2015 PSA Awards

Mary Erin Delany was raised in New Jersey and received her BS in biology from Montclair State College, graduating cum laude in 1979. At that time she developed an enthusiasm for genetics and chromosome research. Delany worked as a research technician at the Pennsylvania State University studying salmonid chromosomes and then embarked on MS (1984) and PhD (1987) degrees at Cornell University in the historic Rice Hall Poultry Science Department, working with Stephen Bloom. At Cornell she began studying the chicken using this ideal vertebrate model organism to understand the biological effects of extra chromosomes. Her PhD research explored gene-dosage related expression of major histocompatibility proteins in the Trisomic line of chickens carrying extra copies of chromosome 16. Delany continued with postdoctoral research in the same laboratory, and she began to navigate the realities of a two-career family with her husband, Bernie May, along with raising their three children. Mary Delany joined the faculties of the avian sciences and animal science departments at the University of California–Davis in 1995 and therein began to more fully appreciate the importance of poultry to humankind as a global source of protein and the value of mission-oriented research. Her research program has focused predominately on avian telomere biology with projects on the organization, inheritance, regulation, and stability of telomere array organization in normal, immortalized, and transformed cell systems. Current projects include analysis of the function of the telomere-telomerase pathway in the pathology and cancerous condition caused by Marek's herpes virus. The laboratory also has a strong research effort in the comparative analysis of the chromosomal organization of poultry genomes. Building on chicken genetic lines from Ursula Abbott and Hans Abplanalp, she advanced genetic and genomic analyses of inherited developmental mutations in chicken that result in syndromes similar to human congenital malformations involving craniofacial, limb, and organ defects. A long-term interest has been the conservation of poultry genetic resources for the benefit of the research community. Delany has taught undergraduate and graduate courses. Delany was chair of the Department of Animal Science in 2005, associate dean in the University of California–Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2009, interim dean in 2012, and now executive associate dean since 2014. She has been a member of the PSA board of directors, chair or member of USDA competitive review panels, and reviewer animal science departments and programs at land-grant institutions. One of her greatest research highlights was collaboration in analyzing the first draft of the chicken genome sequence. Equally rewarding have been the collaborations established via long-term USDA multistate and national research projects. In 2012 she was named a Fellow of the AAAS. Now, with the honor of being named a PSA Fellow, Mary Delany is grateful to her mentors and supporters past and present, to a wonderfully inclusive cohort of poultry science colleagues, and to her students and research staff whose accomplishments underpin this honor. Finally, she thanks Bernie, Donald, Abigail, and Hannah May for their understanding support, love, and affection and the fun of family life.

Billy Hargis is a Tennessee native and received his undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota (BS 1980), his master of science training at the University of Georgia (poultry science, 1983), and his DVM and PhD training at the University of Minnesota (PhD 1987). From 1987 to 2000 Hargis was a faculty member in the Departments of Veterinary Pathobiology and Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, where he was promoted through the ranks of assistant professor to professor. He joined the Center of Excellence in Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas on September 1, 2000, as professor and director of the Poultry Health Research Laboratory. In 2006 Hargis was named the Sustainable Poultry Health Chair, an endowed position funded by the Tyson Family with a match from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. He is a diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians, teaches in the undergraduate and graduate poultry science program, and has served on the PSA board and as a section editor for the Journal of Applied Poultry Research. He has advised or co-advised more than 70 graduate students, who are all considered colleagues, friends, and family. His laboratory has been recognized by several awards including the Carrington Laboratories Research Award (1991), the Poultry Science Association Research Award (1993), USDA Certificate of Merit for Scientific Leadership (1994), the Texas Veterinary Medical Association Faculty Research Award (1994), the National Broiler Council Research Award (1998), the Texas A&M University Vice Chancellor's Award in Excellence for Research (2000), the Poultry Science Association Award for Achievement in Poultry Science (2001), the Frank Perdue Live Poultry Food Safety Research Award (2009), and the John White Division of Agriculture Research Award (2011). He is widely known for his love of family, friends, and colleagues.

