In December, the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences welcomed Dr. Shawna Weimer to the faculty as an Assistant Professor, specializing in Poultry Extension. Dr. Weimer is originally from Iowa. She attended Iowa State University where she earned a B.S. in Animal Science/Animal Ecology and M.S. in Animal Physiology with a specialization in swine ethology. After that she worked in the swine industry for two years in quality assurance and procurement at swine processing facilities in Iowa and Minnesota. Dr. Weimer received her Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 2017 and her dissertation research was on validating noninvasive measures of stress and lameness in broilers. She also ran broiler nutrition trials for allied industry sponsors during her time in Arkansas. Her post-doc at Purdue involved research on laying hens, turkeys and broilers in the areas of physiology, health, management, nutrition, egg quality, meat quality, behavior and welfare.
Dr. Weimer is PAACO (Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization) certified in poultry and offers her services to shadow audit poultry operations seeking animal welfare certification. Under the same umbrella, she is weaving her extension and applied research efforts to foster the sustainability of the poultry industry. Her current research objectives are to improve the health, performance and welfare of poultry through 1) developing environmental and nutritional management strategies, 2) investigating the utility of noninvasive technologies, and 3) validating audit criteria for animal welfare audits and assessments.
