Peter M. Biggs

United Kingdom

Peter Biggs was born in Petersfield, Hampshire in 1926 into a family with a rich musical background. From an early age, he was drawn to science, although singing has always been an important leisure activity. Following education in Petersfield and near Boston in the USA, his interests turned towards engineering. However, after service in the Royal Air Force from 1944 to 1948, he forsook this for veterinary medicine, a decision he has never regretted.

From 1948 to 1953, he studied at the Royal Veterinary College, London where he became attracted to virology and oncology, and in particular the leukaemias of the fowl. After graduating, he moved to Bristol University to work on the lymphoid tissue of the domestic fowl, for which he was awarded a PhD in 1958. He stayed on at Bristol as a lecturer in veterinary pathology but was appointed a year later to the staff of the Houghton Poultry Research Station to develop a unit for the study of diseases of the avian leukosis complex. These diseases had been a scourge of the poultry industry for several decades, often causing high mortality in young pullets and an estimated average loss from the national laying flocks of many countries of around 30%.

To tackle the daunting challenge, he established a group of research workers whose achievements, within the space of 10 years, were remarkable. In addition to unravelling the avian leukosis complex into two distinct diseases—Marek’s disease and lymphoid leukosis—the cause of Marek’s disease was identified, and a vaccine against it was developed. The discovery that a cancerous condition was caused by a virus was a notable first and had far-reaching consequences for both veterinary and medical research. It is not surprising that Peter Biggs received the accolade of being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1976.

On the retirement of Dr. Robert Gordon in 1974, Dr. Biggs took on the onerous duties of Director of Houghton Poultry Research Station. He was able to continue a limited amount of research and was the first to describe lymphoproliferative disease of turkeys. However, with the tide having begun to turn against science, his energies were being increasingly deployed in efforts to safeguard research as resources began to be reduced. Although the number of staff declined, his successful strategy was to increase the number of research initiators and apply new techniques offered by molecular biology and genetic engineering. These achievements and his distinguished research record were again acknowledged by the award in 1989 of the Wolf Foundation Prize for Agriculture.

In 1987, he was given the formidable task of restructuring the four disparate veterinary research groups of the Agriculture and Food Research Council to form the Institute of Animal Health. This ultimately resulted in the work at Houghton being transferred to Compton—a process that was completed in the summer of 1992.

In addition to his research achievements, resulting in the publication of many scientific papers and the giving of invited lectures in over a dozen different countries, he has served in various capacities—often as chairman—on numerous national and international committees and working parties. He was Editor in Chief of Avian Pathology from 1974 to 1987.

Among over 20 honours and awards received, he was given an Honorary DVM from Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich (1976) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1984). Although he “retired” in mid-1988, Peter Biggs remains as busy as ever with Visiting Professorships at the Universities of London and Cornell (USA) and Chairmanship of the Animal Health Trust. Additionally, he was President of the Institute of Biology from 1990 to 1992 and is much in demand on many educational and research committees.

Simon Bornstein

Israel

Simon Bornstein was born in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1915 and emigrated to Palestine in 1931. Here he completed his secondary education and continued studies at an agricultural school. Subsequently, he moved to the University of California where he studied poultry husbandry, receiving a BS degree (with highest honours) in 1939.

This was followed by a move to Texas A&M College, where he gained a veterinary degree in 1943, and also met his future wife. After working for three years in California as a poultry veterinarian and then for the USDA (as a ‘friendly alien’), he and his new family returned to Palestine where, during the period 1947-1956, he directed the poultry disease field laboratory for the southern part of the country (which became Israel in May 1948). In 1956, he was given the task of establishing and heading a new poultry department within the Agricultural Research Station, now the Volcani Institute. In 1965, he received the title of Associate Professor of Poultry Science from the University of Jerusalem. Since retiring in 1981, he has continued to work on a part-time basis as consultant to the Egg and Poultry Board.

Dr. Bornstein is the author and co-author of 150 research reports, of which 110 have been published in English in refereed international journals, as well as numerous popular articles during his years as a poultry veterinarian. He is also the author of two books on poultry husbandry (1947 and 1957) and the editor of a third (1980).

In 1960, Simon Bornstein was a founder member of the Israel Branch of WPSA and was its President from 1981 to 1991. During the years 1984-1988, he served as Junior Vice President of the WPSA. The Israel Branch has bestowed on him Life Membership as Honorary Past President.

