2021 Awards Archive

Huazhong Agricultural University

Dr. Xi Huang is the director of the Department of Food Nutrition and Health, at Huazhong Agricultural University, and a member of the council of the Animal Products Processing Committee of China and Asian Egg Association. She has been working as a member of the National Research and Development Center for Egg Processing and Egg Research Center at Huazhong Agricultural University. Her main research accomplishments include the mechanisms of phosvitin and phosphopeptides on bone mineralization and development, antibacterial mechanism of ovomucin, and purification, characterization, and utilization of egg white, yolk, and eggshell membrane proteins. Her current work has important implications for the egg industry for adding values and the utilization of eggs beyond the foods. She has published 43 peer-reviewed original publications, granted 7 Chinese patents and one US patent, received 11 research grants from provincial and central government and egg companies, and received 6 awards from the university, local government, and scientific associations. She also has been actively collaborating and helping the egg industry in China.

The American Egg Board Research Award is given to the recipient who has increased the interest in research pertaining to all things related to eggs. This could include areas related to egg production, safety, product quality, or egg science technology. This is an annual award.

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

Sergio was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil and has bachelor in Agronomy and a master’s degree in Animal Sciences, both from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. His doctorate is from Auburn University, Alabama, with a major concentration in poultry nutrition. After receiving his doctorate in 1999. Sergio has been a professor at Departament of Zootechnics since 1993 at UFRGS. He had a Post Doctoral training at Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland later in 2001. He was head of his Department for two years (2000 to 2002).

He has taught 10 university courses; some being designed by him. He currently teaches Poultry Production at the undergraduate level. He teaches Vitamin metabolism, Poultry Reproduction and Seminar, which is held in English so Brazilian students get a preparation for international presentations. He has had conducted many projects integrated with the poultry industry targeting focal problems. His Graduate projects are permanently preparing students for the poultry producing companies around the world, which led to the presence of dozens of these egresses as leaders in poultry companies in a large diversity of countries nowadays. He is recognized as a leader in mineral requirements as well as in broiler carcass quality. He has published over 135 articles and mentored 46 graduate students in poultry nutrition and production. He has published two books and has been an invited speaker in over 200 international venues in over 55 countries. He is presently Director of the Poultry Science Association and serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Poultry Research. He also served in a diversity of boards and committees in other areas as a representative of is Department, such as in the council of the Porto Alegre ZOO as well as at the National Council of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA).

This award is given to recognize distinctive work demonstrating sound research in poultry nutrition in the last 10 years. This is an annual award.

The Ohio State University

After completing her Ph.D. studying poultry microbiology, health, and antibiotic alternatives at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Bielke joined research program at a biotechnology company developing technologies for detection of foodborne pathogens and intervention strategies to reduce microbial load on fresh foods. In 2011 Dr. Bielke moved to the University of Arkansas where she began a research program as a Research Assistant Professor at the Poultry Health Laboratory in the Department of Poultry Science studying vaccines and enteric health assays. In 2015, Lisa began a position at Ohio State University as Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2020.

Dr. Bielke’s Poultry Enteric Health Research Laboratory (PEHRL) primarily focuses on enteric diseases including coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis, and the influence of pioneer colonizing bacteria on innate immune responses and inflammation with a goal of decreasing disease burden on commercial poultry production. Additional projects at PEHRL include prevention of enterococcal spondylitis and ante mortem control of food pathogens, which includes projects developing recombinant vaccine technologies, probiotics selection, and development of tools and assays for assessment of gastrointestinal inflammation with a goal of providing means of producing poultry in a sustainable manner that promotes health and well-being while increasing profitability. Her laboratory team works with major international companies in the poultry industry to determine effectiveness of feed additives against health threats, understand the mechanisms of action, and develop strategies to prevent disease in broilers and turkeys.

