Achille Franchini

Italy

Professor Achille Franchini, graduated in Veterinary Medicine and specialized in Avian Pathology. He spent his entire academic career at the University of Bologna, and he was Full Professor of Poultry Science at the Faculty of Agriculture for over 20 years (1988-2012).

During this period, Prof. Franchini served as Head of several key research infrastructures, such as ‘Animal Breeding Institute’ (1996-2000), ‘Research Centre on Technology and Hygiene of Intensively Reared Small Animal Species’ (2006-2012), and ‘Department of Food Science’ (2001-2006 and 2009-2012). Prof. Franchini began making contributions toward understanding the relationship between nutrition and health in avian species when he was still studying for his Master’s degree, and he continued for more than forty years with the publication of more than 200 scientific publications in the field of poultry science with special emphasis on: i) effect of vitamins, as antioxidant components of diet, on some cellular functions of the immune system and performance in broilers and turkeys; ii) feeding strategies for improving nutritive quality of poultry meat and eggs; iii) molecular characterization of food-borne pathogens (Salmonella and Campylobacter); iv) phenotypic and genotypic studies on antibiotic resistance in Salmonella typhimurium; and v) control of Salmonella in poultry by competitive exclusion and dietary supplementation of organic and inorganic acids. He was also among the first Italian animal scientists to understand the importance of joining international research networks and developing participation in EU-funded projects. Indeed, he joined the European FLAIR project ‘Prevention and control of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in poultry and poultry meat processing,’ and he was a member of the Management Committee of COST Action 97 – ‘Pathogenic microorganisms in poultry and eggs’ (1994 to 2000) and COST Action 920 ‘Foodborne zoonosis: a coordinated food chain approach’ (2001-2006). Prof. Franchini also participated in EU projects such as CAMPYCHECK, POULTRYFLORGUT, and RESCAPE. He also promoted the formation of Alma Food – Integrated Research Team at the University of Bologna, and as a member of the board, he chaired the National Technology Platform ‘Italian Food for Life’ as a reference point for research in the Life Science area and main partner for the European Technology Platforms. From the beginning of his career,

Prof. Franchini was a very active member of Scientific Societies in the poultry sector. From 1979 to 1985, he joined the Board of the Italian Society for Avian Pathology, and in 1980 he was one of the founders of the ‘Avian Immunological Study Group’. However, most of his career was dedicated to the World’s Poultry Science Association. In 1999, he promoted as a member of the Board of the Italian Branch and as chair of the organizing committee, the organization of the XIV European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat & VIII European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products, which was held in Bologna. In 2003, he was elected as President of the Italian Branch of the WPSA, and he strongly promoted the internationalization of the activities of the Italian Branch. Annual meetings of the Italian Branch started to host several foreign researchers. In addition, special technical meetings, where especially poultry industry people went to learn about the latest developments, were organized by inviting the most relevant scientists. Before his mandate, the Italian Branch was only partially involved in the organization of International Congresses, while in the following years several conferences have been held in Italy (XII European Poultry Conference, VIII Poultry Welfare Symposium, Incubation and Fertility Research Group Meeting, VIII European Symposium on Poultry Genetics, XXI European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat & XV European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products).

Before EPC2006, he served as President of the European Federation (2006-2010). During his mandate, he gave high impulse to reinforce the activities of WG’s within the European Federation and to strengthen further the role of the European Federation within the World’s Poultry Science Association. He was also one of the founding members of the Mediterranean Poultry Network. He was also a national member of WG5 ‘Poultry Meat Quality’ for almost 20 years.

ROB GOUS

SOUTH AFRICA

After an academic career spanning 37 years, Dr. Rob Gous retired from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 2007 and is now an Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Fellow at that university.