Irmgard Gylstorff

Germany

Irmgard Gylstorff, née Hamp, was born to schoolteacher parents on 3 April 1912 and died on 26 June 1990. After schooling in Munich, she studied at the Veterinary Faculty of Munich Ludwig-Maximilians University, becoming qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1935 and, with a thesis on tuberculosis in fur-bearing animals, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1936. In 1939, she became the first woman to pass the examination for state veterinarians.

Appointed scientific assistant to Dr. Oskar Seifried and later Professor Dr. Hans Sedlmeir, Irmgard Gylstorff was entrusted with the development of a poultry health service for Bavaria, later extended to include Salzburg, Tirol, and Vorarlberg—areas which today form part of Austria. During the difficult years of the Second World War, she was appointed provisional head of the Institute of Veterinary Pathology, a period when teaching in the faculty was at a standstill. Subsequently, she directed her energies to the maintenance and reconstruction of the faculty following the complete destruction of the department building in January 1945. However, also in 1945, a poultry health service was re-established and she headed this organization up to 1960.

In 1952, she qualified as a university lecturer in general pathology, pathological anatomy, and histopathology and was appointed “university teacher.” By this time, she had also established a reputation as a meticulous and dedicated research scientist. Early published papers included work on the experimental pathology of diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies and avian osteomyelosclerosis. In 1958, she was appointed “Extraordinary Professor.” Two years later, Dr. Gylstorff took up the chair of Avian Diseases and Animal Hygiene at the School of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover. Not only was she the first woman ever to take up such an appointment, this was the first faculty dealing with poultry disease to be created at a European university. From the provisional buildings in which the institute had been established, Professor Gylstorff was closely involved with the plans and construction of a new building which was completed in 1965.

However, she now responded to a call from the Veterinary Faculty of Munich Ludwig-Maximilians University—her home city—where a new institute for diseases of poultry, ornamental, and zoo birds was being established. Again, starting from provisional accommodation on what had been a poultry farm, she was closely involved in building the institute, at which she stayed until retirement in 1981. While in Hannover, but subsequently with greater intensity, she widened her interests to include non-commercial birds, initially budgerigars and canaries, but later “everything with feathers.” While at Munich, Professor Gylstorff was Dean of the Veterinary Faculty in 1969-70 (the first lady Dean at a veterinary faculty worldwide) and Vice-Dean in the following year.

Her early work as Scientific Assistant and in setting up a poultry health service determined her career and led to the publication of over 120 scientific papers as well as books and contributions to books on both avian diseases and the keeping of birds. These are continuing reminders of her ability and far-sightedness which stemmed from a time when few believed that birds would ever be included in veterinary practice. In the process of founding the two chairs in Hannover and Munich, she endowed them both with a self-understanding that has continued to influence their development. Professor Gylstorff’s background and experience resulted in her being appointed as an expert on many national and international committees, and she also worked as a member and officer of several national and international associations, including being Chairman of the European Society for Veterinary Pathology, Secretary of the German Branch of the World’s Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA), the first lady President of the World body, and ultimately, in 1981, “Honorary Life President” of the WVPA. In recognition of her services, she was awarded the Theodor Kitt Medal of the Munich Veterinary Association.

Professor Gylstorff should be considered the philosophical and scientific founder of the discipline of avian medicine. She was the first to teach and train veterinary students in this field, one which rapidly attained the significance she had prophesied. Her death ended not only the life of a highly esteemed scientist, but also that of a warm-hearted human being who was not only the centre of her family but offered her support as a friend and colleague in all situations.

R. George Jaap

USA

Dr. R. George Jaap was an active faculty member in the Department of Poultry Science at The Ohio State University for 30 years. A native of Canada, Dr. Jaap was awarded a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan in 1927 and 1929.

He completed graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin in Genetics and obtained Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in 1930 and 1933. For one year, Dr. Jaap remained at Wisconsin as a postdoctoral fellow. He was employed for an additional year as a hatchery manager by Swift and Company. In 1935, Dr. Jaap joined the faculty of Oklahoma State University in Poultry Science. He remained in this position until 1946 when he became Professor of Poultry Science at The Ohio State University. Dr. Jaap retired and was named an emeritus professor in 1976.

Dr. Jaap had a long and distinguished career in the field of poultry genetics and breeding. He was well known and highly respected by his colleagues both in educational institutions and the poultry industry. During his career at The Ohio State University, he served as adviser to 38 graduate students, 16 of whom obtained Master of Science degrees and 22 PhD degrees.