As a result of her research collaborations, advanced recombinant vaccine and adjuvant technologies for control of multiple poultry diseases are currently under international license for commercialization and have resulted in numerous US and international patents. These vaccines promote mucosal immunity for hard-to-treat diseases such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Eimeria, avian influenza, and necrotic enteritis in which mucosal immunity is of primary importance to prevent infection. In combination with adjuvant technologies, these vaccines can be administered orally, making them more accessible and affordable to broiler and turkey production. Additionally, Dr. Bielke has played a major role in the development of enteric inflammation models in order to better understand the effects of antibiotic growth promoters, probiotics, and other feed additives on the health and performance of poultry. This emerging area of research is an essential component of flock performance as antibiotic growth promoters are phased out of production and producers seek methods of improving feed efficiencies while improving animal well-being. Complimentary to enteric inflammation assays, research from Dr. Bielke’s lab has demonstrated the importance of pioneer colonizing bacteria in shaping the microbiota and immune system in poultry. While managing these major research projects, Lisa has also remained involved in collaborative projects across multiple universities, ones that began during her graduate studies, that focus on selection of functional probiotics to improve health and performance of poultry flocks. These have resulted in multiple successful commercial products that are sold to poultry producers world-wide.

Lisa is also service oriented in her career and is a current member of the PSA Board of Trustees, and section editor for Poultry Science, a member of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, a member of the OSU College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, the College Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and the Animal Sciences Graduate Studies Committee. In the past, she has served as president of the Southern Conference on Avian Diseases and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Poultry Science Association Foundation. She was awarded the Poultry Science Association Early Achievement Award and the Arkansas Biosciences Institute Early Investigator Award in 2014, the Hy-Line International Research Award in 2016, and the Novus Outstanding Scholar Award in 2018. Service on student committees. Lisa has served on 30 graduate and undergraduate advisory committees, 12 of which are students from her laboratory.

The Evonik Corporation award is an annual award given as an achievement award, i.e., for distinctive contributions to poultry science advancement, covering a period of not more than seven years preceding the annual award.

Texas A&M University

Dr. Gregory Archer born and raised in Maryland received his BS in Animal and Poultry Sciences from Virginia Polytechnic and State University in 2000. He then when on to receive a MS and PhD in Animal Science from Texas A&M University in 2002 and 2005, respectively. His graduate work focused on stress physiology and animal welfare in a variety of animals ranging from sheep to horses to elephants and tigers. Following graduation, he worked briefly for an animal welfare non-profit organization Food Animal Concerns Trust. He then worked as a post doc under Joy Mench at UC Davis for several years where he helped run research projects in poultry including ducks. He than obtained a USDA research grant which allowed him to self-fund himself for several years as a Research Scientists at UC Davis. During this time, he conducted his own research while continuing to help manage Dr. Mench’s lab. In 2012 he was hired as an Assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University. Since joining the faculty at Texas A&M he has conducted research with ducks, turkeys, laying hens, broiler breeders, and broiler chickens. He has investigated the effects of environmental and nutritional manipulation on animal welfare, production, and health. He has also investigated methods to improve hatchability and chick/duckling quality. His applied research program changes as the needs of the poultry industry change. He aims to help the industry not only in Texas but the rest of world as well..

This award is given to stimulate and reward research with ducks and improve the knowledge base of science as applied to commercial duck production. This research should be for a period of not more than 10 years preceding the presentation of the award.

University of Arkansas

Kidd has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas in poultry science. His doctorate is from North Carolina State University, with a major concentration in nutrition and a minor in immunology. After receiving his doctorate in 1994, Kidd became research manager and then director at Nutri-Quest, Inc., in St. Louis, Missouri. Kidd joined the Mississippi State University faculty in 1999 and headed the poultry science department there from 2007 to 2010. He joined the University of Arkansas in January 2010 to head the poultry science department and direct the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, and towards the end of 2019 he returned to faculty with the position as professor, and in 2020, he was named holder of the Adisseo Endowed Professorship in Global Sustainable Poultry Nutrition.

