2019 Awards Archive

University of Nebraska

Dr. Sheila E. Purdum is a Professor and Extension Poultry Specialist at the University of Nebraska who conducts applied research on the subjects of laying hen and pullet nutrition. Her paper “Limestone particle size fed to pullets influences subsequent bone integrity of hens” was the particular research paper published in Poultry Science in 2018 for which this award is presented. This was a significant paper as it documented how limestone sources fed to laying hens in cage vs. aviary cages affects long term welfare of the hen and bone integrity. Dr. Purdum has been conducting nutrition studies in laying hens and pullets for over 30 years and has previously received the Poultry Science Helene Cecil Leadership Award, the AFIA Nutrition Research Award and has also served the Poultry Science Association as a Director and as a Journal Section Editor. Dr. Purdum enjoys working with youth in 4-H and new producers as well as advising graduate students for future careers in the Poultry Industry.

The American Egg Board Research Award is given to increase the interest in research pertaining to egg science technology or marketing that has a bearing on egg or spent hen utilization. The award is given to an author for a manuscript published in Poultry Science’ or The Journal of Applied Poultry Research during the preceding year.

North Carolina State University

Dr. Peter Ferket earned a BS and a MS in Animal and Poultry Science under the supervision of Ed Moran at the University of Guelph. In 1987, he received a PhD degree in animal nutrition from Iowa State University under the supervision of Jerry Sell. His MS thesis and PhD dissertation were related to the feed formulation and feeding practices of turkey breeders and market turkeys, respectfully. In 1988, Dr. Ferket joined the Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University as the Extension Poultry Nutritionist and is now responsible for research, extension education, and teaching related to nutrition and feed manufacturing. He also serves as the Director of the Animal Food and Nutrition Consortium and Associate Head of the Prestage Department of Poultry Science. He has devoted much of his extension and research efforts on nutritional factors that affect growth and health of meat poultry. He is recognized for his work on how pro-nutrient feed additives, feed formulation, feed manufacturing, and co-product feed ingredients affect digestibility and nutrient utilization, skeletal development and immune function, enteric health, and the yield and quality of meat. His teaching activities include on vitamin metabolism, mineral metabolism, poultry nutrition, feed mill management, ingredient quality control, and feed formulation. Dr. Ferket is a frequent conference speaker and has authored over 600 publications and 9 patents and invention disclosures.

This award is given for distinctive work demonstrating sound research in poultry nutrition in the last 10 years.

University of Arkansas

Dr. Ricke received his BS and MS from the University of Illinois, and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. He became a USDA-ARS postdoctorate in the Microbiology Dept. at North Carolina State University, then joined the Poultry Science Dept. at Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor (1992), Associate Professor (1998), and Professor (2004) and joined the Graduate Faculties of both Food Science and Technology and Nutrition. In 2005 he became the first holder of the new Donald “Buddy” Wray Endowed Chair in Food Safety and UA Center for Food Safety Director at the University of Arkansas as well as a faculty member of the Dept. of Food Science and the Cellular and Molecular Graduate program.

Overall Dr. Ricke has emphasized foodborne Salmonella ecology from the farm to the processing plant and genetic mechanisms employed by this pathogen to survive these highly variable environments. His group has used this to devise preharvest and postharvest prevention strategies that better anticipate potential survival of Salmonella during food production and processing. Dr. Ricke has also used next generation sequencing approaches to develop a better understanding of the interaction of the microbiome with pathogens in the avian gastrointestinal tract and to evaluate feed additives such as prebiotics. Simultaneously, he is using these sequencing techniques to develop more comprehensive microbial characterization of the poultry processing plant and to introduce the concept of microbiome assessment of microbial population changes occurring during individual steps of poultry processing.

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.