Kirk Klasing received BS and MS degrees at Purdue University and a PhD from Cornell University (1981). He spent four years as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois and then moved to the University of California–Davis, where he is now a professor in the Department of Animal Science. His research examines interactions between nutrition and the immune system, including the effect of diet on immunocompetence, the nutritional costs of immune defenses, and the effect of an immune response on growth-related physiology. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. He teaches classes in Avian Physiology and in Animal Nutrition to senior-level undergraduates and a class in Nutrition and Immunity to PhD, MD, and DVM students. Kirk's primary administrative job at the University of California–Davis is chairing the Avian Sciences Graduate Program. Service to scientific societies includes past-president of the Comparative Nutrition Society and present or past associate editor (section editor) of the Journal of Nutrition, Poultry Science, and the Journal of Ornithology. He was a member of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Academy of Sciences (2006–2014). Previous research awards include the Research Award, Bioserve Award, and the Milton L. Sunde Award from the American Society of Nutrition and the American Feed Manufacturer and the Evonik Awards from the Poultry Science Association. Current recreational endeavors include snow skiing, mountain biking, and playing poker.

Robert L. Taylor Jr. earned his BA from Carson-Newman College and MS from Auburn University. During the 1977 PSA meeting at Auburn, he heard Bruce Glick speak in an immunology symposium. This singular event began a sequence that led to his PhD study in Glick's Mississippi State University laboratory. After Medical College of Virginia postdoctoral experience, Taylor joined the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Animal and Nutritional Sciences Department in 1984. He achieved promotion to full professor in 1996. His academic responsibilities emphasized immunogenetics. Taylor had the good fortune to join the multistate research project "Genetic Bases for Resistance and Immunity to Avian Diseases" in which he continues to contribute. His experiments focused on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and other genes affecting immune responses. He developed unique genetic stocks to facilitate the immunology studies, which, in turn, sparked an enduring interest in genetic resource conservation. Taylor was appointed to the National Animal Germplasm Program Poultry Committee, including a term as chair. Taylor completed the development of UNH MHC congenic lines. These lines, which had different MHC types on a common genetic background, revealed MHC control of v-src DNA tumor growth and metastasis. He developed additional congenic lines by enlisting valuable multistate project collaborators. Northern Illinois University's Elwood and Ruth Briles provided eight MHC recombinants containing parts of two distinct MHC molecules. Hans Abplanalp, University of California–Davis (UCD), supplied inbred line UCD 003 for the genetic background. Two particular recombinants differed in response to Rous sarcoma virus–induced tumors and Marek's disease. This work culminated when Marcia Miller at the Beckman Research Institute identified the specific BG1 gene that was responsible for their divergent responses. The National Animal Germplasm Program recognized the UNH stocks as elite genetic resources in 2004. Nevertheless, university research priorities narrowed in 2007, terminating many irreplaceable poultry stocks. Supportive institutions adopted some stocks, preserving their active research use. Taylor teamed with UNH colleagues to show autosomal recessive inheritance of pigeon susceptibility to spontaneous atherosclerosis, a model for the human disease. His research has produced 100 publications and 115 abstracts. He directed 14 graduate and 14 undergraduate student investigations. A PSA member since 1978, Taylor holds memberships in the World's Poultry Science Association, American Association of Immunologists, Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Sigma Xi. He is a Virginia Chapter of 4-H All Stars Life Member. Three PSA service highlights are general program chair, Centennial Landmark Contributions Symposium co-chair, and World's Poultry Science Association USA Branch president. His current PSA duties are Publication Committee chair and Poultry Science section editor for immunology, health, and disease. Taylor became director and professor of the West Virginia University Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences in 2014, providing leadership for 580 undergraduate majors, 67 graduate students, 26 faculty, and 34 staff.

Dong Uk Ahn
Iowa State University

Dong Uk Ahn (pictured left with Stacey A. Roberts, Award Committee Chair) received his BS and MS degrees from Seoul National University in Korea and PhD degree from University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1988 with a joint major in poultry science and meat and animal science. After gaining experience at the universities of Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, he joined Iowa State University in 1994 as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science. His main research emphases are in basic and applied areas of poultry products. His PhD research has elucidated the mechanisms of pink color problems and characterized the color compounds in oven-roasted turkey breast meat, which helped developing 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. On the basis of the work, he developed a hot vacuum-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, specifically off-odor production and pink color formation, of irradiated meat products. On the basis of his findings he has developed methods that can minimize or eliminate off-odor production, color change, and lipid oxidation in irradiated meat products. His work has very important implications to food safety because irradiation will not be used if the quality of meat after irradiation is not acceptable. He also studied the effects of various dietary additives on meat and egg quality and protein oxidation and its implication to meat quality. He has devoted a significant portion of his research efforts to increasing the value and use of egg and egg products. Commercial use of the value added components from egg is highly limited because there are no simple, economical, and large-scale separation methods. Ahn has developed efficient separation methods. He also has developed ways to improve function, application, and value of these components. Ahn has been associate editor of Poultry Science, section chair for the Annual Poultry Conference, organizer and chair of workshops for the Midwest Poultry Conference for more than 20 years, on editorial boards of journals, judge for student paper competitions, peer reviewer of numerous journals, external reviewer of international funding agencies, on the review panel of NIFA, and an invited speaker. He has completed 6 MS and 12 PhD students, supervised 10 postdocs and 25 visiting scholars, mentored 6 honor students, trained 14 exchange students, and served on the program-of-study committee of 18 (5 foreign) graduate students since he joined Iowa State University. Currently, he is supervising 2 graduate students. He carried out 72 research projects as a principal or co-principal investigator; published 235 referred journal articles and 22 book chapters; and received the American Egg Board Research Award in 2000, the Evonik Degussa Award in 2011 from the Poultry Science Association, and Award in Meats Research in 2013 from the American Society of Animal Science.

