2013 PSA Awards

Frederick G. Silversides
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Frederick G. Silversides (pictured left with Paul H. Patterson, Award Committee Chair) Frederick G. Silversides holds an MS from the University of Massachusetts and a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan. Postdoctoral studies at INRA in France were followed by a position as assistant professor at Université Laval in Québec (Associate Professor in 1995). He left Laval in 1996, and in 2000 accepted a position with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) stationed at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC). Three years later he was transferred to the AAFC Research Centre in Agassiz, British Columbia, where he worked until his position was terminated in 2013. He is the author or co-author of 88 peer-reviewed scientific publications, 56 abstracts in conference proceedings, and 41 other publications and has given 24 invited presentations. Silversides has been the research director or co-director of four PhD and nine MS students and has served on 23 graduate committees. He has taught at the diploma, undergraduate, and graduate levels at the University of Massachusetts, University of Saskatchewan, Université Laval, University of Prince Edward Island, NSAC, and University of British Columbia. As an independent researcher, Silversides has received funding from the poultry industry and provincial and federal governments. Silversides has reviewed articles for 26 different scientific journals, was an associate editor for Poultry Science for 6 years, and was on the editorial board of Canadian Journal of Animal Science for 8 years. He was a member of the Journals Policy Subcommittee of the Agricultural Institute of Canada for three years. He has been a member of CORPAQ (Quebec provincial government granting body) and Alberta government grant evaluation committees and has reviewed grant applications for the Canadian Poultry Research Council, Canadian Poultry Industry Council, several provincial governments, the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, and three European governments. Silversides was a section chair at the 1996 and 2003 Poultry Science Association meetings and served on (and chaired) the American Egg Board Technical Committee and the Embrex Fundamental Science Award Committee. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Poultry Research Institute and served on the Comité Avicole of the Conseil de Production Animale de Québec. Silversides was recognized with 11 prizes and scholarships during his academic training, including an NSERC graduate scholarship and an INRA postgraduate scholarship, and he received the American Egg Board Research Award in 1995. Silversides is a member of the World's Poultry Science Association (Canadian Branch President from 2001 to 2009) and the Poultry Science Association (Director from 2009 to 2012).

Alejandro Corzo
Elanco Animal Health

Alejandro Corzo (pictured right with Janet Remus, AFIA Representative) was born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1972. He completed his bachelor's degree in animal science from Universidad de La Salle, in Bogota, Colombia. In 1998, he enrolled in a master's program at Oklahoma State University, followed by a doctoral program at Auburn University in 2000. Upon graduation in 2003, he joined the faculty at Department of Poultry Science at Mississippi State University until 2011, where his research focused primarily on practical aspects of poultry nutrition. He has now joined the R&D group of Elanco Animal Health and is responsible for the assessment, refinement, and development of new molecules and technologies for poultry..

Todd J. Applegate
Purdue University

Todd J. Applegate (pictured left with William A. Dozier III, Award Committee Chair) currently serves as professor, extension poultry specialist, and graduate program chair in the Department of Animal Science at Purdue University. A native of Iowa, Applegate received a BS and MS in animal science from Iowa State University, and a PhD in animal science from The Ohio State University prior to a postdoctoral research appointment at the University of Maryland, College Park. Applegate's publications include 98 peer-reviewed journal articles and extension publications as well as 70 conference proceedings papers. He has given 134 invited seminars, lectures, and presentations in the United States and 16 other countries. He attributes much of his success to successful contributions of graduate students, research staff, visiting scientists, and postdoctorates, and active collaborations with other scientists. Applegate's research program at Purdue University explores mechanisms of nutrient interaction within and with the gastrointestinal tract to ultimately improve nutrient absorption and retention and thereby minimize the impact of poultry production on the environment. A primary research focus of Applegate's laboratory has been reducing nitrogen and ammonia excretion, including determination of amino acid digestibility of feed ingredients, ingredient selection, formulation level, use of supplemental amino acids, and use of acidulants. A second major research focus has been the contributions of diet, pathogens, toxins, and stressors to endogenous nutrient and energy losses from the gastrointestinal tract and dietary strategies to minimize these. Applegate also has extensive service on numerous local, regional, and national committees. These include recent service as a director on the board of directors of PSA from 2006 to 2009, and as current second vice president. He also is a member of the newly formed Coordinating Committee of the National Research Support Project-9 (National Animal Nutrition Program) of State Agricultural Experiment Stations providing input to USDA, NRC, and other governmental agencies.

