Bronze

Alan Beynon

Alan qualified as a veterinarian from Edinburgh University in 1988 and has worked the majority of his career in his Independently owned private poultry Practice. In 2016 he founded Poultry Sense, a start up business to bring together technology, machine learning and veterinarians to create actionable insights leading to improved performance, health and welfare on broiler farms.

This business was acquired by MSD in early 2021 as part of the development of their animal health and intelligence unit.

Edgar O. Oviedo

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 in Decision Making and Analytics from NC State University. Dr. Oviedo has experience in the poultry industry as a Veterinarian, Nutritionist, Extension Specialist, and Consultant in 32 countries. Dr. Oviedo’s responsibilities include extension and research in broiler, broiler breeder nutrition and management, incubation, and data analytics. The extension programs and events are related to broiler production, incubation, and data analytics. His research activities are related to feedstuff quality and processing, evaluation of feed additives, especially 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 101 peer-review publications in Scientific Journals, 315 Proceedings of International Meetings, 282 abstracts of presentations in Scientific Meetings of National and International level, 97 popular press articles, and 10 book chapters.

Gustavo Machado

My main research develops and applies epidemiological tools and models to investigate dynamics of animal infectious diseases spread. I have dedicated my efforts on developing machine-learning, mathematical modelling methods, and tools with direct application to emerging and transboundary animal diseases. Ultimately, we are interested in providing an understanding of infectious disease transmission processes among livestock populations, providing science-based support for decision making with regard to prevention and control. In the past few years, my research focused on the mathematical modeling and traditional statistics for practical mapping the spread of infectious diseases among pig population. I authored or co-authored more than 137 peer-reviewed publications in the field of animal and human health. My research provides training opportunities in interdisciplinary research at the interface of disease spread and control strategies, both nationally and internationally. As faculty, I have been a research mentor for 15 undergraduate students, 9 veterinary students, 3 graduate students and 3 postdoctoral fellows. My laboratory in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the North Carolina State University is current funded by USDA-NIFA FACT and USDA-NIFA CARE, USDA-APHIS, Swine Health Information Center, internationally by FUNDESA-Fundo de Desenvolvimento e Defesa Sanitaria Animal (Brazil). 

Jean Pierre Vaillancourt

Dr. Vaillancourt received his DVM (1983) and his MSc in Clinical Sciences (1986) from the University of Montreal and his PhD in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota (1990). Prior to returning to the University of Montreal, he held Faculty positions at the University of Guelph (1990-1996), at North Carolina State University (1996-2004), and was a visiting professor at the National University of Mexico in Mexico City (2002-2003) and the School of Veterinary Medicine in Toulouse, France (2017-2018). In 1997, he received the Bayer-Snoeyenbos New Investigator Award from the AAAP. In 1998, he received the Outstanding Extension Service Award in North Carolina, and in 2000, he was inducted in the Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension at North Carolina State University. In 2004, Dr Vaillancourt received The Lamplighter Award from the US Poultry & Egg Association for his contributions to infectious disease research and biosecurity. In 2012, he was elected foreign member of the French Academy of Veterinary Medicine; and in 2016 he was also elected foreign member in the National Academy of Medicine (France). In 2019, the French government made him Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit. In addition to his position at the University of Montreal, Dr Vaillancourt has served as coordinator of the Quebec team for the design and implementation of emergency measures for the poultry industry. He has served as director of the Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Public Health Research Unit (2009-2017) and as associate director of the Public Health Research Institute of the University of Montreal (2013-2017). He has also served as a member of Canadian advisory committees for the control of infectious diseases in poultry, pigs and beef cattle. He initiated the avian medicine section of the World Veterinary Education in Production Animal Health, based at the University of Luxemburg.

Joe Heinzelmann

Joe Heinzelmann began his career in nanotechnology. He has held various sales and marketing positions in the nanotechnology space until he joined Neogen in 2011. He’s been in food safety for over a decade, and at Neogen he’s held a variety of commercial roles. Currently Joe leads our innovation and digitalization efforts for food safety as the Director of Food Safety Digital Solutions, including Neogen Analytics and blockchain. His undergraduate degree is from Albion College and has an MBA from Northwood University. 

Jose Linares

Dr. Jose Linares is Manager of Veterinarian Services for CEVA Animal Health in the United States. Dr. Linares brings to CEVA 25 plus years of experience in the global poultry industry having worked in various technical roles involving primary breeders, pathology, diagnostics, consulting, international development activities and the animal health industry. He provides technical support focusing on respiratory diseases and troubleshooting challenging cases.

His Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree is from Purdue University, and he is board certified by the American College of Poultry Veterinarians (ACPV) and the American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW). His areas of expertise include poultry medicine, pathology, diagnostics, high consequence disease prevention and control, and animal welfare.

Kevin Watkins

Kevin has a MS in Animal Nutrition from the University of Missouri and a PhD in Animal Science with a minor in Human Nutrition from Louisiana State University. After serving as Laboratory Manager and Instructor at LSU, he joined the parasitic protozoology team at Lilly Research Laboratories. Kevin then held several R&D, Regulatory, Technical Consulting, and Analytics positions at Elanco Animal Health. After 29 years at Elanco, Kevin retired as Nutritional Health Advisor and started FoodFirst LLC to provide consulting and analytic services for those who recognize that food and feed are paramount to One Health. More recently, Kevin earned a Data Analytic Certificate from Cornell University and has been awarded an Honorary Senior Research Fellow appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at University of Liverpool where he advises on the Global Burden of Animal Diseases program. Kevin has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles on animal health, nutrition, and food security. He lives in Indianapolis, IN USA spends time riding his bicycle, restoring a historic house, gardening, and volunteering for various hunger relief organizations.

Maurice Pitesky

Maurice Pitesky is an associate professor of cooperative extension at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with an appointment in poultry health and food safety epidemiology. Dr. Pitesky earned his BS in biology from UCLA, and his DVM and MPVM from UC Davis. Pitesky is also boarded in Preventative Veterinary Medicine (DACVPM).

Pitesky’s research interests are focused in four major areas:
1) Using “traditional” epidemiological techniques and cartography to understand how avian diseases move in time and space.
2) Disease modeling of avian diseases
3) Understand the role of social media in promotion of best practices associated with backyard poultry and
4) Gaining a better understanding of small scale poultry production with respect to environmental sustainability, poultry heath, and food safety.

Simon Cohen

A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Mr. Cohen received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Southern University. Previously, he worked with Systemate, Netherlands, responsible for the design of poultry processing plants. Mr. Cohen is now Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and shareholder with M-Tech Systems, responsible for transforming its profile from a regional company in the Southeastern United States to a global industry leader in agribusiness software. 

Suresh Neethirajan

Suresh Neethirajan is an Associate Professor in the Animal Sciences department, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands. His technical background is in bioengineering with sensor technologies expertise, and he is focused on bringing solutions to improving animal health and welfare through enabling digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence. He has published over 115 peer-reviewed high impact journal articles, 8 book chapters, 6 US patents in the Digital Livestock Farming research domain and has been a speaker in numerous conferences. He is a recipient of several global awards including Young Engineer of the Year award by Engineers Canada, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship, New Holland Researcher award from the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and Grand Challenges Canada award to name a few. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Frontiers in Animal Science journal and the Sensors journals. Before moving to Netherlands, Suresh worked as the Director of Bionano laboratory and as an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph of Canada for a period of 7 years. He obtained his PhD and MSc from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Suresh is also a registered Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and occasionally provides life coaching services.