In honor of her 35 years of dedication to research and education, Gisela Erf, endowed professor of avian immunology, was recognized as a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.

The status of fellow is the highest distinction a Poultry Science Association member can achieve. The election recognizes members for professional distinction and contributions to poultry science and service.

"I have worked to advance our knowledge and understanding of the immune system in poultry," Erf said. "We have developed procedures to assess immune system development and function, including a minimally invasive growing feather system to test cellular immune responses."

Erf's contributions to poultry science research include increasing the understanding of immunopathology, immune dysfunction and immune system mechanisms in multifactorial, non-communicable diseases. She has also touched the lives of countless students throughout the years.

"I have taught immunology courses and mentored undergraduate and graduate students by overseeing their research programs," Erf said.

Erf said she was honored and humbled to receive the highest recognition from the Poultry Science Association.

David Caldwell, department head of poultry science and director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, said this recognition was well-deserved.

"To say she deserves to be inducted as a fellow of PSA is an understatement," Caldwell said. "In my opinion, this was an honor she was long overdue to receive.

"Dr. Gisela Erf has long been respected and admired for her commitment to research in this field," Caldwell said. "Perhaps more importantly, she has always been admired and respected for her commitment to teaching and student advising or mentoring."

Erf conducts research through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station as a faculty member of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science. She holds the Tyson Endowed Professorship in Avian Immunology and teaches classes through the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the U of A. The experiment station is the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

A winding road to Arkansas poultry

Gisela Erf grew up in Wiesensteig, a small town in southern Germany. She received a two-year degree in agriculture from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 1979 and bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science from the University of Guelph in 1981 and 1983, respectively. While working on her master's degree, she studied the hen's ovulation cycle under her adviser Robert Etches.

Next, Erf pursued a doctorate in immunology under the direction of James Marsh at Cornell University, evaluating the effects of thyroid hormones on cell-mediated immunity in chickens. Upon graduation in 1988, she began work at Smith College as an assistant professor in biological sciences. There, she continued research in avian immunology by collaborating with J. Robert Smyth, Jr. at the University of Massachusetts on the autoimmune pigmentation loss in Smyth chickens. Erf recently published a study building on this work.

In 1994, she made her way to Arkansas, joining the faculty in the Department of Poultry Science with Bumpers College and the Division of Agriculture. In this environment, her research program broadened to include collaborative projects on the influence of genetics, nutrition, physiology and the environment on immune system development and function in poultry. She taught graduate lectures and laboratory courses in immunology, as well as an undergraduate poultry science course focused on experiential learning.

In recognition of her commitment to teaching, she was awarded the Purina Mills Poultry Science Association Teaching Award in 1999. In 2005, her efforts in graduate mentorship and providing research opportunities to students were recognized by the Poultry Science Association's Helene Cecil Leadership Award. Erf was named the Tyson Endowed Professorship in Avian Immunology in 2006. Erf has served the Poultry Science Association in several capacities, including as a student presentation judge, session chair, section chair at annual meetings and as Poultry Science Section editor.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

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About the Division of Agriculture: The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation's historic land grant education system through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service. The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.