Hyun-Dong Paik
Konkuk University 

Hyun-Dong Paik (pictured left) received a bachelor's degree in food engineering at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, in 1983. In the next two years, at the Department of Food Biotechnology, Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, he received an MS degree in food biotechnology. In 1990 Paik enrolled at Iowa State University and earned his MS and PhD in 1995 at Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition under the guidance of Bonita A. Glatz. In 1995 he started his post- doc fellowship at Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology in Daejeon, Korea, and he then joined the Department of Food Engineering at Kyungnam University in Masan as an assistant professor in 1995. In September 2003 he became an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Biotechnology of Animal Resources at Konkuk University in Seoul and was promoted to full professor in 2009. Paik also advised 10 PhD students and 40 MS graduate students since 1995. He has been a sincere mentor, managing 23 students including graduate and undergraduate students in the Biotechnology Laboratory with two other research professors. Paik's research has focused on characterization of various kinds of egg proteins, dairy products, probiotics, branched-chain amino acids, flavonoids, and so on. His research also focuses on safety in the food industry, including growth model- ling and predictive model for microbial pathogens. Paik is currently a senior editor for Food Science and Biotechnology, after eight years of experiences as an editor. Paik has been on the editorial board of Korean Journal of Food Science from Animal Resources since 2006. He has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology, Institute of Food Technologists, Korean Society for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Korean Society of Food Science and Technology, Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, and Korean Society for Food Science and Technology from Animal Resources. Paik was the recipient of an award in the R&D section from the Secretary of Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in 2014. Paik is the author of 224 peer-reviewed journal papers and has 71 registered patents. He has also coauthored eight books and has made many scientific presentations and lectures related to microorganisms in food science and biotechnology for more than 20 years.

Mingan Choct
University of New England

Mingan Choct (pictured left with Robert C. Hill, AFIA Representative) is the CEO of the Poultry Cooperative Research Centre and a professor at the University of New England. Choct set up the Poultry Cooperative Research Centre with a total funding of $174 million over 15 years to address scientific and educational challenges facing the Australian poultry industry. Choct's personal academic interests include carbohydrate chemistry and nutrition, feed enzymes, energy evaluation, and nutrition × disease interaction in poultry. He has supervised more than 45 postgraduate students and published more than 270 papers in journals and proceedings. He is an active member of the scientific community, serving as editor, assistant editor, and on editorial boards of many journals.

Gene M. Pesti
University of Georgia

Gene Pesti (pictured left with Jonathan Goodson, Evonik Degussa Corporation) received his BSA from The Ohio State University, MS from Auburn University, and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He came to the University of Georgia in 1980, where he is professor of poultry science and animal nutrition. He also studied nutrition and genetic interactions while on sabbatical leaves at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW Australia, and the INRA Station de Recherches Avicoles, Centre de Tours-Nouzilly, France. His research interests are in poultry nutrition feed formulation. He has authored three books, more than 190 peer-reviewed publications, and several software programs for teaching and research. His teaching has included courses in Introductory Poultry Science, Poultry Judging, The Economics of Poultry Management, Commercial Poultry Production, and Proteins and Amino Acids in Animal Nutrition, and he teaches a study-abroad course on Agriculture and Environmental Sciences in Toulouse France. Previous awards include the National Chicken Council Broiler Research Award, American Egg Board Research Award, two Instructional Media Awards of Excellence from the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, The American Feed Industry Association Nutrition Research Award, and a University of Georgia Poultry Science Club Outstanding Teacher Award. Pesti is a Teacher Fellow of the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. He has been major professor for 13 MS and 9 PhD students.

