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From listmasteranimalgenome.org  Mon Jan 23 14:04:45 2023
Return-Path: <listmasteranimalgenome.org>
Subject: RE: Huaijun Zhou Awarded the 2023 NAS Prize in Food &
       Agriculture Sciences
From: "Liu, Wansheng" <wul12psu.edu>
Postmaster: submission approved by list moderator
To: Members of AnGenMap <angenmapanimalgenome.org>
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2023 14:04:45 -0600

Congratulations! Huaijun. What a wonderful gift for the Year of Rabbit!

Cheers,

Wansheng
----------------------------------------------------------------
Wansheng Liu, PhD
Professor of Animal Genomics
Department of Animal Science
Center for Reproductive Biology and Health (CRBH)
College of Agricultural Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University
311 AVBS building, Shortlidge Road
University Park, PA, 16802, USA
Tel: (814) 867-1673
Fax: (814) 863-6042
Email: wul12psu.edu

-----Original Message-----
.From: Elisabetta Giuffra <elisabetta.giuffrainrae.fr>
.Sent: Monday, January 23, 2023 12:36 PM
.To: Members of AnGenMap <angenmapanimalgenome.org>
.Subject: RE: Huaijun Zhou Awarded the 2023 NAS Prize in Food & Agriculture
Sciences

Indeed a fantastic news.
My heartiest congratulations, Huaijun!

Elisabetta


-----Message d'origine-----
De : Tuggle, Christopher K [AN S] <cktuggleiastate.edu> Envoyé : lundi 23
janvier 2023 18:04 À : Members of AnGenMap <angenmapanimalgenome.org> Objet
: FW: Huaijun Zhou Awarded the 2023 NAS Prize in Food & Agriculture Sciences

Congratulations to one of our own in Animal Genomics and FAANG! Excellent
recognition Huaijun!! Way to go!

Best wishes,

Chris
He, him, his


----------------------------------------------------------
.From: Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
.Date: Monday, January 23, 2023 at 10:00 AM
.To: Tuggle, Christopher K [AN S] <cktuggleiastate.edu>
.Subject: Huaijun Zhou Awarded the 2023 NAS Prize in Food & Agriculture
Sciences

FFAR NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Samantha Bader, 771.200.7001, sbaderfoundationfar.org

Huaijun Zhou Awarded the 2023 NAS Prize in Food & Agriculture Sciences

WASHINGTON (Jan. 23, 2023) - The world population is projected to reach
nearly 10 billion people by 2050, requiring stable, widely accessible sources
of food and nutrition. While livestock and poultry provide protein and
essential micro and macro nutrients for human health, infectious diseases and
heat stress from a changing climate are major challenges for animal
production. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is awarding Dr. Huaijun
Zhou of the University of California, Davis the 2023 NAS Prize in Food &
Agriculture Sciences for his multidisciplinary approach to animal and poultry
genome research, which supports improved global food security through genetic
enhancement of poultry health and production efficiencies. His work includes
a special emphasis on addressing the disease and climate challenges facing
poultry producers in Africa.

The NAS Prize, endowed by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
(FFAR) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is awarded annually to a
mid-career scientist at a U.S. institution making an extraordinary
contribution to agriculture or to the understanding of the biology of a
species fundamentally important to agriculture or food production. The Prize
is presented with a medal and $100,000 cash award.

Newcastle disease, a respiratory illness, is the most devastating poultry
disease in Africa. The disease disrupts food security in low-income countries
on the continent and impacts the livelihood of many women, who traditionally
tend to chicken flocks both for their families' sustenance and to earn
income. Increasingly severe impacts of climate change also pose a threat to
poultry production. Zhou's research is identifying genetic variants in
poultry that increase resilience to disease and heat stress.

"As our global nutritional needs expand, it is critical that we find new
solutions to both historical and emerging threats to our food sources," said
Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin, FFAR's executive director. "Dr. Zhou's research to
unlock the genetic tools to strengthen livestock and poultry agriculture is
another step in ensuring food security in the coming decades. FFAR
congratulates him on this prestigious prize."

Zhou's research is making genetic information about farm animals available to
a greater range of stakeholders. Zhou's team developed an economical genetic
selection platform that will help breeders improve resilience to Newcastle
disease infection, reduce virus shedding and improve production traits in
poultry indigenous to the African continent. Zhou is leading a pioneering
research effort to annotate farm animal genomes, which is helping science and
industry identify genetic variants linked to economically important traits.
These genome-based approaches are improving the efficiency, sustainability
and biosecurity of livestock production.

Zhou is also tackling Salmonella, the leading cause of food-borne disease
outbreaks in the U.S. Zhou's research identified microorganisms that limit
Salmonella growth in poultry gut, allowing the poultry industry to develop
probiotics to reduce instances of Salmonella.

"I am so grateful to receive such a recognition from the National Academy of
Sciences and my peers," said Zhou. "This award reflects that animal-sourced
food is an essential part of the solution in addressing hunger, poverty and
malnutrition, and how our basic research in animal genetics and genomics can
have great impacts on the sustainability of agricultural improvement and
global food security."

Through this bold research, Zhou is building institutional and human capacity
in low-income countries. In addition to breakthroughs impacting animal health
and production and empowering women, Zhou is training scientists at
Tanzania's Sokoine University of Agriculture and the University of Ghana.


 
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