He has designed and taught twelve university courses. He currently teaches Integrated Poultry Systems Management, and team taches Layer Production. He is recognized as an authority on amino acids in poultry nutrition and has published over 450 articles and mentored 45 graduate students in the area of poultry nutrition and health. He has been an invited speaker in over 100 international venues in over 45 countries. He is a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association and served as the Poultry Science Association president in 2012 and 2013. And in 2014, he was recognized as The Poultry Federation industry leader of the year.

The National Chicken Council Broiler Research Award recognizes distinctive research work that has a strong economic impact on the broiler industry, primarily on the economic influence the work has had or will have on the industry. It is an annual award.

University of Georgia

With no experience in poultry, Drew took an elective course, Introduction to Poultry Science (POUL 2020), his sophomore year at UGA. Taking this course was impactful for not only developing his interest in poultry, but the professors in UGA’s Department of Poultry Science demonstrated the positive influence effective teaching and mentoring can have on students. Encouraged and inspired by the department’s professors, he went on to receive both his BSA (2002) and Ph.D. (2006) in poultry science from UGA. He then spent two years at Emory University as a postdoctoral fellow in the NIH FIRST program. Drew joined the faculty at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) as an assistant professor of biology in 2008. After 8 years of teaching at GGC, Drew was ecstatic to accept the opportunity to not only return to UGA but to teach the course that inspired his decision to pursue a career in academia and poultry.

Since joining the faculty at UGA’s Department of Poultry Science, he has taught several courses and teaches both POUL 2020 and POUL 4200/6200 (Avian Anatomy and Physiology) each Fall and Spring semester. Knowing firsthand the impact of effective teaching, Drew seizes the opportunity to mentor and enthusiastically teach poultry at UGA. Since his arrival, he has won the student voted departmental teaching award each year it has been offered, but more importantly to Drew, he has inspired students to pursue poultry science as a major and career.

Outside of his teaching, Drew’s research focus is to use both applied and basic research approaches to improve fertility in commercial poultry. .

This award is given to recognize that excellence in teaching is basic to the future welfare of the poultry industry and to aid continued professional improvement through travel, study, and other means. This is an annual award.

North Carolina State University

Dr. Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University. He received his Veterinary degree from the University of Tolima in Colombia. Edgar obtained his M.S. in Animal Nutrition and Production in Brazil at the State University of Maringa, Ph.D. in Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, and in 2018 an MBA from NC State University. Dr. Oviedo has experience in the poultry industry as Veterinarian, Nutritionist, Extension Specialist, and Consultant in 27 countries. Dr. Oviedo’s responsibilities include extension and research in broiler, broiler breeder nutrition and management, incubation, and data analytics. His extension programs include courses, demonstrations and applied research in commercial facilities. The extension courses are related to broiler production, incubation, and data analytics. His research activities are related to feed ingredient quality and processing, evaluation of feed additives specially enzymes, mineral metabolism, intestinal health, avian bone and muscle development and its impacts on locomotion and meat quality, incubation effects, and applications of data analytics and computer models. Dr. Oviedo is author or co-author of 97 peer-review publications in Scientific Journals, 307 Proceedings of International Meetings, 272 abstracts of presentations in Scientific Meetings of National and International level, 85 popular press articles, and seven book chapters..

This award is given to recognize PSA members for conducting an outstanding program of work in the area of poultry extension and outreach during a five-year period. This is an annual award.

Auburn University

Dianna Bourassa is an assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Poultry Science at Auburn University. She earned her BS and MS degrees in Poultry Science and her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Georgia. Prior to starting her appointment at Auburn University, Dianna worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service in the Poultry Microbiological Safety and Processing Research Unit in Athens, GA. Her current applied research topic areas are based on needs identified through her extension programming and include alternative methods for euthanasia of large birds, the impact of stunning methods on bird physiology and product quality, and effects of primary processing parameters on carcass microbiology. Dianna’s extension activities include working with the commercial poultry processing industry, as well as educating youth and small flock owners about poultry processing and food safety. She is an active member of PSA and WPSA and currently serves on the PSA nominating committee, the PSA committee on food safety, and is a subject editor for JAPR and associate editor for Poultry Science.