Byung-Whi Kong
University of Arkansas

Byung-Whi Kong (pictured left with Janet E. Fulton, Hy-Line International) received a bachelor's degree in animal science at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea, in 1998. At the Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, he received an MS degree in cell and molecular biology (2002) and finished a PhD in molecular virology (2005) under the direction of Douglas N. Foster. In 2006, he joined the Department of Poultry Science & Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at University of Arkansas as an assistant professor and faculty for the Cell and Molecular Graduate Program. He was promoted to associate professor in 2012. Kong's research has focused on molecular and functional genomics studies to identify core functional factors responsible for economically important traits including feed efficiency, growth, and host-virus interactions. Various genomic, bioinformatic, and molecular tools including microarray, massively parallel next generation sequencing method, and pathway analysis have been used to address genetic and biochemical mechanisms of important traits in poultry. The overall goal is to improve poultry productivity by characterizing important cellular and physiological mechanisms to regulate feed efficiency, growth, and disease resistance. Kong is the author of 30 refereed scientific papers and 32 abstracts. He is serving as an associate editor of Poultry Science in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology section.

Michael S. Lilburn
The Ohio State University

Michael S. Lilburn (pictured left with Zachary S. Tucker, Maple Leaf Farms) grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, and attended St. Lawrence University where he received a BS in biology in 1974. After graduation, he was provisionally accepted into the nutrition graduate program at Penn State working with Roland Leach, who has become a lifelong mentor and friend. This was one of the key events in Lilburn's career because it emphasized the importance of giving students the chance of obtaining a graduate degree. Working with Leach was also his first introduction to poultry science. Roland Leach is best known for his contributions to the basic understanding of skeletal biology and trace nutrients, but his appreciation for the poultry industry and the applied aspects of poultry science was often discussed in laboratory meetings. During this time, Lilburn met Bill Saylor, the senior graduate student in the laboratory, who continues to be a valued friend and colleague. He moved from Penn State to the University of Georgia where he worked for Leo Jensen as a postdoctoral research associate for two years before moving to the industry for five years as a research nutritionist for Hubbard Farms, a primary broiler breeding company. The five years at Hubbard Farms allowed him to make a lot of contacts and gave him the industry insight and appreciation that has been central to his academic career. His service to PSA includes the scientific program chair at both the 1995 (Edmonton) and 2000 (Montreal) annual meetings and two stints on the PSA Board as director (2002–2004) and as a member of the Executive Committee (2008–2012). He has also represented PSA on the FASS Board on two occasions. During the course of his career, he has authored or coauthored 97 peer reviewed papers and brought in over $2 million dollars in competitive research grants. He teaches or has taught graduate courses in proteins/amino acids and advanced nonruminant nutritional physiology. Lilburn was an original member of the faculty group that developed the Midwest Poultry Consortium Summer program in Poultry Science and taught the poultry nutrition course for 15 years. He has been the recipient of the AFIA Research Award for Poultry Nutrition, Nicholas Turkey Research Award, and the Maple Leaf Duck Research Award. For Mike Lilburn, there have been enduring personal and professional relationships that were initiated via PSA and the poultry industry and for this he will be forever grateful.

