Contact: Jessa-Lynn Adkins
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Two faculty members in Mississippi State’s Department of Poultry Science have earned early career awards from the Poultry Science Association, an international organization dedicated to advancing the poultry industry.
Associate Professor Li Zhang received the Early Achievement for Research Award, while Assistant Professor Timothy Boltz received the Early Achievement in Teaching Award. These awards are given to individuals who have made significant strides in the first six years of their professional careers. Both were recently recognized at the Poultry Science Association’s annual meeting held in Toronto, Canada.
Zhang, who joined the MSU poultry science faculty in 2018, uses microbiology, genomics and microbiome science to determine how harmful and beneficial micro-organisms affect poultry. His team also develops rapid diagnostic tools and practical prevention and control strategies, including vaccines and microbiome-based alternatives to antibiotics.
“They only give this award to one person every two years, so this award means so much to my career and gives me confidence in the work that we are doing,” said Zhang, who also is a scientist in MSU’s Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station.
Boltz, another MAFES scientist, joined the MSU faculty in 2022 as a poultry science assistant professor. He has dedicated more than 10 years to the PSA and is currently serving as an advisor for the MSU’s Sigma Alpha Chapter. He teaches courses including poultry nutrition, broiler production and avian anatomy and physiology, which use real-world applications and offer hands-on experiences to his students.
“It is a big honor to have individuals in our association recognize the hours of work and effort I commit to teaching the next generation of professionals; however, the biggest honor is helping students succeed in this vital industry,” Boltz said.
MSU’s Department of Poultry Science is a unit of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Learn more at www.poultry.msstate.edu.
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