Tri Duong
Texas A&M University

Tri Duong (pictured right with Petek Settar, Hy-Line International) earned a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology from Penn State University in 2001. He earned a PhD in functional genomics under the direction of Todd Klaenhammer at North Carolina State University, where his research was focused in the genetics and physiology of lactic acid bacteria important to the use of Lactobacillus cultures as probiotics and in the delivery of biotherapeutics. Duong completed postdoctoral training under the direction of Michael Konkel at Washington State University, where his research was focused on mechanisms of Campylobacter jejuni pathogenesis in humans and mechanisms of Lactobacillus competitive exclusion of C. jejuni in the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens. Duong joined the faculty in the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University in 2009 and has established a research program investigating host–microbe interactions in the gastrointestinal tract of poultry important in animal health, live production, and microbial food safety. Duong's research is currently focused on understanding mechanisms important to the probiotic functionality of Lactobacillus in poultry including phytate degradation and gastrointestinal colonization and investigating preslaughter interventions to improve microbial food safety of poultry and poultry products. Duong holds four US patents; has published 18 journal articles and 5 book chapters; appeared in Microwarriors, a documentary film about probiotics; and was a keynote presenter at the 30th Conference of the Indian Poultry Science Association. Teaching duties include undergraduate and graduate courses in food and gastrointestinal microbiology.

Gregory S. Fraley
Hope College 

Gregory S. Fraley (pictured left with Zachary Tucker, Maple Leaf Farms, Inc.) earned a BS in animal science (1989), with an emphasis on animal physiology, at the University of Maryland, College Park. During his senior year he also began working in the Poultry Science Department in the laboratory of Wayne Kuenzel, with whom he ultimately accepted a graduate position. His master's thesis focused on the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the onset of puberty in male broilers. During his time in Kuenzel's laboratory, Fraley also began to explore his interests in understanding neural mechanisms underlying behavior, due in part to one of his committee members, Joy Mench. After completing his MS degree in physiology at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1992, Fraley continued his research at Washington State University (Pullman; WAZZU) in the laboratory of Catherine Ulibarri, where he further investigated the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the onset of puberty and reproductive behaviors in the Mongolian gerbil. Fraley obtained a PhD in neuroscience from WAZZU in 1998. Fraley continued his exploration of behavioral neuroendocrinology as it relates to reproduction and feeding systems as a postdoc in the laboratories of Art Arnold (University of California, Los Angeles) and Sue Ritter (WAZZU). During his time at WAZZU, Fraley discovered his passion for teaching not only undergraduates, but veterinary students as well, whom he taught comparative physiology and gross anatomy, respectively. His passion for teaching veterinary students ultimately focused on one, whom he married in 2000. Susan Fraley earned her DVM from WAZZU-College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. In 2002 Greg Fraley joined the laboratory of Robert Steiner at the University of Washington as a Senior Fellow. Although his PhD and postdoctoral years focused on mammalian systems, Fraley never forgot his avian roots nor his love for birds. In 2004 he joined the faculty of the Biology Department at Hope College, where he earned tenure in 2008 and full professor in 2014. Since 2004 Fraley has had the privilege of nearly continual funding for both mammalian and avian studies from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Campbell Foundation. He has worked with Maple Leaf Farms closely since 2007 to more fully explore the neuroendocrine mechanisms under- lying growth, feeding, and reproduction in the Pekin duck as they pertain to environmental changes. He has recently begun to apply his expertise in this area toward the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie duck well-being and welfare issues. In 2011 Fraley was asked to join the physiology faculty of the Midwest Poultry Consortium–Center of Excellence. Fraley has several hobbies, including caving, and he is currently a fourth-degree black belt in the Song Moo Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do. He and his wife, Susan, are also avid birders who not only enjoy listing, but love watching the behaviors and interactions of birds within their environments.

