed a PhD at Texas A&M in 2005 and joined the faculty of the Mississippi State University Poultry Science Department in 2006 as an assistant extension professor. He served as the only full-time extension specialist there until accepting his current position at Texas A&M in 2008.

Coufal has been an active member of PSA since graduate school and has served on the PSA Extension Committee and served as chair of the Extension Symposium at the 2009 annual meeting and section chair for Environment and Management at the 2008 annual meeting. He is an associate editor for Poultry Science and ad hoc reviewer for Journal of Applied Poultry Research. He also received the Alltech Student Research Manuscript Award in 2006. Outside of PSA, Coufal has served in various roles with the Southern Poultry Science Society, American Poultry Historical Society, National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Triennial Poultry Extension Specialist Workshop, and several advisory committees in Texas and Mississippi.

 

 

 

 

Michael Leslie

Michael Leslie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of British Columbia in 2000. During the summers of his undergrad career, Leslie developed an interest in poultry while working with Tom Scott at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Agassi, British Columbia. After graduation he briefly worked in the industry providing technical service to hatcheries for Canadian Poultry Consultants.

Leslie returned to school, completing a master’s degree in poultry nutrition at the University of Alberta, working with Doug Korver developing a method of determining amino acids in broilers using radioactive tracers of amino acid metabolism. From there he moved to Auburn University in Alabama to work on his PhD with Ed Moran. The focus of his research at Auburn was the application of commercial phytase and glucanase enzymes in broiler feed.

After completing his PhD in 2006, Leslie started working at Masterfeeds Inc., based in London, Ontario, Canada, as the Eastern regional poultry nutritionist. He has since taken over responsibility for poultry programs in the Western region and provides technical service to Daco, a premix company owned by Masterfeeds. Leslie is currently responsible for the nutrition, feeding programs, and technical service for all poultry species across Masterfeeds’ 14 feed mills and premix facilities.

 

 

 

 

 

Huaijun Zhou

Huaijun Zhou received his BS and MS from Yangzhou University in China. He earned his PhD in molecular genetics and immunogenetics in 2002 and MS in bioinformatics and computational biology in 2003 from Iowa State University. Upon graduation, he was a postdoctoral research associate under the guidance of Susan Lamont at Iowa State University and a research fellow at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In 2006, Zhou joined the faculty in the Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, as an assistant professor. He teaches courses in avian genetics and breeding, current topics in genomics, and applied animal genomics.

His main research program has focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of host–pathogen interaction in chickens using genetic and functional genomics approach. He has received more than $2 million in funding from US Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation (NSF) China, and Cobb-Vantress.

Zhou has published 46 full-length papers and 65 abstracts and conference proceedings. He has served on the USDA and NSF review panels and reviewed research grants for national and international funding agencies. He is also an associate editor of Poultry Science, on the editorial boards of Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, and has reviewed scientific papers for more than 30 highly respected journals. 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristen J. Navara

Kristen J. Navara grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey and, in 2000, earned her BS in biology with a minor in English from Penn State University. She then received a PhD in biology from Auburn University in 2005 and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience in the program of psychoneuroimmunology at Ohio State University. She joined the faculty at the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2007 and currently teaches four courses, including one undergraduate course (“Avian Biology: Ecology, Physiology, and Behavior”) and three graduate-level courses (Scientific Writing and Literature Retrieval,” “Hormones and Behavior,” and “Technology in the Sciences”). Navara was recently selected to be a part of the UGA Center for Teaching and Learning Lilly teaching fellowship program, a prestigious program in which young faculty from across the university meet twice monthly to discuss relevant issues in teaching.

Navara has a passion for providing undergraduate and high school students with hands-on experience in research. In her four years at UGA she has trained more than 15 undergraduates in the laboratory, 13 of which remained in the laboratory for multiple semesters and completed their own research projects. In addition, she has mentored 10 high school students as a part of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Young Scholars program, in which students get hands-on laboratory training and complete research projects. She also participates annually in the UGA Avian Adventures program, during which groups of high school students learn about poultry science and avian biology. Students leave her laboratory with an understanding of how science works and valuable insight into what it means to work in a scientific field.

In addition to her commitment to undergraduate education, Navara puts a particular emphasis on mentoring graduate students. She completed her first MS student in the fall of 2010 and currently mentors two graduate students. She is also on the thesis committees for three additional graduate students. Her research is focused on hormonal mechanisms controlling offspring sex ratios in birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacquelyn B. Hoffman

Jacquelyn B. Hoffman, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, joined the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Department of Poultry Science as an assistant professor of poultry science with a 65% academic programs and a 35% research appointment in July of 2008. Prior to joining NCSU, Jackie received her BS (2002) in the biological sciences program and a PhD (2006) from the University of Georgia, Athens, where she was a National Science Foundation Fellow. Following the completion of her PhD, Jackie spent two years (2006–2008) at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow.

