2005 Recipients of CSAS Awards

 

Fellowship Award:

 

Dr. Mick Price (University of Alberta)

 

This Award is given to a member of the Canadian Society of Animal Science in recognition of truly outstanding contributions in any field of Animal Agriculture. The sponsor of this Award is Alltech Canada.

 

Dr. Price obtained a bachelor degree in Agricultural Science from the University College of Rhodesia in 1967. He obtained his Master Degree in rural science in 1971 from the University of New England, Australia and a Ph.D. in 1976 from the same University.

Mick has made an outstanding contribution to Animal Agriculture in several areas. As a teacher and university professor Mick did not simply provide information but committed himself totally to the process of education. Mick has taught in excess of 3000 undergraduate students and over 25 graduate students both within Canada and abroad. His teaching expertise is appreciated by students and fellow faculty as exemplified by the numerous Teaching Excellence Awards and Wall of Fame teaching awards given to Mick over the past 20 years including the prestigious University Cup awarded recently from the University of Alberta in 2004.

 

With respect to contributions to research Mick has again distinguished himself most notably with novel, creative and original  concepts and findings in the areas of genetics and crossbreeding, beef cattle finishing,  beef grading standards,  meat science, precision ranching and virtual fencing to mention a few. These efforts again have been recognized by several awards and distinctions given to Mick including the first ever CSAS Young Scientist Award. Mick is widely published with over 110 peer reviewed scientific journal articles some five book chapters and literally hundreds of conference proceedings, extension articles and reports. Three years ago Dr. Price was inducted as Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada in recognition of his meritorious achievements in his career at the University of Alberta and hid service to the profession

 

Dr. Price is well recognized nationally and globally for his professional and scientific expertise. He has consulted to government and commodity boards in several countries including Canada, the USA, the UK, Korea and Australia. He has served on the advisory boards of Canadian universities and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centres as well as direct consultation with the Canadian beef industry.

 

Dr. Price has made an absolutely outstanding contribution to the Canadian Society of Animal Science. Mick is an active member in many scientific societies but his contribution to the Canadian Society of Animal Science is most notable. He has held the executive positions of Director, Vice President and President as well as having served on the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Animal Science for over a decade as Assistant Editor, Associate Editor and fully two terms as Editor. Mick has represented the CSAS with competence, professional pride and dignity on the  World Council for Animal Production, Agriculture Institute of Canada and Scientific Journals Committee to mention a few. There are few people who have served the Canadian Society of Animal Science with as much dedication.

 

CSAS Award of Excellence in Nutrition and Meat Sciences:

 

Dr. John Patience (Prairie Swine Center, Saskatchewan)

 

This Award is presented to a member of the CSAS in recognition of excellence in teaching research or extension in the fields of nutrition and meat science at the provincial, federal or international levels. The Award is sponsored by Shur-Gain Canada.

 

Dr. Patience obtained his B.Sc. in Animal Science from the University of Guelph, his Master degree in Animal Nutrition from the same University and his Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry from Cornell University.

 

John has a long and distinguished career in nutrition research, contributing to our understanding of amino acid and energy metabolism, of water quality and utilization, of the variability of common feed ingredients and of dietary electrolyte balance.  His research focuses on important scientific issues, providing application-oriented information.  While his research has a definite near-market bent, John has been successful in recruiting funding from competitive public agencies such as NSERC and published in such diverse journals as Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Nutrition and Biochemistry and Cell Biology, as well as more traditional animal science journals.

John has been an invited speaker at academic and industry conferences in 8 Canadian provinces, 14 U.S. states and in England, Japan, China, Chile and Mexico.  He has served his profession locally, nationally and internationally, most recently being appointed to a (U.S.) National Pork Board Steering Committee on Net Energy.  He is a former President of C.S.A.S., a former Assistant Editor of the Canadian Journal of Animal Science and a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Animal Science.  He is a current or former director of the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan, Pharmalytics, Agwest Biotech and SPI Marketing Group and currently chairs the NSERC Biosciences B Strategic Panel.  He helped found the Western Nutrition Conference and the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium. John accomplished this in spite of his administrative role as President of the Prairie Swine Centre. Recently, he was awarded the Pork Industry Leadership Award by the Alberta Pork Congress, the first recipient outside Alberta.

 

Dr. Patience has served the pork producing and feed industries through outstanding leadership, research and education for more than 30 years.  His research and the undertakings of the Prairie Swine Centre have identified him as a world expert in swine nutrition and management.  His broad-based research of refined diets for swine, efficacy and safety of feed ingredients, nutritional value of crops and the environmental aspects associated with ingredients has significantly helped to propel the Canadian pork industry to its present day position of world leadership.

