Planning to Apply for Graduate School Abroad?
Pursuing graduate studies overseas in poultry/animal science can be demanding and requires careful planning and effort. Join us for an exclusive webinar designed to help animal or poultry science students successfully navigate the graduate school application process for universities in Canada, the U.S. and Austraila.
📌 Webinar Highlights:
✅ How to write an impactful email to potential advisors
✅ Tips for acing online interviews
✅ Crafting a compelling Statement of Purpose (SOP)
✅ Common mistakes to avoid during the application process
✅ What makes a strong student profile to stand out
✅ Understanding university and departmental admission requirements
Whether you're just getting started or fine-tuning your application, this session will offer practical advice, real-world insights, and expert tips from world-renowned professors to help you stand out and succeed.
The presentation will be followed by a questions and answers session in which students can ask the questions directly from the esteemed speakers.
🗓️ May 21st (Wednesday) – 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm (ET)
This webinar is free and open to Poultry Science Association student members, and student membership to PSA is totally free. To apply for PSA membership:
PSA Student Membership
Speakers:
Martin Zuidhof, Ph.D.
Professor, Poultry Systems Modeling and Precision Feeding
Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science
University of Alberta, Canada
Dr. Martin Zuidhof is a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta, Canada, where he has served for over 16 years. A passionate educator, he plays an active role in teaching poultry science courses and has made significant contributions to the field—including the development of the first precision feeding system that regulates individual feed intake in group-housed chickens.
With over 100 co-authored publications in leading animal and poultry science journals, Dr. Zuidhof is widely recognized for his academic excellence. He has been honored with multiple awards for both teaching and research. He currently serves as the President of the Poultry Science Association.
He holds an M.Sc. in broiler breeder management (1993) and earned his Ph.D. in bioeconomic modeling of the broiler supply chain from the University of Alberta in 2004.
Mike Persia, Ph.D.
John W. Hancock Professor and Extension Specialist, Poultry Nutrition & Management
School of Animal Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
Dr. Mike Persia is a professor and extension specialist in poultry nutrition and management in the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech, USA. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to teaching and research in animal-related programs, he was named the John W. Hancock Professor of Animal Sciences by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and popular press articles in the field of poultry science. He is actively engaged in teaching and mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students. His exceptional work in poultry nutrition has been recognized by the American Feed Industry Association, which honored him with the Poultry Nutrition Award. In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Persia has played an active leadership role in the Poultry Science Association, serving as a Board member and chairing annual meetings and various committees.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, a master’s degree from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Eugeni Roura, Ph.D.
Professorial Research Fellow
Leader Nutrition & Chemosensory Science Group
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation,
The University of Queensland, Australia
Professor Eugeni Roura is a veterinary nutritionist by background with interests in digestive physiology and gut health, chemosensory science (including taste and smell) and transgenerational mechanisms relevant to chickens, pigs and humans. The main research areas in animal science include appetite modulation in chickens and pigs, embryonic/foetal development (including “in ovo”), and strategies to improve sustainability of chicken meat, egg and pork production.
He earned his Veterinary Science degree from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain, and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in Nutrition at the University of California (UC) Davis, in collaboration with UAB. He later completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UC Davis as well. After the post-co., Eugeni enjoyed 16 years of practical industry experience before joining UQ in 2010. Since then he has graduated 20 PhD students, published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and has been invited as keynote speaker to more than 50 national and international scientific meetings. Eugeni is currently serving as President of the World’s Poultry Science Association (Australia branch), Director of the AgriFutures Chicken Meat Consortium, and member of the National Committee for Nutrition (Australian Academy of Sciences), R&D and Education Committees of the Australasian Pork Research Institute Ltd., and the Federation of Oceania Nutrition Societies. He was the recipient of the Nutrition Society of Australia 2024 Medal award. He is deeply passionate about students’ mentorship.