Edgar Oviedo-Rondon
North Carolina State University 

Edgar O. Oviedo (pictured left with Ashley B. Peterson, National Chicken Council) was born in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. He received his veterinary degree (MVZ) from the University of Tolima. Oviedo worked in poultry veterinary services for three years before going to graduate school. In 1999 he obtained his MS in animal nutrition and production at the State University of Maringá, Brazil, under the supervision of Alice E. Murakami. In 2002 he received a PhD degree in poultry science at the University of Arkansas under the supervision of Park Waldroup. Oviedo joined the faculty–extension group at North Carolina State University in 2005 after almost three years of experience as assistant professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Currently, he is an associate professor in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science, and he is the broiler extension specialist. Oviedo has experience in the poultry industry as nutritionist, extension agent, and consultant in several countries. Oviedo's responsibilities include extension and research in broiler nutrition and management, and nutrient–waste management at national and international levels. His research projects are related to leg problems, footpad dermatitis, intestinal health, intestinal microbial ecology, improving air quality in broiler houses, effects of breeders and incubation on broiler performance, immunity and health, mineral nutrition, and optimization of production systems. He coordinates several extension events for the broiler industry in the state. Oviedo organizes the Poultry Decision Makers Workshop Series, The Broiler Production Short-Course, and the North Carolina State University International Course on Poultry Production. Oviedo is author or coauthor of 59 peer-review publications in scientific journals, 4 book chapters, 216 proceedings of international meetings hosted in 26 different countries, 162 abstracts of presentations in scientific meetings at the national and international level, and 38 popular press and extension articles.

Wallace D. Berry, Jr.
Auburn University 

Wallace Denver Berry (pictured left with Kendre D. Stringfellow, Novus International, Inc.) received his BS in poultry science from North Carolina State University in 1981 and his PhD in poultry physiology in 1988. Following graduate school, Berry was awarded a NASA Space Biology Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Louisville. From 1989 until 1994 Berry served as an experiment support scientist for Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Co. based out of the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. Overlapping his time with NASA and Lockheed, Berry served as an assistant research physiologist at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine from 1991 to 1994. Berry came to Auburn University as a research associate in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1995. Berry joined the Auburn University Department of Poultry Science in 1998. Berry's appointment is split between teaching and research. Berry teaches the Introduction to Poultry Science course to new undergraduates at Auburn. He also delivers the Introduction to Poultry Science course via live video feed to students at three Alabama community colleges participating in a new "2+2" program to encourage transfer students to enroll in the poultry science major at Auburn. Berry also teaches the Breeding, Fertility and Hatchability course and a graduate-level course on poultry physiology. His research work is in the area of reproductive physiology with the primary goal of improving the reproductive efficiency of broiler breeders.

Anthony J. Pescatore
University of Kentucky  

Anthony Pescatore (pictured right with Hector M. Cervantes, Phibro Animal Health) is an extension professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Pescatore has been with the University of Kentucky for 28 years. Pescatore received his undergraduate and master of science degrees from Michigan State University, his PhD from Texas A&M University, and an MBA degree from Wilmington College. He provides program support in the areas of management, biosecurity, environmental issues, and animal welfare. He provides support to five state contests in the 4-H poultry programs as well as the embryology in the classroom project. He serves as the assistant superintendent of the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference. During his tenure at the University of Kentucky, the poultry industry increased from a $25 million industry to a $1.2 billion industry. Pescatore was named to the Kentucky Poultry Hall of Fame. He received the 2014 M. D. Whiteker Award for Excellence in Extension Programming from the University of Kentucky. He is a past president of the Poultry Science Association and twice served as president of FASS. He is a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association. He received the Pfizer Extension Award. His research interests are in environmental nutrition and poultry management. Pescatore has served on numerous state and national committees. He served as a member of the program committee of the Farm Animal Integrated Research (FAIR) 2012 and participated in the FAIR 2012 forum that identified the key priorities and strategies for the future of animal agriculture. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Poultry Research and is an associate editor of Poultry Science. He is a member of the board of directors of the PSA Foundation. He has coauthored more than 80 scientific articles, extension publications, and conference proceedings.

Gregory S. Archer
Texas A&M University

Gregory Archer (pictured right with Robert Loar II, Award Committee Chair) earned his BS in animal and poultry sciences from Virginia Tech in 2000. He did both his MS (2002) and PhD (2005) at Texas A&M University in the animal science department. His MS thesis investigated the differences in physiology and behavior of litters of cloned pigs when compared with naturally bred pigs. His dissertation focused on the use of a seaweed extract meal to reduce stress during hot-weather transport of sheep. In 2005 he began a postdoc at the University of California–Davis and began his path back to poultry. While at the University of California–Davis he worked on projects studying the behavior and physiology of poultry aimed at improving the welfare of poultry. In 2008 he received a USDA grant to investigate the effects of lighted incubation, an area he is still focused on today. In 2012 he began working as an assistant professor and extension specialist in the poultry science department at Texas A&M. He works with the youth of Texas serving as superintendent at several of Texas's major youth events. He works directly with the industry and the public to serve the needs of the stakeholders of Texas. He is a member of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association's Animal Welfare Committee. His research focuses on factors such as lighting and other environmental and housing-design effects on the behavior and welfare of poultry.