He continues to conduct research and supervise postgraduate students, his research interests being in the development of simulation models for growing broilers, turkeys, and pigs, and for laying hens and broiler breeders. His career ticks all the boxes associated with the aims of the World’s Poultry Science Association. He was involved in university education for 37 years, teaching all aspects of poultry science to undergraduate students and then supervising many during their postgraduate training. He has also assisted in the training of postgraduate students in Brazil, Australia, the Netherlands, and the USA. He has published the results of his research extensively in the scientific literature, receiving many accolades and awards for the work he has done. The simulation models that he has developed are being used around the world in both industry and for teaching purposes at universities. He was instrumental in overturning the conventional wisdom related to the lighting of broiler breeder pullets and hens, and as a result of the practical research that he has conducted, he has been invited to many conferences and meetings around the world. He has spent much of his academic life assisting in ensuring that the WPSA remains active and relevant – he chaired the South African Branch of the WPSA for over 20 years and was a Vice-President of the World Branch of the WPSA for four terms, during one of which he was the Senior Vice-President.

Hafez M. Hafez

GERMANY

Professor Dr. H.M. Hafez was born in 1947 in Egypt. He conducted his studies of veterinary medicine at the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Egypt in Cairo. Between 1971 and 1975, he worked as a scientific assistant at the Institute for Poultry Disease at the same University and subsequently gained his degree as a Master of Veterinary Science. In 1981, he was given the doctoral degree at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany.

From 1981 to 1985, he served at the Diagnostic State Lab in Stuttgart, and in 1987 he was promoted to a leader position of the poultry and virology unit of this institution. In 1994, he submitted his dir. habilitatus (Dr. med. vet. habil.) thesis at the department of Poultry Diseases, the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany, and achieved the degree for the field of poultry diseases and hygiene at the same university. Since 1996, he is an honour professor at University of Hohenheim, and since 2009 at the Alexandria University in Egypt. In 1997, he moved to Berlin after being hired as a full professor for poultry diseases and served as the director of the Institute of Poultry Disease of the Free University of Berlin, Germany, for many years. In March 2016, he officially retired but continued to serve the University as a guest professor at the Institute of Poultry Diseases until today. Professor Hafez is a Certified Specialist for Poultry diseases since 1982, for Microbiology since 1989, and Animal Hygiene since 1996. He was recognized as a Diplomate for Veterinary Public health (EDVPH) in 2005, and later in 2009 as a Diplomate of the European College of Poultry Veterinary Science (ECPVS), for which he was also a founding member and one of the past presidents. Furthermore, he is engaged in the World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA), for which he was elected as a president in 2005. Professor Hafez is well known as the organizer of the International Symposia on Turkey Diseases as well as Turkey Production, which he hosted for many years. In 2019, he hosted the 13th ‘Hafez’ International Symposium on Turkey Diseases in Berlin. With his personal engagement within the WPSA, nationally within the German group but also internationally as chair of working group 10 (turkeys) of the European Branch of the WPSA, he can be recognized as an international poultry specialist with outstanding professional performance in the field. Professor Hafez is considered an internationally known and frequently consulted poultry specialist. He was recognized for his achievements by being awarded a variety of prizes. To name a few: the Karl-Fritzsche-Award for the area of infection medicine of the Germany Veterinary Society e.V. (DVG) in 1993, or repeated awards from the agricultural academy of the Veterinary University of Wroclaw, Poland, in 2000 and 2002. He showed a significant engagement in postgraduate education and supported more than 80 doctoral students, and participated as a PI or Co-PI in many national and international research projects. His professional network is exceptional, with connections to many countries worldwide. During the last years, his research focused on not only bacterial diseases of poultry and welfare aspects but also addressed poultry diseases of international importance such as Avian Influenza. He contributed to the knowledge and understanding of poultry diseases and the field of poultry sciences with over 300 publications and countless lectures and presentations at national and international conferences.

Gerald B. Havenstein

USA

Dr. Havenstein received his B.S. in Agriculture (focusing on Poultry Science) in 1961 from Kansas State University. He then moved to Madison, WI, to acquire his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (1966) in the Department of Genetics from the University of Wisconsin. Following a year as an instructor of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin, he joined Heisdorf & Nelson (H&N), a major global egg-type breeding company, as staff geneticist.