This award recognizes the achievements of PSA members in the early stages of their career in poultry extension. It is given every other year.

Novus, International

Vivek Kuttappan, Ph.D., is a research scientist at Novus International, Inc., which develops, manufactures, and commercializes health as well as nutrition solutions for the animal agriculture industry. Throughout his career, Dr. Kuttappan has provided valuable contributions to the poultry industry in two specific areas: 1) broiler meat quality - reducing poultry carcass quality defects such as myopathies, and 2) poultry gut health - improving gut health in broilers, thereby reducing economic loss to poultry producers. Dr. Kuttappan holds patent for a novel molecule to improve gut health in broilers and has participated in 95 scientific publications, including 38 peer-reviewed journal articles as well as 57 abstracts cited by researchers worldwide. He has received several awards for his research work. As a subject expert in solving poultry meat quality challenges, he has served as invited speaker to the industry as well as in academia settings, globally. Dr. Kuttappan continues to collaborate with academia to solve gut health threats in antibiotic-free production as a research partner in various projects investigating non-antibiotic strategies to control necrotic enteritis, coccidiosis, and Salmonella. He has been an active member of Poultry Science Association since 2009 and currently serves as editorial board member and reviewer for scientific journals. Dr. Kuttappan received his doctorate in poultry science from Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, and a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in veterinary science from Kerala Agricultural University, India..

This award recognizes the achievements of PSA members in the early stages of their career in the poultry industry. It is given every other year.

University of Georgia

Jessica Fife, a Hoschton, GA native, has served as the University of Georgia Department of Poultry Science’s Outreach Coordinator since August 2016. Here, she leads the department’s recruitment initiatives, student affairs, marketing and communication efforts, alumni relations, and more. She is responsible for 19 student workers and an agricultural communications intern, and has promoted undergraduate possibilities in the department to over 11,000 middle and high school students across the nation to date. In addition, Jessica created Georgia’s first poultry science curriculum for high school agriculture education classrooms. She tirelessly aims to educate consumers, amplify undergraduate opportunities, and disseminate the importance of the poultry industry and world-renown work of her peers in the poultry science department.

Jessica received her B.A.S. in Diversified Agriculture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and her Masters in Agricultural & Environmental Education from UGA. She is now pursuing a PhD in Agricultural Leadership, Education, & Communication from UGA. When the opportunity for spare time arises, she enjoys reading, hiking, and taking her rescued dachshund Albert on adventures. .

This award recognizes an individual who, through the use of innovative methods, has significantly improved the recruiting program of a respective department, college, or university. This award is given every other year.

University of Georgia

Lorraine Fuller , Research Professional, University of Georgia, Athens GA, has worked at the University since 1976. She was working in developmental biology and genetics after her undergraduate degree, and became interested in parasitology by way of Jerry Paulin and Barclay McGee who introduced her to chickens as hosts of some pretty interesting and costly parasites. Following this lead, she found a lab headed by Larry McDougald in Poultry Science at UGA. After that, the opportunity to work with Malcomb Reid, Larry McDougald, Joyce Johnson, Peter Long, and Greg Mathis, to name a few fell into place. Her Masters and PhD work was on the mechanisms of site finding and penetration by Eimeria of host cells. After completing her PhD in 1999, she remained at UGA to finish prior work by Peter Long and Joyce Johnson on an attenuated vaccine for coccidiosis. Working with the sponsorship of Merial/Select labs she became a pivotal part of the team that successfully formulated a viable live attenuated vaccine for the poultry industry, HatchPak III/V. As part of this effort, she also became interested in immunomodulation of the vaccine response using chemical extracts of natural plant products as immunomodulators.