Paul Marini
Nicholas Turkey

Paul Marini (pictured right with Douglas Korver, PSA Board Liaison) is an Illinois native who received his BS and MS degrees in animal sciences at Southern Illinois University (1965–1968). He took his PhD degree at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, under Roy Gyles, where he studied the inheritance of meat characteristics in chickens (1968–1972). From 1972 through 1976, Marini was a research geneticist at Peterson Farms in Decatur, Arkansas. At Peterson he synthesized the single-combed version of the Peterson male, which went on to dominate the male breeding side of the broiler industry for the next 15 years. Marini also developed the first computerized model of the broiler industry, an economic model that is still in use today. He then moved to Glastonbury, Connecticut, where he became senior geneticist at Arbor Acres Farms, responsible for selection for improvement in layers and meat birds (1976–1980). Marini further developed his economic modeling and was the first to use a portable computer to showcase his work at customer locations. The IBM 5100 was used, a prototype of the PC that would not appear for another decade. Marini also worked out the details of how to do individual feed conversion on male broiler breeder candidates, a method that preserved the candidates' health to a much greater extent than previous systems. In 1980 Marini became general manager of the Palmetto Pigeon Plant in Sumter, South Carolina, where he was responsible for all aspects of production for 20,000 pairs of pigeons (1980–1983). There, he oversaw the construction of and implementation of a USDA processing plant for pigeons. In 1983 Marini returned to Glastonbury where he assumed the duties of IT director for Arbor Acres Farms and also took on the job of selecting salmon for IBEC on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (1983–1992), where he met his future wife, Leslie Hart. While on location in British Columbia, Marini implemented the first commercial breeding program for salmon in western Canada. After his duties at IBEC, Marini was assigned the position of director of research for Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms in Sonoma, California (1992–2005–retired). While at Nicholas, Marini developed a new series of turkey breeds designed for the processing plant. He placed high emphasis on yield of breast meat and was able to see this product become accepted by the industry before his retirement in 2005. During his tenure at Nicholas, Marini developed the first model for doing individual feed conversion testing on free-roaming turkeys. This method involves the use of transponders and highly sensitive scales to track consumption as birds move about freely from feeder to feeder in large pens. Marini was instrumental in developing the Nicholas Communications Award designed to further reward recipients of the annual graduate student speaking certificates. Marini is an avid fan of bird watching and has a small life list (525), so he does not claim to be a “birder.” Paul and Leslie have an aviary that houses 14 species of birds and whenever they travel they try to do a little bird watching. In March of this year, Marini placed second at the national master's Olympic weightlifting championships. He holds several records for the sport in California.

William A. Dozier III
Auburn University

William A. Dozier III (pictured right with Brian D. Fairchild, Award Committee Chair) currently serves as an associate professor at Auburn University in the Department of Poultry Science. He received a BS in animal and dairy science from Auburn University, a MS in animal science from the University of Kentucky, and a PhD in poultry science from Auburn University. He has been internationally recognized for his research determining dietary amino acid requirements of broilers. Dozier has evaluated apparent metabolizable energy needs of heavy broilers. Moreover, Dozier and colleagues were the first in the United States to determine the energy value of crude glycerin from biodiesel plants for broilers, layers, and swine and to develop prediction equations to estimate apparent metabolizable energy of corn coproducts for broilers. Dozier's publications during his career include 50 senior-authored and 50 coauthored peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has also published 221 other written materials in the form of abstracts, book chapters, industry proceedings, popular press articles, and newsletters. Dozier has given 147 invited presentations at international, national, regional, and state levels with lectures being presented in 18 countries. His research program has garnered approximately $1.9 million in extramural funding. He has received several honors including the American Feed Industry Nutrition Research Award, Hy-Line International Research Award, USDA-ARS Superior Technology Transfer Award, USDA-ARS Early Career Scientist Award, and Honorable Mention for Excellence in Technology Transfer from The Federal Laboratory Consortium Southeast Region. Dozier served as co¬chair of the nutrition section of the 2005 and 2012 PSA annual meetings and currently is an associate editor for Journal of Applied Poultry Research and Poultry Science.

Shelly R. McKee
Auburn University

Shelly R. McKee (pictured right with Mercedes Vazquez-Anon, Novus International) received a BS, MS, and PhD in food science from Texas A&M University. Her PhD research focused on understanding the relationship of premortem stress factors on the meat quality of processed turkeys. After completing her PhD, she did a postdoctoral position at Texas A&M in food safety to gain experience in food microbiology. In 1998, McKee accepted a faculty position at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln where she developed a program to improve the safety and quality of poultry meat and eggs. In 2002, she accepted a faculty position at Auburn University where she further expanded her teaching, research, and outreach programs. McKee is currently an associate professor in the Department of Poultry Science at Auburn University. She has teaching, research, and outreach responsibilities with her research and outreach based on improving the safety and quality of poultry products. Much of her research program is focused on identifying and validating antimicrobial intervention strategies that can be used throughout the poultry production continuum to improve the safety of raw and value-added poultry. McKee has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as trade journals regarding poultry meat quality and food safety. She integrates her teaching and research to create a program where students are taught the most relevant technological and process advancements available to improve poultry meat safety and quality during processing. McKee also integrates her research and outreach to develop and conduct industry workshops where industry, academia, and government can receive the most current information on advancements in processing, quality, safety, and technology in the poultry industry. McKee has also been asked to speak and consult around the world regarding poultry meat quality, food safety, and product development. McKee attributes her success to great collaborations, inquisitive graduate students, and dedicated research associate: Laura Bauermeister. Last, but not least, is her tremendous family support including her husband, four boys, and two dogs.

