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ON THE VALUE OF PSA AND ITS ONGOING ROLE IN EDUCATION AND THE INDUSTRY – A GRADUATE STUDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

SAVOY, IL (January 6, 2009) – Nationwide and in Canada, more than 700 men and women are pursuing degrees in poultry science. Among them, some 213 are currently working towards advanced degrees. Recently, The Poultry Science Association (PSA) spoke with one of them to get her perspective on PSA.

Lindsay Stevenson, a second-year Ph.D. student in Auburn University's Department of Poultry Science and one of two Student Representatives on PSA's Board of Directors, shared her views with PSA on PSA's importance to education in poultry science, poultry-related research and the industry..

When did you first learn about PSA?

"As an undergraduate in animal science at Ohio State. Since Ohio State lacks a poultry science department, it, along with a number of other schools in the Midwest, gives students the opportunity to take poultry science classes in the summer at the Midwest Poultry Consortium at the University of Wisconsin. PSA held its annual meeting at Wisconsin during my second summer at the Consortium. I became interested and later joined, in 2004."

What value do you and your fellow students derive from PSA?

"The immediate value is of course the right to attend the Annual Meeting and submit abstracts relating to our research, so that we can share the work we are doing to a broader audience and update ourselves on cutting-edge work being done elsewhere.

"But beyond that, through PSA's newsletters and other communications, as well as the Annual Meeting, PSA gives us lots of opportunities to learn about the broad range of issues affecting both academia and industry. This is particularly important given that the number of standalone poultry science departments has fallen over the last few decades, so that having an organization like PSA that can serve as a clearinghouse for poultry-related information and issues is enormously helpful. I think this is particularly true for graduate students, who don't have the wide network of personal contacts that professionals who have been in the field longer have had time to establish."

Has PSA been valuable to you as a networking tool?

"Absolutely. Preparing for and participating in the Annual Meeting is, in particular, an excellent way to get to know – and even become friends with – many students and professors outside of your own department, and also to make acquaintances with people in government and the industry as well. In my case, I think I would like to work in academia. But given the uncertainty of the current economic environment, which is impacting both the private and public sector, it's good to keep your options open. PSA is very valuable in helping me do that.

"PSA also publishes Poultry Science and The Journal of Applied Poultry Research. These are the two key refereed scientific journals for poultry scientists, and so if your paper is accepted in either journal, it not only makes your findings more broadly available, but it also helps build your own name recognition, which is especially important to graduate students who will soon be on the market."

In your view, how does industry benefit from PSA?

"PSA plays an important role in encouraging the kind of research that has helped build the industry and that continues to help it remain financially viable and responsive to new pressures arising from the private and public sectors, such as animal rights and environmental issues. PSA will play an important role in helping to articulate these issues, and their ramifications, to the industry going forward.

"PSA also strongly encourages basic research that may not be supported as much in an industry-lab setting, due to the focus on near-term financial returns, but which may pay major cost-saving and potentially profit-generating benefits down the road. In my research, for example, I am focusing primarily on the use soy phytoestrogens and their potential impact on reproductive ability. It's too early to tell whether they will produce a benefit or not, but it's an area well worth looking at and it may, in the long run, be beneficial to industry."

About PSA

The Poultry Science Association (PSA) is a global scientific society dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge generated by poultry research – knowledge that enhances human and animal health and well-being and provides for the ethical, sustainable, and economical production of food. Founded in 1908, PSA has a global membership of about 2,000. For more information, go to www.poultryscience.org.

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