Cesar A. Coto
Cobb Vantress, Inc. 

Cesar Coto (pictured right with Robert Loar II, Award Committee Chair) was born in Costa Rica in 1981. He attended a five-year program at the University of Costa Rica, where he obtained his undergraduate degree in animal science in 2004. During 2003 Coto was president of the animal science student government. For the next two years after obtaining his undergraduate degree he worked for DSM Nutritional Products in Central America as quality assurance manager. In 2006 he was admitted to graduate school at the University of Arkansas, where he was granted an assistantship in the poultry science department under Park Waldroup's advising. Coto obtained his master's degree in poultry nutrition in 2007. Coto continued the PhD program in poultry science with Waldroup as advisor. While pursuing the PhD degree Coto joined the MSC program in agribusiness, and he obtained a degree in 2009. In that same year Coto was hired as program associate in the Poultry Science Department at the University of Arkansas, where he led research activities for Waldroup's laboratory. In May 2010 Coto obtained his PhD in poultry nutrition, and this concluded his participation at the University of Arkansas. During those four and a half years he attained two master's degrees and a PhD degree, published six scientific papers as main author, participated in more than 20 papers and a book chapter as coauthor, and presented at several PSA meetings. In 2010 Coto moved back to Costa Rica, where he was named technical manager for Central America and the Caribbean for DSM Nutritional Products. In April 2011 Coto joined Cobb-Vantress as technical manager for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean providing technical assistance to broiler companies in that area. Coto has offered multiple presentations in broiler and breeder nutrition- and management-related topics at industry meetings throughout Mexico, Central American, and the United States.

Aggie Leadership Council
Texas A&M University   

The Aggie Leadership Council (ALC) was developed in 2004 by faculty members in the Poultry Science Department at Texas A&M University. The ALC is a group of 12 to 15 volunteer undergraduate students ranging between sophomores and seniors who are responsible for all departmental recruiting events and activities. Students are selected based on a written application and interview process by departmental faculty members. Current members of the ALC include Brooke Bodle (Jr.), Alex Williamson (Jr.), Austin Jasek (Sr.), Hunter Walters (Sr.), Katie Burt (So.), Alex Jacks (Jr.), Lacee Popham (So.), Katie Bennett (So.), Kolton Page (Jr.), Brittany Rocha (Sr.), and Micah Osburn (Sr.).

Pamela Utterback
University of Illinois   

Pam Utterback (pictured right with Phillip A. Smith, Tyson Foods, Inc.) was raised on a small grain farm outside of Atwood, Illinois. She and her family reside in her grand- mother's house, which was built in 1886. She was born in Tuscola, Illinois, on November 24, 1972, in Jarman Hospital. Utterback was and still is very active in 4-H and FFA. It was when she was seven that her father, Paul, asked her if she wanted to raise any livestock for 4-H. For some unknown reason, she chose chickens, even though she did not like eggs. Chickens were small and came is so many colors, shapes, and sizes. That is where her lifelong love and desire to work with poultry began. She is a 4-H leader in her home county today. Utterback and her husband, Chet, are both members of the National FFA Poultry CDE and raise all of the live birds for the Illinois State 4-H, Illinois State FFA Poultry CDE, National 4-H Poultry and Egg, and National FFA CDE contests at the University of Illinois Poultry Research Farm. Utterback attended the University of Illinois and graduated in 1997 with a BS in animal sciences. She had interned with Dekalb Poultry the previous summer and was offered a managerial job upon completion of her bachelor's degree. Utterback worked as the research manager at Dekalb Poultry for approximately five years before that company closed its doors. In 2002 Pam Utterback took a job as research specialist with Carl Parsons's nonruminant nutrition laboratory, primarily working with chicken nutrition, but also with husbandry, teaching, extension, and other research. She is still employed in this ever-changing position today. Pam married Chet Utterback in 1995. They welcomed their only child, a son, Harlen Wayne Utterback, in 1996. They are still married, and Harlen is attending college. Utterback donates blood whenever possible (every 56 days), as do her husband and son. Utterback is currently a member of the Poultry Science Association. She is also a member of the Piatt County Farm Bureau. Utterback is a State Certified Pullorum Typhoid Tester in Illinois. In 2006 some very active students at the University of Illinois asked why there was no club for "chicken people." That year the Illini Poultry Club was started. Pam and Chet Utterback are staff advisors for the club. Pam Utterback has put on numerous Poultry Clinics for 4-H and FFA members in Springfield, Danville, Arthur, and other towns around central Illinois. Utterback recently toured Cook County Prison's Chicken Flock as a requested poultry expert. The organic flock they had there was great and is a great way to teach inmates responsibility and where their food comes from. Pam Utterback received the CAPE (Chancellor's Academic Professional of Excellence) Award in 2011 from the University of Illinois.

