Prof. Dr. Muquarrab A. Qureshi

USDA, NC State University

Topic

Poultry enterprise and global food security - Two peas in a Pod

Introduction

Prof. Qureshi received his DVM and M.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Agriculture in Pakistan. After six years as a Veterinary Microbiology Lecturer, he immigrated to the U.S., where he earned a Ph.D. in Animal Breeding and Genetics with a focus on Immunogenetics from Cornell University. Starting his academic career at Poultry Science Department of NC State in 1987, he progressed to Full Professor and served in various leadership roles, including Director of Graduate Programs and interim Associate Dean of the Graduate School. He is famous for developing the MQ-NCSU chicken macrophage cell line, published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and mentored more than 20 graduate students. His honors include Fulbright Scholar, Fellow of the Poultry Science Association, and multiple teaching awards. In 2003, he joined the USDA as a National Program Leader, eventually becoming Deputy Director of NIFA. After transitioning to ARS in 2019, he retired in 2024 but continues as an Adjunct Professor of Poultry Science at NC State.

Prof. Dr. Munir Iqbal

Pirbright Institute, UK

Topic

Recent developments in the prevention and control of Avian influenza Viruses

Introduction

Professor Munir Iqbal is the Head of the Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease group at The Pirbright Institute and a visiting professor at the Royal Veterinary College, London. Munir obtained Veterinary Medicine and MPhil degrees in Pakistan and a PhD in Biotechnology at Imperial College London in 1991. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool and the University of St Andrews before joining the Institute in 1996. Currently, he is leading several research projects aimed at defining the impact of genetic changes on the ability of avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses to evade immune responses, cause increased disease severity, and allow cross-species transmission. Along with unravelling the host factors that determine avian-origin influenza virus replication fitness in mammalian species. He is also leading the development of new multivalent vaccines and diagnostics for better control of avian respiratory viruses like avian influenza, Newcastle disease, avian adenovirus, and avian metapneumoviruses.Recently, his group has developed a novel targeted antigen delivery vaccine platform that selectively delivers vaccine antigens to chicken immune cells, inducing faster, stronger, and more durable immunity. The multivalent vectored vaccines he developed include recombinant NDV, recombinant herpesvirus of turkey (rHVT), and recombinant duck enteritis virus (rDEV), providing robust immunity to chickens against multiple avian viral diseases. The multivalent subunit vaccines produced in insect cells also protect chickens from several poultry viruses. He also developed a passive immunization approach to protect poultry from AIV. His recent studies have identified antigenic epitopes on the hemagglutinin antigens of H5, H9, and H7 AIVs that induce protective immune responses, with implications for vaccine strain selection. His group is developing novel easy-to-use aptamer-based diagnostic tests allowing rapid, sensitive, and reliable differential diagnosis of avian respiratory viruses at the pen-side or point-of-care.

Prof. Dr. Doug R. Korver

University of Alberta

Topic

Intestinal Health in Poultry

Introduction

Dr. Doug Korver received a Ph. D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis, and joined the University of Alberta in 1997. In addition to practical research on feedstuff quality and dietary supplement evaluation in poultry diets, Doug’s work focuses on nutrition-immune function interactions and bone biology in meat- and egg-type poultry. In 2016, he spent a 6- month sabbatical in Colombia, working with a major broiler integrator. In 2023, he began a phased retirement from the University of Alberta after 26 years, and formed Alpine Poultry Nutrition, Inc. His vision is to communicate the science of poultry nutrition to end users in the poultry industry while maintaining his University research program.