 

Dr. Patience has been a pioneer and visionary in pork production and has made significant contributions in designing unique models for research, extension and education so as to efficiently serve primary and secondary agricultural enterprises and all Canadians.

 

Young scientist Award:

 

Dr. Charles Martin Nyachoti (University of Manitoba)

 

This Award is presented to recognize the achievements of new members of the research community. Members of the CSAS who have demonstrated excellence in research in any areas of Animal Science and who have held their Ph.D. for a period not greater than seven years. This Award is sponsored by Pfizer Canada.

 

Dr. Nyachoti received his B. Sc. in 1988 from the University of Nairobi in Kenya. He completed his Master degree in 1995 in the field of Poultry nutrition from the University of Guelph and obtained his Ph.D. from the same University in 1998 in the field of swine nutrition. Dr. Nyachoti has joined the Animal Science Department of the University of Manitoba in January 2000 and since then he has been able to develop a strong research program that addresses three main areas of interest: Digestive physiology of pigs, Feedstuff Evaluation and Nutrition and the Environment.  He has been very successful in attracting research money to fund these programs, from government and industry including international companies.

 

Dr. Nyachoti’s publication record is excellent.  Since his start at the University of Manitoba in January 2000, he has published 23 manuscripts, 2 book chapters, 16 papers in Conference Proceedings and 26 Abstracts. His research outcomes have contributed to solutions that can be adopted by industry.  Dr. Nyachoti has been a frequently invited speaker at industry meetings being recognized as an expert in areas of interest to the Swine Industry in the Mid-West Canada and U.S.A. His contributions to science have also been recognized internationally where he serves on the Editorial Board of ASAS, and recently was invited as a Science Advisor to the International Foundation for Science, Sweden. He also serves on several local, professional and industry boards and committees.

 

Dr. Nyachoti has also proven himself as an effective faculty member in teaching. He has developed and delivered courses at the Diploma, Degree and Graduate level in the Department.  His knowledge and understanding of the Swine Industry has greatly benefited over 100 Diploma students and over 50 degree students that have taken his courses.  At the graduate level, he has developed and taught courses in the areas of Protein Metabolism and Advanced Applied Animal Nutrition. He is very diligent in preparing his PowerPoint lectures, insuring that the information delivered is as up to date as possible.

 

Animal Industries Award in Extension and Public Service:

 

Mr. Lee Whittington (Prairie Swine Centre)

 

This Award is presented to a member of the Canadian Society of Animal Science in recognition of sustained outstanding service to the animal industries of Canada in technology transfer, leadership and education in animal production. These contributions must be distinct from those of research. The recipient of the award may be employed in any sector of the Canadian Animal Industry. The award is sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada, Canadian Pork Council and Chicken Farmers of Canada.

 

Mr. Whittington obtained a B. Sc. in Animal Science from the University of Guelph in 1979, and a M.B.A. from the University of Sakatchewan in 1997. Innovation, enthusiasm for progress, and responsiveness to producer needs are the trademarks of Lee Whittington’s career.

In 1992 Lee joined the Prairie Swine Centre and was charged with the development and implementation of an innovative, effective technology transfer program whereby research results would be communicated rapidly to the pork industry for adoption.  His record in the past 13 years has been nothing less than outstanding. He has implemented an internationally-recognized technology transfer program at the Prairie Swine Centre and given freely of his time to local, regional and national organizations.  A common feature of his activities is partnering with others, including pork producers, consultants, agribusiness personnel and public servants.  He publishes a quarterly newsletter and an annual research report, organizes the annual Focus on the Future conference and makes himself easily available to pork producers.

Lee has implemented numerous innovative approaches to extension, including a national satellite conference (1995-1999), study tours to the World Pork Expo, with side trips to research institutions, packing plants and hog operations in Kansas, Iowa and Minnesota (1993 – 2002), and a web-based database that allows easy access to scientific information on animal welfare and the environment.  Lee has developed courses in Management Training for barn workers seeking to achieve promotion into management positions and in H2S Awareness, for barn workers and people handling liquid livestock manure.  Recently, Lee raised more than $1 million to establish the Pork Interpretive Gallery, providing a window to the pork industry.  Lee Whittington has achieved much in his career in extension and in the feed industry, but communicating with the industry has always been a priority. Lee is a popular speaker at meetings throughout North America.  He has presented dozens of invited presentations in 8 Canadian provinces, 6 U.S. states plus Scotland, England, The Netherlands, Denmark and the Ukraine.