Igal Pevzner
Cobb Vantress, Inc.   

Igal Pevzner (pictured right with Larry Brown, USPOULTRY) is a native of Israel. He received a BS in agriculture and an MS (with distinction) from Hebrew University. He then travelled to Iowa State University (1970–1980), where he received a PhD in animal breeding with minors in immunology and statistics under the direction of A. W. Nordskog. He remained several years at Iowa State University as a postdoc and a visiting professor. Pevzner credits his scientific accomplishments in the area of poultry genetics to Nordskog's great scientific leadership and brilliant mind. His research at Iowa State centered on breeding of layer chickens, and his major accomplishment was the identification of IR-GAT, an immune response gene with a powerful effect on general livability. This was the first time an immune gene was located inside B, the major histocompatibility complex of chickens. From 1980 to 1990 he worked as a broiler geneticist at Hubbard Farms with emphasis on developing female meat lines for a variety of traits. Pevzner joined Cobb, a division of Tyson Foods, in 1990, where he is still serving as broiler geneticist. He has been responsible for breeding commercial and experimental meat lines designed to meet the ever-changing needs of the poultry industry. In cooperation with USDA-ARS he developed a research program in innate immunity aimed at improving general disease resistance as opposed to resistance to a specific disease. He and his partners identified genetic markers associated with genetic resistance to several pathogens, which were used to develop an experimental line with improved resistance to Salmonella, Campylobacter spp., and coccidiosis among others. In the last several years, Igal Pevzner in cooperation with Bob Wideman from the University of Arkansas carried out research into the causes of lameness in heavy meat birds. They developed genetic and nutrition procedures to decrease incidence of bone lesions associated with lameness. These projects improved chicken health and welfare by reducing lameness and contributed to the success of Cobb products in the domestic and international markets. When Igal Pevzner started his studies in poultry genetics, he expected to spend his life in academia, but he found soon enough that working in industry developing products that customers are satisfied with leads to a highly satisfying career.

Alan L. Johnson
Pennsylvania State University

Alan Johnson (pictured right with Sergio R. Fernandez, PSA Board Liaison) received his undergraduate and master's degrees in zoology from the University of Vermont. He received his PhD in 1979 from the graduate program in physiology at Cornell University working in the Department of Poultry and Avian Science under the guidance of Ari van Tienhoven. Johnson stayed on at Cornell to complete a three-year postdoctoral program funded by a National Institutes of Health grant. He began his academic career in 1981 at Rutgers University in the Department of Animal Science, where he rose through the ranks to full professor. In 1993 he moved to the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, and in 2009 he relocated to the Department of Poultry Science (currently the Department of Animal Science) at Penn State University, where he holds the position of Walther H. Ott Professor in Avian Biology. His research has focused on ovarian function in the hen and, in particular, the regulation of ovarian follicle growth and differentiation. This work has been continuously supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, USDA Competitive Grants Program, Department of Defense, and National Science Foundation. The significance of these studies pertains to improving reproductive efficiency within the poultry industry, together with understanding unique evolutionary adaptations of reproductive processes between the avian and mammalian lineages. Johnson has authored or coauthored more than 130 research publications together with 10 book chapters. His primary teaching commitments have included lecture and laboratory courses on comparative and integrative physiology, vertebrate biology, and reproductive physiology. Johnson was the recipient of the Shilts-Leonard Teaching Award for the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame in 2004. In addition, he has mentored 7 Master's and 7 PhD-degree students, together with 9 postdoctoral research associates. To date, each PhD he has mentored has gone on to assume a research or teaching career in academia. Johnson previously served as program chair for the 1989 PSA annual meetings and as an associate editor of Poultry Science, and he currently serves as a section editor for Physiology and Reproduction.