Michael Czarick III
University of Georgia

Michael Czarick III (pictured right with Hector M. Cervantes, Phibro Animal Health) began his career in extension at the University of Georgia in 1985. He is recognized as an international authority on the design and operation of ventilation, brooding, and computer control systems. The information he has produced has been used to improve poultry housing and poultry performance globally. He has been sought out by almost every poultry company in the United States and most major companies worldwide to provide them with advice and counsel regarding design of their poultry facilities. His program has had tremendous impact on the poultry industry—almost every poultry house built in the United States and many worldwide since the 1990s have Czarick's design elements included in them. His work on tunnel ventilation and evaporative cooling is credited with virtually ending the massive heat-related mortality and reduced performance that plagued the poultry industry during the summer months. During his career, he has published over 250 newsletters and 60 educational videos, computer programs, and other extension publications. He has made these publications readily available to poultry farmers and industry professionals by developing and maintaining a website that is one of the most comprehensive sources for information related to environmental control of poultry houses, brooding, ventilation, energy conservation, and so on in the world. He has been invited to give presentations on his work at more than 125 international and 200 national meetings. The intensive Hot Weather and Cold Weather Workshops he developed attract attendees from all over the United States and the world. Through his career, Czarick has received a number of awards including the D. W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Extension—the highest award for extension the University of Georgia offers.

Brian H. Kiepper
University of Georgia

Brian H. Kiepper (pictured left with Joseph B. Hess, Award Committee Chair), assistant professor and extension specialist at the University of Georgia (UGA), has been on the faculty in the Department of Poultry Science since 2008. His education in poultry began at Tennessee Technological University as an animal science major, graduating in 1985 with a BS in agriculture. After graduation, he explored multiple careers including spending four years as a zookeeper at Zoo Atlanta, highlighted by his experience as an elephant trainer. In the mid-1990s, he entered the environmental field of water and wastewater when he joined the City of Conyers, Georgia, water department as coordinator of the system's industrial pretreatment program. Within a year's time he had been promoted to assistant director of the Rockdale County Wastewater Resources Division. In 1998, he came to the UGA as an agricultural research engineer in the Department of Bio & Ag Engineering, where he began working closely with Georgia's poultry processing industry. Over the next 10 years, his experience working with poultry processors grew while he earned his MS in food science (2003) and his PhD in poultry science (2007), researching and providing solutions to the environmental impacts of poultry processing. In 2008, he was given the opportunity to join the faculty of the UGA Department of Poultry Science, where he has excelled in developing extension and research programs designed to meet the environmental regulatory needs of poultry processors in Georgia and beyond. His extension programs are highlighted by a series of annual continuing education courses he coordinates including the International Poultry Short Course and the Poultry School en Español. He has been selected by the US Poultry & Egg Association to be the lead instructor and co-coordinator of the Poultry Processing Wastewater Treatment Operators Workshop. He is also a veteran member of both US Poultry & Egg Association environmental award committees, serving as an applicant reviewer and judge on the live production Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award and the poultry processing Clean Water Award teams. His research program has resulting in publication in a diverse group of scientific journals including Poultry Science, the Journal of Applied Poultry Research, Bioresource Technology, Applied Engineering in Agriculture, and Pedosphere. His impactful work with poultry processing has led to international presentations and technical assistance projects in China, Honduras, Finland, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines.