Dr. Jaap’s major contributions to the poultry industry have been through research on quantitative inheritance of growth rate and egg production in chickens and the utilization of breeding methods to achieve rapid gains in performance. He published meritorious research on the inheritance of various single gene traits in avian species; on physiological genetics related to hormonal response and development of endocrine glands; in breeding methods for application of inbreeding and cross-breeding to obtain superior performance and in cytogenetics by identifying chromosomal abnormalities that alter development. Many commercial poultry breeders employ professionals who obtained training as graduate students with Dr. Jaap. A major discovery that proved to be of great significance in biology and medicine was the finding that the bursa of Fabricius produced antibodies and was important to the immune system of the chicken.

A member of many scientific societies and organizations, Dr. Jaap was particularly active in both the Poultry Science Association and the World’s Poultry Science Association. In addition to service on many committees of PSA, he was an Associate Editor (1939-1944) and Editor (1944-1949) of Poultry Science. He was named a Fellow in 1959 and served as director, Vice President, and President in the early 1960s. He has served the WPSA as a council member (1951-1957), Editor of the WPSJ (1958-1973), and Treasurer and Assistant Secretary (1958-1978).

The professional awards and honours bestowed on Dr. Jaap include a Fulbright Research Scholarship in 1951, the Ralston Purina Teaching Award of the PSA in 1970, French Medal of Honour for excellent service to Agriculture in 1971, the Macdougall Award for meritorious service in 1974, election to the American Poultry Historical Society Poultry Hall of Fame in 1977, chosen for the Distinguished Graduate in Agriculture Award by the University of Saskatchewan in 1986, and given the Meritorious Service Award by the Ohio Poultry Association in 1992.

Dr. Jaap also served on an FAO panel on animal breeding and climatology from 1964 to 1968 and as an adviser to the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil to develop a programme of poultry breeding research. He has recently established a US$ 500,000 endowment fund at The Ohio State University to support research dedicated exclusively to the advancement of the poultry industry.

Dr. Jaap died on 19 July 1992.

Bernard Sauveur

France

Bernard Sauveur was born in Tours, France in 1942. After gaining an Agricultural degree in Paris in 1965, he started his scientific involvement in the poultry sector with an appointment as Research Assistant at the Poultry Research Station at Jouy en Josas. Here, he worked on albumen quality problems. In 1970, he became a Research Officer at the Poultry Research Station, Nouzilly, and four years later obtained his Doctor of Science from Tours University.

From the beginning of his involvement with research at Nouzilly, his interests gradually widened to include the effects of dietary control and egg storage on egg quality; the mineral nutrition of layers and broilers and the role of the anion:cation balance; vitamin D metabolism; specific calcium appetite in laying birds; phytic phosphorus utilization by layers; intermittent lighting programmes for layers, and the feeding of geese and Muscovy duck breeding stock. He was thus the obvious choice for the appointment of Research Director at Nouzilly in 1977. Subsequently (1985), he became Director of the Poultry Research Station and this was followed in 1990 by his appointment to the position of General Director of the INRA Research Centre, Nouzilly, with responsibility for a team of 180 scientists and 550 support staff.

Among Bernard Sauveur’s many other activities and offices, mention should be made of his role as an expert on egg quality problems for the EEC Commission and in commercial litigation; as Coordinator of the European studies that led up to the regulations on water content in frozen poultry; his Presidency of the Scientific Committee of the French Turkey Breeders’ Organization (since 1988); membership of the Certification Committee of ‘Qualité France’ (from 1991); and membership of the French Organization for Poultry Breeding (from 1985).

Dr. Sauveur has been the author of about 200 papers published in scientific and professional journals. In the world of publishing, he founded the scientific journal INRA Productions Animales in 1988 and is Scientific Adviser to ‘INRA Editions’. He was author of Reproduction des Volailles et Productions d’Oeufs (INRA, 1988) and has been editor of books on the feeding of monogastric animals and on Muscovy ducks.

In the sphere of education, Dr. Sauveur lectures on reproduction and egg production at Tours University, Ecole Nationale Supérieur Agronomique de Rennes, and the Institut National Agronomique de Paris-Grignon. He has been involved in various extension activities in the French poultry industry and has undertaken 13 assignments to assist developing countries. Within the WPSA, he has been actively involved with the European Federation Working Groups on Egg Quality, Reproduction, and Waterfowl, and has been a member of the Editorial Board of the WPSJ since 1988.

In 1989, Bernard Sauveur was awarded the Animal Nutrition Prize of the French Association of Feed Manufacturers. For relaxation, Bernard Sauveur enjoys photography, trekking, and choir singing—currently, he is President of the ‘Florilège vocal de Tours’ Festival.