T. Pearse Lyons
Alltech, Inc.

T. Pearse Lyons (pictured left with Randolph D. Mitchell, Award Committee Chair) is the founder and president of Alltech, a top 10 animal health company that employs 3,500 people and conducts business in 128 countries. Founded in 1980 with $10,000 capital, the company has grown to annual sales of $1 billion. Lyons is widely recognized as an innovative industry leader. His scientific expertise, combined with an acute business sense, helped revolutionize the animal feed industry through the introduction of natural ingredients to feed. Now in its fourth decade of business, Alltech improves the health and performance of people, animals, and plants through natural nutrition and scientific innovation. Alltech has been the supporter of the Student Manuscript Awards at the Poultry Science Association and the Southern Poultry Science Society. Alltech supports students in science throughout the world through internships and graduate assistantships. Dr. and Mrs. Lyons have renovated, updated, and stocked seven state-of-the-art science laboratories in local elementary schools. Alltech's Innovation Competition encourages teams of students to prepare forward- thinking business plans on innovative ideas in food and agribusiness, with the winning team awarded $10,000 to help commercialize their idea. The Alltech Young Scientist Award brings together the world's brightest scientific thinkers from colleges and universities. The Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition consists of international students competing in an opera performance to win prizes and scholarship money totaling $500,000 to attend the University of Kentucky Opera Theater program. Lyons received his bachelor's degree from University College, Dublin, Ireland, and obtained his master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Birmingham, England. He later worked as a biochemist for Irish Distillers. He has authored more than 20 books and numerous research papers. Lyons was acknowledged as leading one of the top 100 fastest-growing high-tech companies by World Trade Magazine. He has been awarded numerous honorary doctorates. In 2012 Lyons was named Business Person of the Year by Business and Finance, was honored as one of Irish America's Business 100, and received the prestigious Ireland–United States Council Award for Outstanding Achievement. In 2013 he was once again named to Irish America's Business 100 and was selected to receive the Commander's Award for Public Service. He was also given the Gold Medal for Industry and Commerce, the Royal Dublin Society's flagship award. Lyons continues to serve on the editorial board of Critical Reviews in Biotechnology and was named in 2014 to the editorial board of the Journal of the Institute of Brewing. Lyons is committed to international equestrian sport, beginning with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky, which was attended by more than half a million spectators and joined by another 500 million television viewers. Lyons's leadership in the historic event led to his receipt of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's first-ever Legacy Award in 2011.

Xi Chen
Purdue University

Xi Chen (Xixi) (pictured left with Paulo J. Rigolin, Alltech, Inc.) was born and raised in Sichuan, China. With both of her parents being animal nutrition professors, Chen's interest in animal sciences started early and has been growing ever since. Chen came to the United States in 2008 and received her BS in animal sciences from Purdue University in 2010. She went on to further her education at the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign and earned an MS in animal sciences under the supervision of Carl Parsons in May 2012. The focus of her master's work was the nutritional evaluation of novel soybean meals and canola meals in poultry. Chen joined Todd Applegate's laboratory at Purdue University in August 2012 to pursue a PhD in poultry nutrition. Her research focuses on the interactive effects and mechanisms of aflatoxin and dietary modifications on performance, liver function, and intestinal health in poultry. She is also exploring a novel in vitro model using duck fibroblasts to screen feed toxicity for domestic animals. Chen is an active member of the Graduate Student Association at the Purdue animal science department, and she also serves as the Midwest regional ambassador of the PSA Hatchery. Chen is expecting to complete her PhD in the spring of 2016; she plans to pursue a career in the global poultry industry upon graduation.

Prafulla Regmi
Michigan State University

Prafulla Regmi (pictured right with Michael E. Persia, Award Committee Chair) is a veterinary graduate from Nepal. He completed his bachelor's degree in veterinary science and animal husbandry from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science in 2010. After graduating he had a brief stint as a veterinary surgeon at a street-dog charity working in Nepal before joining the Government of Nepal as a veterinary quarantine officer for six months. Regmi is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University, undertaking multiple studies examining the influence of housing systems on structural, compositional, and mechanical properties of bones in laying hens. He moved to Michigan State University in spring 2012 and started his PhD studying skeletal issues in poultry under the mentorship of Darrin Karcher. His thesis project will be completed in fall 2015 and is titled "The Influence of Housing System on Bone Properties in Laying Hens." The project involved examination of compositional, structural, and biomechanical properties of bones when egg-type chickens are housed in different commercial housing systems with exposure to varied levels of activity and space.