Over time, she has been responsible for designing, performing, and analyzing battery, floor-pen and in-vitro studies to determine the efficacy of many types of products used for the control and chemotherapy of coccidiosis and histomoniasis in different host species. One of her research interests has been to define the relationship between E. maxima isolates from field strains, and their interaction with the host. Recently she has begun to work in developing testing protocols and reagents for FDA approval of active compounds for treatment of ascariasis and helmenthiasis in poultry.

She has helped more than 30 graduate students on their research, is author and co-author on 49 papers, and holds 2 patents.

This award acknowledges the contributions by support personnel and to recognize outstanding support of research, extension, or teaching programs in poultry science. This is an annual award.

University of Maryland

Dr. Roselina Angel received her Ph.D. in Poultry Nutrition from Iowa State University. She worked as a Research Manager at Purina Mills for 9 years after which she joined the University of Maryland, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences. Her current position is Professor of mono gastric nutrition with responsibilities for research and extension. She served as Co-editor of the nutrition section of the Journal of Applied Poultry Research from 2009 to 2011 and four 2-year terms as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Poultry Science and a as member of the Poultry Science Association’s Board of Directors. She has been a member of the program committee for the Poultry Science’s Informal Nutrition Conference since1998 and now Co-chairs this conference. She has been a panel member for USDA’s National Research Initiative competitive grants program and an Ad Hoc reviewer for USDA-NRI, the Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, and other funding agencies. Dr. Angel has published seven book chapters, 170 articles in refereed journals and more than 250 abstracts. Since 2000 she has given more than 300 invited presentations both in the USA as well as internationally. In 2002 she was named to the Committee on Animal Nutrition (CAN), at that time the only standing committee of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Angel has been the recipient of several awards including the National Chicken Council, Broiler Research Award and the American Feed Industries Poultry Nutrition Award and the Merrill Scholar Faculty Advisor award. She was named a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association in 2016.

Dr. Angel’s recent focus has also been on improvement in phosphorus nutrition through optimizing calcium use as well as in optimizing tools to maximize economic nutrient conversion efficiency. Her research has had a direct measurable impact on water and air quality and the environmental and economic sustainability of the poultry industry.

This award recognizes distinctive, outstanding contributions by an industry leader or leaders based upon a broad, even nonscientific, contribution to the poultry industry.

University of Guelph

George Hall started his academic journey at the University of British Columbia where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. After this he moved to Saskatoon and completed a Master’s at the University of Saskatchewan within their Veterinary Biomedical Science department. There he studied gonad transplantation and vitrification using the domestic turkey. Now he is studying at the University of Guelph’s Animal Biosciences department under the supervision of Dr. Gregoy Bedecarrats, where he has continued his research studying ovarian transplantation in the turkey. George has been attending the annual poultry science meeting since 2014, and has enjoyed his experience and the ability to network with researchers from around the world. In 2019 he won a certificate of excellence, and the Aviagen turkeys communication award.

This award is given to a graduate student for the presentation and publication as senior author of an outstanding research manuscript in Poultry Science® or The Journal of Applied Poultry Research.

The Pennsylvania State University

Joshua Cassar is a PhD candidate at The Pennsylvania State University majoring in Animal Science with a focus on food safety for meat and poultry processing. Josh previously completed both his B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science at Penn State and served as a production manager with Bell & Evans (Fredericksburg, PA). Josh’s graduate research has investigated the use of pulsed ultraviolet light as a decontamination intervention for chicken, petfood, shell eggs, and food contact surfaces. Josh plans on defending his dissertation and graduating this summer, 2021, and will seek employment in food safety management for the meat and safety industries or with a regulatory agency.

This award is given to a graduate student whose training and research in applied poultry sciences may lead to improvements in efficiency and profitability of the egg industry; particularly research that has the potential to have a positive financial impact on the egg industry.