 

 

 Award for Technical Innovation in Enhancing Production of Safe Affordable Food:

 

Dr. Pierre Lacasse (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre, Lennoxville, P.Q.)

 

This Award is presented to a member of the Canadian Society of Animal Science in recognition of excellence in technical innovation and teaching, with particular emphasis in the fields of biotechnology, genetics, physiology and animal behaviour. The award requires a demonstration that the recipient had contributed to the production of safe and affordable food.  The award is sponsored by Elanco Animal Health.

 

Dr. Lacasse obtained his B.Sc. in Animal Science from the University Laval in 1986. He obtained a M.Sc. in biology from the University of Sherbrooke in 1988 and a Ph.D. in animal Science from Mc Gill University in 1993. Dr. Lacasse is very active in a number of research areas related to the biology of lactation. The innovative work of Dr Lacasse has resulted in important findings in improving dairy cow productivity, adapting milk composition to the needs of processors and consumers, and reducing losses and antibiotic utilization by the modulation of natural immune defense mechanism against mastitis.  Some of the most significant findings are: the elucidation of mammary gland blood flow control; the development of feeding strategies and photoperiodic management to improve mammary gland development and milk production; new knowledge in biological control of lactation persistency; the milk fat depressing mechanism of polyunsaturated fatty acids; the use of lactoferrin and lactoferricin to fight antibiotic-resistant pathogens; the development of a vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus mastitis and the development of a new approach to protect the mammary gland tissues during mastitis.

 

Dr Lacasse is a very productive scientist with 37 scientific articles, 3 patents, 5 reviews and 68 abstracts to his credit so far. He has directed the work of 9 postdoctoral fellows, 2 Ph.D. students, 12 master students and 23 undergraduate students. He is also the editor of 2 books. Dr. Lacasse is also teaching a course on Biology of lactation at the University of Sherbrooke since 2003.  The web site of the course will soon be accessible from the internet and will constitute the most comprehensive reference on biology of lactation available in French on the Web.

 

Dr Lacasse is an instigator and a founding member of the Canadian Bovine Mastitis Research Network. This network now includes 33 scientists from 9 Universities and two Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centers. Dr Lacasse is the director of the Control of mastitis theme. In addition to his research program, Dr Lacasse has been involved in the organizations of the 5th, 6th and 7th Joint EAAP/ASAS Workshops on Biology of Lactation in Farm Animal”. He is currently organizing a symposium (Udder health management: a Canadian perspective) for the annual meeting of CSAS in Cincinnati.

Honorary life memberships:

 

These are awarded to recognise recently retired Canadian Society of Animal Science members who have demonstrated support of the Society’s Mission and Objectives.  Recipients are selected on the basis of their contributions to Animal Science in general and to the Canadian Society of Animal Science, and will subsequently not pay the Annual Dues of the Society.

 

Mr. Lyle McNichol (Manitoba Department of Agriculture)

 

Lyle's formal education in Agriculture was taken from the University of Alberta where he graduated with a Masters Degree majoring primarily in Livestock studies.  He worked for a period of time in the livestock feed sales area in Saskatchewan before working as a 4H and Youth Specialist for the Department of Alberta Agriculture and later on for the Department of Manitoba Agriculture.  It was through his work in 4H that he met Tom Pringle and Tom persuaded Lyle to join his Regional Service group for the North West Region of Manitoba as a 4H and Youth Specialist. When the Livestock Specialist position became vacant, Lyle successfully captured the vacancy and he remained in that position until he retired December 2004.  During part of that tenure he was appointed Assistant Regional Director as interim.  

 

Lyle's work ethic was second to none and he championed many causes during his years as Livestock Specialist in Manitoba.  He became known for his superior work in Animal Nutrition, and one of the efforts he championed was micro-nutrient (copper and selenium) deficiency in bovine. Through his work a special mineral package was developed for the area and is being sold commercially today on a wide scale basis. He worked with PFRA in expanding the use of the mineral mix on their pastures.  His work on superior genetics through bull test stations for both commercial and purebred stockmen resulted in a reputation for the Regions livestock as being of top quality and as such was sought out by livestock feeders.  He worked closely with the vet districts within the Region to ensure levels of service to the areas livestock producers.  Many local cattle feeders and backgrounders made an improved living as a result of Lyle's continuous work in low cost livestock rations.

