This year at International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta, Merck Animal Health will celebrate its commitment to innovation by awarding the last of three fellowships, launched in 2015, to support doctoral students who are passionate about innovative poultry science research.

Promoting future leadership in poultry science and food safety

Recognizing that such research is integral to the future of food, Merck Animal Health made a grant of $300,000 to the Poultry Science Association (PSA) Foundation Capital Campaign, Charting Our Course – Securing Future Leadership for Poultry, whose mission is to develop leaders in poultry science, health and nutrition, and food safety. The PSA Foundation has provided funding assistance to numerous undergraduate and graduate students under this mandate.

“Being awarded the Merck Animal Health Poultry Ph.D. Fellowship Award allows me to focus on research rather than finding funding support, which is a pretty big deal.” – Maria Arendt, recipient of the 2017 Merck Animal Health Fellowship.

Delair Angelo Bolis, previous Head of the Global Poultry Business Unit, current Managing Director at Merck Animal Health, Scott Bormann, Vice President of US Commercial Operations at Merck Animal Health and Lisa Bielke, Chair of the PSA Foundation Board of Trustees congratulate Maria Arendt, the 2017 recipient of the Merck Animal Health Poultry PhD Fellowship Award.

Having reached out to her, we learned that Maria Arendt’s research has been fruitful, leading to a patent application for an alternative immunotherapy for coccidiosis symptoms in broilers. “I feel extremely fortunate,” Maria says, “that the Merck Animal Health Fellowship has provided me funding to further evaluate anti-IL-10 promising novel anti-coccidial.”

This year marks the conclusion of the funding program which will have supported three doctoral students and their important research in poultry science. The generous and prestigious grants enable young and talented students to focus on their work without the distraction of having to secure additional funding, an endeavour which can inhibit students from fully applying themselves to their work. These fellowships not only demonstrate Merck Animal Health’s commitment to innovative poultry science research, but also their dedication to the future of scientific research and food security by supporting the leaders of tomorrow.

This year’s recipient will be announced on January 31 during the Merck Animal Health “5th Annual Culinary Tour of Nations” luncheon at the IPPE, where poultry dishes from all over the world can be enjoyed “in a casual, picnic style setting with friends.” The barbecue will take place from 12:00-1:30 pm at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C, Level 3, GA Ballroom – Section 2.