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Ming Xie is an associate professor of duck nutrition at the Institute of Animal Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Xie received his BS degree in broiler nutrition from Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China, in 2000. Xie also earned MS degree in duck nutrition from Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China, in 2003. During this period, he met Shuisheng Hou from Institute of Animal Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences who has become his lifelong guide to duck research. In 2003, Xie entered Shuisheng Hou’s laboratory to continue his study in duck nutrition and got PhD degree from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2007. Afterwards, He finished his two-year postdoctoral research on duck nutrition as an assistant professor at China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. In 2009, Xie accepted a faculty position as an assistant professor in duck nutrition at the Institute of Animal Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. He was then promoted to associate professor in duck nutrition in 2014. From 2015 to 2016, Xie had successfully completed the Purdue visiting scholar program on poultry (including ducks) nutrition.

Xie’s research interest mainly focused on nutrient requirements and animal production and management of modern White Pekin ducks and he has been engaged in duck research for more than 10 years. Through dose-response trials, he obtained many nutrient requirements for Pekin ducks (including energy, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals) in order to provide a valuable guideline to duck diet formulation and he also successfully developed the low-protein diet of starter and growing Pekin ducks to markedly reduce nitrogen excretion in duck production. In addition, he conducted research on duck production and management (such as stocking density and rearing temperature) in order to improve animal welfare of modern duck production. In the past ten years, he has authored or coauthored about 30 papers on duck nutrition and production in peer-reviewed recognized English journals including including Poultry Science, British Poultry Science, and Animal Feed Science and Technology.

The Maple Leaf Farms Duck Research 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.

California Polytechnic State University

Dr. Ike Kang is an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at California Polytechnic State University. He received his BS from Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, his MS from California State University at Fresno, and his PhD from Texas A & M University. Following graduation, Dr. Kang held a postdoctoral fellow position at North Carolina State University and joined Kraft/Oscar Mayer Foods in 2000.

Recently, Dr. Kang developed a proprietary broiler chilling method after testing various subzero chilling temperatures in numerous saline solutions at Cal Poly. This year, after receiving an intensive training course in the 2018 California State University Innovation Corps, Dr. Kang’s research idea and entrepreneurship concept was approved for national competition in 2019. While at Texas A&M University, Dr. Kang compared the effects of electrical stunning and carbon dioxide stunning on animal welfare and broiler carcass quality. The results of his research on bleed-out efficiency, carcass damage, rigor mortis development, and textural quality provided the poultry industry with a stepping-stone for the development of current gas stunning. At North Carolina State University and Kraft/Oscar Mayer Foods, he conducted patent-granted research and significantly improved protein content, product quality, and shelf-life of the mechanically deboned poultry meat by reducing heme, fat, and blood through his unique water-washing/protein-recovering technique. At Michigan State University, Dr. Kang conducted a series of research projects on bacterial attachment, detachment, and quantification on broiler carcasses. Ike is the author/coauthor of 38 peer-reviewed articles, 4 book chapters, and 4 patents, with 45 conference presentations and 32 invited national and international presentations. His research has been recognized with numerous awards including the National Turkey Federation Research Award in 2018 and an ABCD (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty) Award in 2007, Spark Awards (2002, 03, 06), and the Be My Guest Award in 2003 at Oscar Mayer Foods.

The Broiler Research Award, instituted by the National Chicken Council, is given for distinctive research work that has a strong economic impact on the broiler industry. Research may be conducted in any major discipline and is evaluated primarily on the economic influence the work has had or will have on the industry. The award is given for research published in the preceding five calendar years.

University of Saskatchewan

Karen Schwean-Lardner completed her PhD in poultry management and welfare from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012, studying the impact of lighting programs on broiler welfare and production, under the supervision of Hank Classen. She joined the faculty at the University of Saskatchewan in the summer of 2014. Karen currently is teaching poultry science and animal behaviour in both the College of Agriculture and Resources and Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.

This award is provided to recognize that excellence in teaching is basic to the future welfare of the poultry industry. It is given to a member who, over several years, has demonstrated outstanding success as a teacher. This award is considered to be not only recognition for past contributions but also as an aid to continued professional improvement through travel, study, and other means.