 

Dr. Jock Buchanan-Smith (University of Guelph)

 

Dr. Jock Buchanan-Smith is an international authority on beef cattle nutrition and management. As a professor at the Department of Animal Science, University of Guelph, Jock has directed 23 graduate students at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. level, taught many ruminant nutrition, beef cattle production, digestion and metabolism, and nutritional research technique courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels

 

As a researcher, Jock has done extensive research in the area of beef cattle nutrition, protein metabolism, grazing and the overall effect of nutritional management on carcass quality in feedlot cattle. Jock’s publications record is extensive. He has authored or co-authored four book chapters, 80 scientific papers, participated in 98 presentations at scientific meetings and helped produce 159 technical publications on beef cattle nutrition and management. Jock was the chairman of the International Committee of Animal Nutrition, National Academy of Science, and was Chair of the Beef Cattle Subcommittee of the National Research Council which developed the new standards for the nutrient requirements for beef cattle. He is on the Editorial board for Animal Feed Science and Technology Journal, was the Chair of the Editorial Policy Board and Scientific Journals Committee for the Agricultural Institute of Canada and has been past Editor of the Canadian Journal of Animal Science.

 

Jock is an active member of the Canadian Society of Animal Science, the Nutrition Society, American Institute of Nutrition, Nutrition Society of Canada, American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association. Dr. Buchanan-Smith’s enthusiasm and dedication to his profession is outstanding.

Graduate Student Theatre Presentation Awards

Graduate Student Theatre Presentation Awards

These awards recognize the top theatre presentations in the graduate student research presentation competition at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Animal Science. The awards are sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health and were presented by Johanne Chiquette, 2005 awards chair.

Award Winners:

 First Place: D. Lackeyram
“Early weaning up-regulates the capacity of the small intestine sucrase-isomaltase and maltase-glucoamylase hydrolysis of maltose in neonatal pig.” by D. Lackeyram1, D. Pham1, Q. Liu2. Y. Mine1, M. Bakovic1, B.L. Nichols3, and M.Z. Fan1, 1University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada 2 Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 3 Baylor College of medicine, Houston, Tx.

 

 

 

First Place (ex aequo): K.L. Urschel

“Citrulline synthesis limits whole-body arginine synthesis in piglets fed an arginine deficient diet.”by K.L. Urschel1, A.K. Shoveller1, R. Uwiera2, P.B. Pencharz 1,3, and R.O. Ball 1,3 1Department of  Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2Health and Laboratory Animal Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 3Departments of Paediatrics and Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto,Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Third Place: L.M. Williams

“Effect of pelleted barley on performance and carcass quality of feedlot steers” by L.M. Williams1, J.J. McKinnon1, V.R. Racz,1, D.A. Christensen1, and K. Ataku2 1 University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, 2 Rakuno Gakuen, Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan.

 

Graduate Student Poster Presentation Awards

These awards recognize the top poster presentations in the graduate student research presentation competition at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Animal Science. The awards are sponsored by the Institut Rosell & Lallemand and were presented by Johanne Chiquette, 2005 awards chair.

First Place: A.M. Hawkins

“Bioavailability of phosphorus in peas for growing pigs” by A.M. Hawkins1, C.M. Nyachoti1, B.A. Slominski1, and H.A. Weiler2, 1Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 2Department of Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg , Manitoba, Canada.

 

First Place (ex aequo): F.O. Opapeju

Growth performance, carcass characteristics and fat quality of pigs fed Manitoba-grown corn cultivars.by F.O. Opapeju, C.M. Nyachoti, and J.D. House, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

 

Third Place: M. Vachon (missing from picture)
“Validation of a new equation predicting digestible energy of forage for sheep” by M. Vachon1,2, J.F. Bernier1, G. Allard1, A. Brégard1, and D. Pellerin1 1 Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada, 2 Centre d’expertise en production ovine du Québec, La Pocatière, Québec , Canada.

Canadian Society of Animal Science Undergraduate Award
The Canadian Society of Animal Science Undergraduate Awards are awarded to recognize academic excellence in the first three years of undergraduate study in the Departments of Animal Science, Poultry Science, Nutrition or Food Science in each the University Faculties of Agriculture across Canada. The prize consists of a one year subscription to CJAS (print and electronic) and a handsome framed certificate. The award is sponsored by Canadian Society of Animal Science, and awarded in the fall of the year at the institution where the award winner is a student.

Award Winners:

¨       Jeffrey Nimmo • University of British Columbia

¨       Jacqueline M. Parr • University of Guelph

¨       Renee Garbes • Nova Scotia Agricultural College

¨       Stéphanie Desrosiers • Université Laval Annie Lafaille • MacDonald College

¨       Sharilyn Terletski • University of Alberta

¨       Ryan Ridgway • University of Saskatchewan

¨       Ashley Stewart • University of Manitoba