Ross E. Wolfenden
Pacific Vet Group USA

Ross E. Wolfenden (pictured left with Joseph B. Hess, Award Committee Chair), was raised in Northwest Arkansas. After completion of an undergraduate degree in poultry science at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, he began his career at Cobb-Vantress Inc. While serving as an assistant pedigree complex manager, he had the opportunity to manage nearly every aspect of live production. In 2007 Wolfenden was awarded a Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship from the University of Arkansas. He took the opportunity to further his education in the field of poultry health research, a longtime goal that he could not pass up. He accepted a position as a graduate student at the University of Arkansas John Kirkpatrick Skeeles Poultry Health Laboratory with Billy Hargis and coworkers. Upon graduation, Wolfenden was hired to be the director of product development for Pacific Vet Group, a rapidly growing bio-tech company focused on science-based health and nutrition products for the poultry industry. Pacific Vet Group holds licenses for multiple technologies from the University of Arkansas, including a Bacillus-based direct-fed microbial technology with which Wolfenden worked extensively during his time as a graduate student. In addition to his duties in product development, Wolfenden also acted as the primary technical representative for Pacific Vet Group from 2009 through 2012. In this role, he coordinated field trials and provided expertise on product application. He traveled extensively, both domestically and internationally, supporting customers in the poultry industry. In 2012 Wolfenden was promoted to vice president of research and development, and in this new role he became responsible for overall guidance of research and development, quality systems, and process development. He was able to start a successful new product development team in an entrepreneurial company without the aid of established in-house technical and scientific mentors. Currently, Wolfenden is leading research projects at four major US universities, an international university, as well as all research activities within Pacific Vet Group. His research interest is the “development of innovative first in class products that will enhance animal performance, improve animal welfare, increase the sustainability of food animal production, and improve the safety of our food supply.” To that end he and his group will introduce two new “first in class” products in late 2013. These products will improve health and performance in neonatal poultry. In addition to these new product development efforts, Wolfenden is also working with two partner organizations in the animal health industry on multi-million dollar collaborations.

PSA STUDENT RECRUITMENT AWARD

 

Gary D. Davis
University of Arkansas

Gary Davis received his BS in environmental science and an MS in agronomy from the University of Arkansas. His career began as the co-managing partner of West-Ark Seed Company, a wholesale/retail seed outlet. Before joining the University of Arkansas, he was a commodity merchandiser for Guthrie Cotton Oil Company, a feed ingredient vendor. Davis joined the University of Arkansas as a county extension agent and later was a state 4-H specialist and 4-H center coordinator. As an extension specialist, Davis received the Achievement in Service Award. He joined the Poultry Science Department in 1996 and has served as undergraduate recruiter. He has contributed to the department through recruiting, scholarship management, advisement, and event coordination. He has advised the Poultry Science Club and served as liaison to the Poultry Science Alumni Group. Davis initiated the Poultry Science Youth Conference and is facilitating the development of a Dual-Credit Poultry Science Curriculum for High Schools.

TYSON FOODS INC. SUPPORT PERSONNEL AWARD

 

 

Howard Lester
University of Arkansas

Howard Lester (pictured right with Phillip A. Smith, Tyson Foods) started working at the veterinary farm in September of 1978 as the only employee in charge of research for Beasly, Skeels, Meinecke, Stevenson, and Patterson. He cared for all poultry as well as 40 beef cows. Lester monitored calving and recorded calf weights and measurements. He was responsible for setting up Skeels' and Beasly's research, as well as renovating the farm. In 1983, Patterson retired. At this time, most of the cattle research at the veterinary farm stopped. Lester continued to do necropsies of large and small animals and poultry. Lester was on call 24 hours a day and would receive calls and referrals from local veterinarians. Skeels and Lester developed an HE vaccine program that has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Poultry Science Department. Lester, along with Skeels, taught the methods for producing HE to several investigators from other institutions including Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Lester, along with Lisa Newberry, took over Skeels' research when Skeels was called to active duty in Kuwait. In 1994, the Poultry Health Laboratory opened after months of pressure testing and refitting. Lester was instrumental during the entire process of building one of the few BSL 3 facilities in the United States. In 1997, Skeels was again called away to active duty and Lester finished ongoing projects and started new research projects. After Skeels returned, Lester continued to assist him in his research, as well as handling Beasly's research projects. In March 1999, Skeels passed away. This was an extremely difficult situation for everyone, but Lester helped finish Skeels' ongoing research projects. In August 2000, Lester helped Billy Hargis and his graduate students become familiar with the available research equipment and facilities and feel welcome at the University of Arkansas. Over the past 13 years, Lester has assisted Hargis and his students on many trials. After the manager quit in September 2011, Lester took over the feed mill, while continuing to manage the veterinary farm. He refurbished the pelletter and mixer and cleaned the mill. In the past 12 years, there have been no FDA incident reports at the mill. Lester maintains a good working relationship with the investigators from the department as well as several outside companies including Tyson, Cobb-Vantress, Sigrah-Zellet, and OK-swine. Now Lester manages the vet farm, feed mill, and poultry farm. Lester put a new house into production using a PVC pen system at a savings of $73 thousand over the conventional metal pens. Lester has also worked to improve relationships between farm management and investigators doing research at the farm. In the past, a quarantine of the poultry farm was caused by poultry brought on to the poultry farm from an outside source that had been vaccinated for ILT. Lester worked with the state veterinarian and Dustin Clark to clear up the situation without having to destroy the birds on the poultry farm. The poultry farm remains nonvaccinated and clean. In 2009, Lester won the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture's John W. White Non-Classified Support Personnel award for outstanding contributions to the Division of Agriculture.