University of Kentucky

Jacqueline Jacob is a Poultry Extension Project Manager at the University of Kentucky. She is a native of Canada and received her BSc, MS, and PhD degrees from the University of British Columbia. While her PhD is from UBC, she completed her doctoral research at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. After completing her BSc degree, Jacob spent four and a half years working on a poultry project in Mozambique, Africa. After completing her PhD, she completed a joint post-doc with the Universities of British Columbia and Alberta looking at reducing nitrogen and phosphorus excretion from commercial swine and poultry. Jacob then moved to the United States, working first at the University of Florida followed by University of Minnesota. She has been at the University of Kentucky for the last eleven years where she has specialized in small and backyard flocks as well as 4-H youth poultry programming. Jacob is involved with the electronic cooperative extension service, known as e-extension, conducting national extension programming in small and backyard poultry flocks.

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

Purdue University

Marisa Erasmus is an assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University. She received her BS and MS degrees from the University of Guelph in Canada and her PhD from Michigan State University. Before starting her career at Purdue University, Marisa worked on a commercial turkey farm and for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Since then, Marisa’s applied research has focused on developing animal-based measures of welfare for laying hens, turkeys and ducks and examining the effects of environmental and management factors on poultry welfare. In addition to her involvement with the commercial poultry industry, her extension and outreach activities are aimed at educating the public about animal welfare.

This award is given to recognize the achievements of PSA members in the early stages of their careers in poultry-related extension work.

Biomin America Inc.

Raj Murugesan is the Technical Officer of BIOMIN, responsible for research activities, product development, and managing technical services. Raj is a Veterinarian by training, earned an MBA in Marketing, and a PhD in Nutritional Physiology from Iowa State University. He has 18 years of research and technical service experience in the livestock industry worldwide. He has been a panelist, keynote speaker, lecturer, reviewer to several journals, and is the author of numerous publications, technical articles and reports.

Raj was awarded the Maurice-Stein Fellowship in 2013 by the Poultry Science Association and the United Egg Producers of USA, for developing an in-vivo research model to evaluate the energy metabolism in laying hens. His current research primarily focuses on the effects of stressors such as pathogens, endotoxins, and mycotoxins on the intestinal integrity and energy metabolism of food animals.

This award is given to recognize the achievements of PSA members in the early stages of their careers in poultry-related industry work.

Mississippi State University

Dr. Jessica Wells received her BS and MS degrees in Poultry Science at Mississippi State University in 2006 and 2009, respectively. She joined the faculty of the Poultry Science Department as an Extension Instructor following the completion of her Master’s degree in 2009. She is currently a Teaching/Extension Instructor, and recently completed her doctoral degree in poultry science with focus on poultry-related activities and their effectiveness in recruiting strategies. She is the instructor of record for the introductory course, Commercial Poultry Production. She recently co-developed and co-teaches a General Education course approved for the Social Science & Behavior category entitled, “Animal Agriculture and Society,” designed primarily for non-Ag majors to dispel myths of animal protein production and provide evidence-based accurate information, while allowing open discussion of diverse viewpoints. She serves as the undergraduate advisor for all poultry science majors; and has primary responsibility for all recruiting activities. Together with another faculty member, she co-advises the poultry science club and co-coaches the collegiate judging teams.

This award is to acknowledge an individual who, through the use of innovative methods, has significantly improved the recruiting program of a respective department, college, or university.

Michigan State University

Dr. Cara Robison received her BS degree from Truman State University in Biology. Then she attended University of Kentucky and earned her MS in Animal Science under Dr. Laurie Lawrence. In 2000, she was hired as a research technician in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University to work primarily with horses. In 2005, she began to work for Dr. Mike Orth and completed her PhD under his guidance while she continued to work full time. In 2008, Cara began working for Dr. Darrin Karcher as his research technician when he began his research program at Michigan State University. In 2010, Cara was awarded the Omega Protein Innovation research award for her PhD research. Cara has assisted with applied research projects focusing on laying hen nutrition, welfare and well-being, egg production, egg quality, and egg safety. She has also worked with duck and turkey gait analysis, and bone health in broilers and turkeys. She is instrumental in creating relational databases for real-time data collection and analysis for all laying hen and broiler projects. She manages the iPads and the database server at the MSU Poultry Farm and is responsible for sample and statistical analysis. She has assisted over 20 graduate students with their research projects and helped design and conduct numerous undergraduate research projects. She has authored 13 and coauthored more than 30 scientific articles.

