USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation are proud to recognize Dr. Kenneth Anderson as the 2019 recipient of the annual Charles Beard Research Excellence Award. Dr. Anderson is a professor in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University. The award is named in honor of Dr. Charles Beard, former director of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory and former vice president of research at USPOULTRY.
The USPOULTRY Foundation Research Advisory Committee selected Dr. Anderson for this award based on his exceptional research on mass depopulation methods to reduce animal suffering in poultry. Dr. Anderson worked to understand how heat and carbon dioxide can be added to the process known as ventilation shutdown to quickly reduce animal suffering when euthanizing large populations of chickens and turkeys to stop the spread of devastating diseases such as avian influenza and Newcastle disease. This process, now known as VSD-plus, has been accepted by the authorities at U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) as an approved method of mass depopulation in times of disease outbreaks, which is a tremendous improvement over previously approved methods. Dr. Anderson’s research formed the basis for the policy decision by USDA-APHIS. Dr. Anderson’s research has been supported by three grants from USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation, which have allowed him to also demonstrate and teach the correct methods to conduct VSD-plus to both the regulatory officials and the poultry industry.
“The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association has been very supportive of our research program over the years, and I am very grateful for this support. The support of the Association has helped us to make meaningful advances in the development of improved methods of humane depopulation,” commented Dr. Anderson.
“Dr. Anderson’s research program is a great example of how USPOULTRY research funds can be directed toward important applied research to find solutions to current problems faced by the poultry industry. The quality of Dr. Anderson’s research is outstanding, and the results will be used by the poultry industry to make improvements in the response to devastating disease outbreaks,” remarked Dr. John Glisson, vice president for research programs for USPOULTRY.
Dr. Anderson received his BS degree from Southern Illinois University and his MS and Ph.D. degrees from Kansas State University. He joined the faculty at North Carolina State University in 1990.
The goal of the Charles Beard Research Excellence Award is to recognize outstanding completed research projects, funded by USPOULTRY or the USPOULTRY Foundation, which have made a significant positive impact on the poultry industry. As the recipient of the award, Dr. Anderson received a $1,500 cash prize. The award was presented to him during the USPOULTRY Chairman’s Reception by Dr. Charles Beard.