Currently, Hoffman serves as the Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator and leads a significant portion of the NCSU Poultry Science Department’s undergraduate teaching, advising, and recruitment efforts. She currently teaches the introductory poultry science and production course and an upper-level avian physiology course and laboratory. Since joining the NCSU Department of Poultry Science, Hoffman has received the College of Agriculture and Life Science’s Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award (2008–2009) and the North Carolina State University New Faculty Adviser Award (2010). She was recently nominated by the university for the National Academic Advising Association’s (NACADA) New Faculty Adviser Award. Hoffman’s research interests are centered on stress-induced ovarian dysfunction, characterizing the expression of glucocorticoid receptors in the avian ovary, and the manner in which those glucocorticoids are involved in folliculogenesis, oogenesis, and ovulation.

John W. Anderson

Anderson obtained a BS in biology at Michigan State University in 1978. Upon graduation, he and his wife Betsy spent two years in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, West Africa, working as a secondary school teacher and as a project officer at an agricultural extension center. He joined the genetics research program of Karl E. Nestor in 1982 as a research aid, a position supported by grant funding. He was promoted to research assistant 1-B/H in 1984, research associate 1-B/H in 1987, and his current rank of research associate 2-B/H in 1996. Upon Nestor’s retirement in 2001, Anderson was transferred to the basic physiology program of Wayne Bacon. After Bacon retired in 2003, he was transferred to the research program of Mike Lilburn and was assigned to assist with the Poultry 4-H program in Ohio.

He is coauthor of 26 peer-reviewed, full-length scientific papers; these papers have been well received as indicated by a citation rate of 8.6 per paper. In order to become a better employee, Anderson has enrolled in many training classes, sometimes at his own expense, attended numerous seminars, and attends scientific meetings. Anderson has provided excellent leadership in the Poultry 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs. He has developed a very popular website (ww.oardc.osu.edu/4Hpoultry) that includes information on poultry solicited by Anderson and written by faculty members to assist 4-H youth with their understanding of poultry, directions on how to raise and show poultry, upcoming events, and other materials of interest to 4-H and FFA youth. Anderson coordinates a yearly Youth Poultry Clinic in Ohio in the spring that has now developed into a yearly bistate meeting with Michigan State University and Ohio State University. The attendance at these clinics usually ranges from 180 to more than 200 people. He also holds a Pastured Poultry Clinic in the fall. He helps coordinate the Ohio Poultry Judging Competition and Avian Bowl Competition and takes the state 4-H Poultry Judging Team to the national competition in Louisville, Kentucky. He serves as superintendent of the Ohio State 4-H Poultry Skillathon at the Ohio State Fair. He has been active in statewide efforts to develop state-inspected processing facilities for small 4-H and FFA producers. He is involved in the development of marketing opportunities for Ohio-grown products, including a producer–consumer cooperative called Local Roots in Wooster, Ohio. Anderson and his coworkers recently wrote a 4-H manual (Raising Turkeys—Project and Record Book) for 4-H youths interested in turkeys.

Based on Anderson’s contributions to poultry research and his efforts in Poultry 4-H, he received a Meritorious Service Award from the Ohio Poultry Association in 2008. This award is normally given to a faculty member by the association. Anderson’s office is located on the Wooster campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), a division of The Ohio State University. Anderson has been active in campus events, including a 5K race, and for eight years he has organized and led a Pilates exercise group for students, faculty, and staff. He served on the OARDC staff council for three years and was chair for one year. Anderson and his wife Betsy raised their 3 now-grown kids on the family farm in rural Wayne County, Ohio. In his spare time, he and his dad operate a successful sheep breeding farm that selects for maternal traits that contribute to the profitability of the commercial lamb industry.

Chasity M. Cox

Chasity M. Cox was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She received a BS in animal science from Virginia Tech in 2007. She earned her MS in Avian Immunobiology at Virginia Tech in December 2009 under the supervision of Rami Dalloul. The topic of her study was evaluating the effects of yeast-derived beta-glucan on performance and immune response in broiler chicks. At the 2010 PSA annual meeting, Cox received a certificate of excellence for her poster entitled “Effects of dietary beta-glucan on the T helper cytokine balance in the intestine of broiler chicks,” which was presented in the immunology/pathology section. Cox was also honored with the Richard B. Rimler Memorial Paper Award for her master’s work at the 2010 annual meeting of American Association of Avian Pathologists.

