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Poultry science professor Sami Dridi received the American Feed Association Poultry Nutrition Research Award and the National Poultry Council Broiler Research Award at the Poultry Science Society’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
Poultry science professor Sami Dridi received the American Feed Association Poultry Nutrition Research Award and the National Poultry Council Broiler Research Award at the Poultry Science Society’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Poultry Nutrition Research Award recognizes relevant industry-focused research in poultry nutrition. Dridi conducts research through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, a research arm of the University System College of Agriculture.
His current research focuses on defining and understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of heat stress responses and metabolic disorders in broilers.
“Poultry nutrition research is important to improve the sustainability of poultry production, nourish our future, and protect our environment and natural resources,” Driddy said. “These days, my research also focuses on the most important nutrient: water, which is largely forgotten or ignored.”
Dridi’s research goals include determining the mechanism of action of feed additives to maximize their beneficial effects, replacing antibiotics, and identifying brain pathways involved in regulating thirst in birds. It will be done.
The National Poultry Council Broiler Research Award recognizes individuals whose research has had a significant economic impact on the broiler industry. Dridi’s research has discovered a way to reduce the severity of woody breast, a costly poultry disease, by up to 5%.
“It is estimated that the severity of woody udder costs U.S. producers $200 million annually,” Driddy said. “If we can reduce these costs by 5%, we could potentially save $10 million a year.”
Dridi received both awards at the same conference.
“Receiving honors from AFIA and NCC evokes only positive and good emotions: elation, excitement, pride and honor,” Driddy said. “I am grateful to my colleagues for nominating me and to my team, students, collaborators, and family for their enduring support.”
David Caldwell, Head of Poultry Science and Director of the Poultry Science Center of Excellence, said these awards demonstrate the high level of research Driddy has completed over his many years in academia. said.
“It is very fitting that Dr. Dridi should receive this award in recognition of his outstanding research efforts,” said Caldwell. “It’s a good year for a faculty member to win one award for research productivity, but two awards by the same faculty member at the same annual meeting of the Poultry Society is outstanding.
“Sami has finally come to prominence by building an elite research program focused on real-world issues in the commercial poultry industry,” he said.
Dridi received his Ph.D. at the National Institute of Technology of Lorraine (NK1) and at the National Institute of Agriculture in France. He is a recognized expert in the fields of feed and water efficiency, heat stress responses, metabolic disorders, and the molecular mechanisms of action of feed additives in broilers.
He is President of the US Chapter of the World Poultry Science Society and Scientific Chair of the Toronto 2026 World Poultry Congress. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Poultry Science Society and chairs the American Egg Board Research Awards Committee and the Maurice Stein Fellowship Awards Committee. He received the 2023 Leaders Circle Recognition Award from the Canadian Leaders Circle. Received the 2023 John White Excellence in Research Award from the University System Department of Agriculture. and the American Academy of Nutrition-Milton L. Sunde Award 2016.
The Poultry Science Center of Excellence is a division of the U of A System Department of Agriculture and the U of A’s Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences. The center represents three land-grant mission areas: education conducted through Bumpers University, and research and extension through the Department of Agriculture’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.
For more information about the Department of Agriculture’s research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the “Food, Farms & Forests” podcast and sign up for the monthly newsletter “Arkansas Agricultural Research Report.” For more information about the Department of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow @AgInArk on X. For more information about Extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.
About the College of Agriculture: The mission of the University of Arkansas System College of Agriculture is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research with the adoption of best practices. The Bureau of Agriculture conducts research and extension activities within the nation’s historic land-grant education system through its Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension Service. The College of Agriculture is one of 20 institutions within the University of Arkansas System. We have offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty at five system campuses. The University of Arkansas System College of Agriculture accepts all disseminated and We offer study programs to all eligible people. , or other legally protected status and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
About Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College is dedicated to positioning and preparing graduates to be leaders in businesses related to food, families, the environment, agriculture, sustainability, and the quality of human life. We offer life-changing opportunities. And who will be the first choice for employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs? The university is named for Dale Bumpers, former governor of Arkansas and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in agriculture nationally and internationally. For more information about Bumpers College, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter. @Bumper College and Bumpers College’s Instagram.