After serving H&N for 10 years, he was named their Director of Genetics Research in 1976. In 1986, Dr. Havenstein was chosen to serve as the Department Chair for the Department of Poultry Science at Ohio State University. During his last year in that position, he also served as the Chair and Interim Assistant Director of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Columbus and Wooster, Ohio. In early 1989, he was offered Head of the Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University, where he served until 2005. He spent the next 3 years at NCSU on a half-time basis publishing several research papers with faculty colleagues. He also developed and published a ‘History of the Department of Poultry Science and other Poultry Related Programs at North Carolina State University, 1881-2010’, which summarized poultry-related research, teaching, and extension accomplishments at the university. Dr. Havenstein has authored and co-authored approximately 160 peer-reviewed journal articles and other publications. Most were published during the 20 years he served as University Department Head. One of the publications that he and his colleagues authored and published in 2003 was honored as being one of the most cited papers ever published in the journal Poultry Science (Growth, livability, and feed conversion of 1957 versus 2001 broilers when fed representative 1957 and 2001 broiler diets; G.B. Havenstein, P.R. Ferket, and M.A. Qureshi; Poultry Science (2003) 82:1500-1508).

Throughout his career, Dr. Havenstein has been actively involved in the World’s Poultry Science Association, several state Poultry Associations, the Poultry Science Association, the Poultry Breeders of America, and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (formerly known as the Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association). He served on the Board of the USA Branch of the WPSA and as its President from 1998 to 2004. He also served as Vice President on the Board of WPSA from 2008-2012. Since 2007, he has served as the editor for the quarterly newsletter of the WPSA, which serves as the primary method of effective communication between the organization and its global branches and membership. Attendance and participation in international conferences and congresses were real highlights for Dr. Havenstein. He attended seven World Poultry Congresses (New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, Montreal, New Delhi, Istanbul, and Brisbane), several European Poultry Conferences, and other WPSA conferences organized by the European Poultry Working Groups. He also attended at least 12 Turkey Conferences hosted in the U.K. by Turkeys Magazine.

Robert (Bob) A.E. Pym

AUSTRALIA

Dr. Robert Pym graduated with a Bachelor of Rural Science from the University of New England, Armidale, Australia, in 1965. He then joined the New South Wales Department of Agriculture as a Livestock Research Officer in poultry genetics at the Poultry Research Station at Seven Hills in Sydney. Over the next 19 years, his research focused on genetic and physiological aspects of feed utilization efficiency and body composition of meat chickens. His work on feed efficiency was instrumental in the adoption of direct selection for food utilization efficiency initially by Australian poultry breeding companies and subsequently had a major impact on feed efficiency selection by a significant number of the large international breeders. His MSc in 1971 (University of New South Wales) and PhD in 1977 (University of New England) were both focused on this area of study. In 1984, Bob moved from Seven Hills to the University of Queensland in Brisbane, where he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Poultry Science in the School of Veterinary Science. His research continued in the above areas until the mid-1990s. Bob’s novel selection ideas and his open sharing of his results have been acknowledged as having had a substantial impact upon the carbon footprint and the economic viability of the global broiler industry. In the late 1970s, Bob developed an interest in small-scale family poultry farming in developing countries, and over the years since then, he has been involved in courses and development projects in several countries, including Indonesia, South Africa, The Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Lao PDR. This led to a sabbatical with FAO in Rome in 2005, during which time he worked closely with FAO personnel involved in support of small-scale family poultry farmers in developing countries, culminating in a major program and workshop in this area at the 23rd World’s Poultry Congress in Brisbane in 2008. He was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the 1st Working Group of the World’s Poultry Science Association’s (WPSA) Asian Pacific Federation on Small-scale family poultry farming and organized the Asian Pacific Federation working group symposium on Avian Influenza and Small-scale Family Poultry Farming in Bangkok in March 2007, to coincide with the 8th Asian Pacific Poultry Conference. Up until his retirement from the University of Queensland in December 2008, Bob lectured to Veterinary and Agricultural Science students on poultry husbandry, genetics and breeding, monogastric nutrition, poultry reproduction and monogastric production systems. He has supervised some 23 successful postgraduate candidatures (12 PhDs) in a range of areas. He has published widely in the above research areas and has been invited to speak at numerous international conferences and meetings since the early 1980s. Bob was President of the Australian Branch of WPSA from 1993 to 2009, was a member of the Australian