Currently, Cox is pursuing her PhD at Virginia Tech as a Pratt Fellow. During her graduate career, Cox has taught several undergraduate courses, including animal anatomy and physiology laboratory, animal breeding and genetics, equine management, and poultry laboratory. She also taught animal anatomy and physiology to high school students enrolled in the Virginia Governor’s School for Agriculture. Additionally, Cox has mentored several undergraduate students in the lab to further develop their skills and interest in research. To date, she is the senior author of three manuscripts and coauthor of several other manuscripts, all in poultry research. She hopes to enter academia after earning her PhD.

 

 

Anup Kollanoor Johny

Kollanoor Johny received a DVM and a master of veterinary science (MVSc) degree in animal nutrition with special focus on poultry from Kerala Agricultural University, India. His master’s thesis, a part of which was presented at the 2010 PSA annual meeting, determined the effect of high dietary iron and phytase supplementation on growth and mineral status in broiler chickens. In addition, Kollanoor Johny studied the effect of blue green algae, Spirulina platensis, on quality parameters in layer chickens. Currently, Kollanoor Johny is working on his PhD under the supervision of Kumar Venkitanarayanan in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Connecticut. Kollanoor Johny’s PhD dissertation investigates the use of several natural plant molecules as pre- and postharvest interventions for controlling Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry and poultry products. As a PhD student, Kollanoor Johny has authored seven peer-reviewed journal manuscripts and a book chapter. Anup has presented his research on several platforms, including the annual meetings of PSA (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and Institute of Food Technologists (IFT; 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), and has won several accolades, including the PSA Student Certificate for Excellence in 2008 and the John Z. Ordal graduate research paper award at the 2010 IFT annual meeting. As the last objective of his PhD dissertation, Johny currently investigates the effect of plant molecules on Salmonella virulence using cell culture, RT-qPCR, and DNA microarray techniques. Kollanoor Johny is a member of PSA and World’s Poultry Science Association and is an active member of the PSA hatchery. He has served as the newsletter editor–manager for the PSA Hatchery and is currently serving as the University of Connecticut Champion on the PSA Hatchery.

 

 

 

Sacit F. “Sarge” Bilgili received his DVM in 1977 from Ankara University, Turkey. He completed his MS in 1981 at Oregon State University and his PhD in 1984 at Auburn University, Alabama. Bilgili joined the Department of Poultry Science at Auburn University in 1985 as an assistant professor and extension poultry processing specialist and later attained the ranks of associate professor and professor in 1991 and 1996, respectively.

Bilgili’s scholarly work uniquely bridges live production and processing phases of the poultry industry, targeting many facets of poultry product yield, quality, and wholesomeness. His extension and research efforts have been complementary in the areas of broiler processing technology, slaughter and processing efficiency, broiler carcass quality and meat yield, food safety and hazard analysis and critical control points programs, product wholesomeness, and animal welfare. He has authored or coauthored numerous articles in scientific and trade journals and continues to make invited presentations at many national and international meetings.

Bilgili has been a member of many industry and academic committees and editorial review boards. He served as the president of PSA and Southern Poultry Science Society, chairman of the National Chicken Council Animal Welfare Scientific Advisory Committee, and member of the board of directors of Federation of Animal Science Societies. He is a current board member of Poultry Science Foundation and serves as the vice president of the US branch of World’s Poultry Science Association.

Bilgili received much recognition for his research and extension contributions, including the Sigma Xi Research Award (1985) from Auburn University, Distinguished Service Award (1992) and a Plaque of Appreciation (1995) from Alabama Poultry and Egg Association, National Broiler Council Broiler Research Award (1996), Pfizer Extension Award (2000), Education Award (2000) from World’s Poultry Science Association, and Poultry Products Research Award from PSA (2003).

 

 

 

Mohamed El Halawani was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He received his BS in avian sciences from the University of Alexandria, Egypt, and his PhD in physiology from the University of California, Davis. After graduation, El Halawani joined the Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota.

He received several honors including Ford Foundation and Fulbright Predoctoral Traineeships, National Turkey Federation Research Award, the Merck Award for Achievement in Poultry Science, National Turkey Federation Research Enhancement Award, and Ranelius Award for Contributions, Leadership, and Service to Minnesota Turkey Industry. He has been invited to participate in national and international symposia, including International Symposium on Avian Endocrinology, International Symposium of Comparative Endocrinology, Technical Turkey Conference, National Turkey Federation Meeting, International Symposium on Comparative Endocrinology, the Gordon Conference on Prolactin, the European Poultry Conference, the World’s Poultry Congress, and the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction.

A total of 17 PhD degrees and 14 MS degrees were awarded from El Halawani’s laboratory and 30 papers were published from 2006 to 2010 in journals that include General and Comparative Endocrinology, Journal of Neuroendocrinology, Neuroscience, Proceedings of Turkey Research Review, and Gobbles.