This award is to acknowledge the long-term (5+ years) contributions by support personnel and to recognize outstanding support of research, extension, or teaching programs in poultry science.

Auburn University

Dr. Bilgili became Professor Emeritus at the Department of Poultry Science at Auburn University in 2015 after serving 30 years as a faculty member. He currently serves as the Interim Department Head at his alma mater. His research and extension efforts uniquely bridged the production and processing phases of the broiler production system to include: slaughter and processing technology and efficiency; product wholesomeness and condemnations; meat quality and yield; food safety and HACCP programs; and animal welfare. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles in scientific and trade journals and continues to consult and speak at many national and international venues. Dr. Bilgili served as the President of the Poultry Science Association, Southern Poultry Science Society, and USA Branch of the World’s Poultry Science Association, as a Vice President of the WPSA and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Animal Science Societies. Sarge’s work was recognized by the Sigma Xi Research Award (1985); Alabama Poultry and Egg Association Distinguished Service (1992) and Appreciation Award (1995); National Broiler Council Broiler Research Award (1996); Pfizer Extension Award (2000); WPSA Education Award (2000); PSA Poultry Products Research Award (2003); and US Poultry Foundation Charles Beard Research Excellence Award (2015). Dr. Bilgili was recognized in 2011 as a Fellow of the PSA.

This USPOULTRY Distinguished Poultry Industry Career Award is an annual award donated to the Poultry Science Association Foundation by USPOULTRY on behalf of the award recipient. It is given to recognize distinctive, outstanding contributions by an industry leader or leaders. The award shall be based upon a broad, even nonscientific, contribution to the poultry industry.

North Carolina State University

Hsiao-Ching Liu is currently a professor in the Department of Animal Science at North Carolina State University. Dr. Liu is a geneticist by training and she received her PhD degree in genetics from Michigan State University. Liu’s research is focused on functional genomics in agricultural animals. Her research emphasis has been on applying genomic and proteomic approaches to define the regulatory mechanisms of growth and development and immunological responses to virus-induced diseases. Liu is one of the leading pioneers in the field of microRNA regulation of development and disease in poultry. With funding support from USDA NIFA AFRI programs, her group studies microRNA-mediated regulation of immunological responses to Marek’s disease virus (MDV) and energy metabolism during the metabolic switch. Her work to uncover the manipulation of host gene expression by MDV and the host’s counter immune response has led to the discovery of novel post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of poultry immunity and response to vaccination. Her work in understanding the underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms of the metabolic switch in broilers has unraveled a complex transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory system which is triggered by nutritional and physiological cues to facilitate this metabolic transition. With the most recent USDA grants awarded to Liu and her colleagues, they have embarked on identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying physiological responses to heat stress in chickens and are also using cutting edge genomics and proteomics approaches to investigate the molecular basis, including transcription factors and microRNAs, for egg production rates in turkey hens. Liu has served on several USDA and NSF peer review grant panels. She is currently serving as a section editor of Poultry Science. She is the recipient of 2008 PSA Early Achievement Award for Research.

This award is given to recognize outstanding achievement in basic disciplines (genetics; genomics; immunology; molecular, cellular, and developmental biology; physiology; poultry health; and proteomics). This award is given to a member who has made sustained high quality contributions to fundamental science that has advanced the field of poultry science.

University of Guelph

Aviagen Turkeys presents this award to a maximum of two graduate student Certificate of Excellence winners at the annual PSA meeting whose oral paper was given with the turkey as the principal unit of research. The award serves to increase awareness of the opportunities available to students who choose to do research with turkeys.

Texas A&M University

Hy-Line International presents this award to a maximum of two graduate student Certificate of Excellence winners at the annual PSA meeting who give presentations in the oral or poster sections and report on quantitative genetics, molecular genetics or genomics research.