 

 

 

Young Min Kwon
University of Arkansas

Young Min Kwon (pictured right with Parag Chary, Zoetis Inc.) joined the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor in the Department of Poultry Science in the summer of 2002, and was promoted to an associate professor in 2008. He has research experience in the field of poultry microbiology and bacterial genomics with emphasis on Salmonella. The focus of his research group is to understand the molecular mechanisms of Salmonella persistence in poultry and poultry environments using powerful functional genomics approaches based on next-generation sequencing technologies. His laboratory has been also engaged in the development of Salmonella-vectored vaccines to control various infectious agents in poultry, including Campylobacter and avian influenza virus. His research team continues to develop and optimize Salmonella-vectored vaccines, with promising progress. Recently, his research interest has been extended to analyzing complex microbiota associated with poultry to understand the microbial processes underlying various issues in disease, nutrition, and genetics using next-generation sequencing methods. Kwon received BS and MS degrees in animal science from Seoul National University in South Korea, and completed his PhD in poultry science in 2000 from Texas A&M University. He completed postdoctoral research at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in College Station, Texas, before joining the University of Arkansas. His research projects have been supported by grants from NIH, USDA/NRI, Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas Agriculture Experiment Station, and industry. He has also been an adjunct professor in the Cell and Molecular Biology program at the University of Arkansas since 2003.

 

 

 

 

Emma L. Wils-Plotz
University of California, Davis

Emma L. Wils-Plotz (pictured left with Ted E. Sefton, Alltech Inc.) was born and raised in Illinois. Wils-Plotz became interested in animal nutrition while studying for her bachelor's degree at Michigan State University. In 2008 she received a grant through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Undergraduate Research Program to conduct a research study looking at the efficacy of mare milk in neonatal piglets. Wils-Plotz also was the cofounder and first president of the Michigan State Animal Science Undergraduate Student Research Association. After graduation in 2010, Wils-Plotz was introduced to the world of poultry research while studying for her master's degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under the guidance of Ryan N. Dilger. Her master's work was to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of both threonine and purified fiber (soluble and insoluble) on chick growth and gut health during a coccidiosis challenge. Currently, Wils-Plotz is pursuing a PhD at the University of California–Davis under the direction of Kirk C. Klasing. She intends to investigate the effects of antioxidants and fatty acids on the immune system and disease spread in chickens in a flock setting.

MAURICE STEIN FELLOWSHIP AWARD

 

 

 

 

 

Ganapathi Raj Murugesan
Iowa State University

Ganapathi Raj Murugesan (pictured right with Woo-Kyun Kim, Award Committee Chair) graduated with a PhD in nutritional physiology with a focus on poultry nutrition from Iowa State University in April 2013. The primary objective of his dissertation research was to characterize the effects of changes in gut physiology modified by exogenous enzymes and direct-fed microbials on intestinal integrity, energy metabolism, body composition, and performance of poultry. Additionally, he has also been working on a project to assess the metabolizable energy of various oil and fat sources in poultry species, using slope ratio analysis. Murugesan graduated with a DVM in 2002 from Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, India, and worked in various technical service positions in the poultry industry in Asia and Europe for 8 years before coming to Iowa State University. Over the last 3 years, Murugesan has presented a total of 10 scientific abstracts at various worldwide scientific forums such as the Australian Poultry Science Symposium in Sydney, Australia, and World Poultry Congress held in Salvador, Brazil. He was one of the 20 graduate students selected out of 200 worldwide applicants for the 24th World Poultry Congress youth program held in Brazil last summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alamanda J. Calvert
Virginia Tech

Paul Marini, Aviagen Turkeys Representative, presents the Aviagen Turkeys Communication Award to Alamanda J. Calvert, Virginia Tech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael L. Galyean
Texas Tech University

This award was presented at the awards ceremony of the American Society of Animal Science.

Melissa D. Triplett
Mississippi State University

Melissa D. Triplett, Mississippi State University, also received the Aviagen Turkeys Communication Award, but was unable to attend the award presentation.