 

Henry R. Wilson was Webbville, Kentucky, and grew up on a small poultry farm. He received his BS in general agriculture in 1957 and his MS in poultry physiology in 1959 from the University of Kentucky. He completed his PhD in poultry physiology at the University of Maryland in 1962. Wilson joined the faculty of the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Florida in 1962 and was promoted to associate professor in 1967 and to professor in 1974. During the academic year 1985–1986 he served as acting department chairman.

During most of his tenure he had responsibilities in teaching, research, and extension. Wilson has directed 23 MS and PhD students and served on the committees of 55 others. In addition, he served as graduate coordinator for the department for 10 years and Poultry Science Club advisor for several years.

Wilson has been a member of PSA since 1959 and is a life member of the World’s Poultry Science Association, Southern Poultry Science Society, and American Poultry Historical Society. He served as secretary–treasurer, vice chair, and chair of the poultry section of the Association of Southern Agricultural Workers. He has served on PSA’s the Poultry Science editorial board as associate editor and on committees such as National Broiler Council Research Award (chairman), Purina Teaching Award (chairman), 1979 Annual Meeting Host Committee, Editorial System Revision, American Poultry Historical Awards, and Alltech Student Award. He was a subject editor of JAPR for 1 year and editor-in-chief of JAPR for 6 years. Other contributions of Wilson include regional projects, regional research task force, regional advisory council, interregional projects, animal research symposium, Egyptian poultry improvement project, and several Central America and Caribbean poultry workshops.

 

Leland E. Tollett

Leland E. Tollett has been part of Tyson Foods for more than 50 years, serving in a variety of management positions, and continues to work as an executive for the company. Tollett joined Tyson in 1959 as director of research and nutrition and subsequently held executive management positions in the company’s broiler and production divisions before being named Tyson’s chief operating officer in 1981. Tollett became president and chief executive officer (CEO) in 1991 and served as chairman and CEO from 1995 to 1998, when he retired.

Tollett returned to lead Tyson Foods in January 2009, when he was named interim president and CEO. He held the position until November 2009 when Donnie Smith was selected as the company’s new president and CEO. Tollett served on Tyson’s board of directors from 1984 until early 2008. He has been a member of PSA and the Arkansas Poultry Federation and has served as president of the Arkansas Feed Manufacturers Association and as chairman of the National Broiler Council (now known as the National Chicken Council).

A native of Nashville, Arkansas, Tollett attended Southern State College (now known as Southern Arkansas University) and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He has also participated in seminars at the Harvest Business School.

STUDENT RESEARCH PAPER CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

 

 

George Fahey Jr.

George Fahey Jr. was born in 1949 in Weston, West Virginia, and was raised on a farm that produced beef cattle, sheep, and forage crops. He received a Bachelor’s degree in biology, a Master’s degree in agricultural biochemistry, and a Doctorate in animal nutrition, all from West Virginia University, Morgantown. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1976 and currently is professor emeritus of animal sciences and nutritional sciences and Kraft Foods endowed professor emeritus of nutrition. His area of research is comparative nutrition, and the primary disciplines studied are carbohydrate nutrition (including work on dietary fibers, novel polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, starch, and resistant starch) and protein nutrition (to include work on amino acid bioavailability and indices of protein quality). An overarching theme of his program is gastrointestinal tract health and the role that carbohydrates and proteins play in the digestive physiology, microbial ecology, and health of the gut.

Fahey has a long history of scholarship in ruminant nutrition. From 1976 to 1990, beef cattle and sheep were the focus of his work and forage and agricultural byproduct utilization was the discipline studied. In 1990, he assumed leadership of the companion animal nutrition program in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois and made the dog and the cat the focal points of his research activities. Seventy-one students have completed either MS or PhD degrees under his direction, and he has mentored 17 postdoctoral research associates. He has provided significant and meaningful service to his profession, serving on numerous National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, American Society of Animal Science, and American Society of Nutrition committees. He has served on many editorial boards and as ruminant nutrition section editor of Journal of Animal Science and as associate editor of Journal of Nutrition. His national awards include those from the American Society of Animal Science, American Dairy Science Association, American Society of Nutrition, the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, and the ESI In-Cites.com organization. In addition, he has received departmental, college, and university recognition for his research productivity. In 2006, he was awarded an endowed professorship position in nutritional sciences sponsored by Kraft Foods Inc. in Glenview, Illinois, for his contributions to the field of nutrition. In 2009, he was awarded a CSIRO Flagship Fellowship from the Australian government for his work in the area of dietary carbohydrates.