Message from the Chair
Greetings to our Department of Animal and Food Sciences (ANFS) alumni and friends!
We have so much wonderful news to share and are extremely proud and excited about our accomplishments this past year. We have reached our goals of establishing new academic programs, opening new teaching facilities, adding to our staff, and growing our student body in the 2023/24 academic year. We also welcomed two amazing new faculty members with expertise in poultry science and food science. We will have a new instructor joining the department this coming fall to lead the equine science minor and equine therapeutics program. A search is currently underway for two additional faculty members to conduct research and teach courses in preharvest food safety and avian biosciences. Dr. Limin Kung, Jr., S. Hallock DuPont Endowed Professor and former ANFS Chair and prior Provost, Dr. Robin Morgan also became Emeritus faculty in ANFS. Two of our faculty have decided to retire and another has taken on a leadership position with the federal government. We will miss them tremendously but wish them all the very best in their new roles. We also want to recognize our 2024 graduates who continue to impress us with their academic achievements and talents. Congratulations to the Class of 2024!
To all of our alumni and friends, please remember to come by for a visit if you will be in the area. We would love to see you!
Most sincerely,
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Erin E. Connor
Professor and Chair
Department of Animal and Food Sciences
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Welcome to New Faculty and Staff Members! |
Dr. Juzhong Tan is a food engineer and an electrical engineer working on multidisciplinary research projects on upcycling food wastes for food product development, novel food manufacturing technologies (3-D printing, extrusion, cold plasma) to improve food nutritional benefits and safety, robotic food production, and climate-smart farming and production practices. His goal is to strengthen the resilience of the food supply chain and empower food producers/processors. Dr. Tan is also a chocolate scientist who is passionate about developing health-promoting chocolates. | |
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He will teach Food Science Capstone (Food Product Development) and Food Sensory in 2024, and he is interested in developing new courses that focus on novel food processing and production. He will coordinate/build up the food sensory facility and food processing facility to support teaching, conducting research, and providing services to stakeholders. In the long term, he envisions establishing a food innovation center with a food-grade processing facility that incubates the development of new food products and novel food processing technologies.
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 |  | Dr. Alex Yitbarek assumed the role of Assistant Professor of Animal Science at the University of Delaware in January 2024, bringing with him a rich academic background. He holds dual B.S. degrees in Animal Sciences from The University of Asmara, Eritrea, and Microbiology from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Dr. Yitbarek then pursued an M.S. in Swine Nutrition at the University of Manitoba before earning his Ph.D. in Avian Immunology from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, in 2018. Prior to his current role, Dr. Yitbarek was Assistant Professor specializing in sustainable poultry production at McGill University's Department of Animal Science. At McGill, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Swine and Poultry Production, as well as Eukaryotic Cells and Viruses. Notably, Dr. Yitbarek secured competitive grants from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Poultry Research Council to investigate host-pathogen interactions in necrotic enteritis.
Dr. Yitbarek’s tenure includes more than four years of industrial research experience where he was a poultry research associate and scientist at Nutreco Canada and DuPont – Danisco Animal Nutrition, respectively. During this time, he played a pivotal role in various projects aimed at developing products to combat various poultry diseases including coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis. His work involved extensive collaboration with universities and research institutions worldwide.
In his current role, Dr. Yitbarek’s research program focuses on addressing major poultry diseases such as necrotic enteritis and avian influenza. His lab investigates host-pathogen interactions and immune responses, with the aim of developing novel feed additives, vaccines, and vaccine adjuvants to enhance poultry health and production sustainability. Additionally, Dr. Yitbarek is actively involved in teaching curriculum development and will teach ANFS436/636 Immunology of Domestic Animals in Fall 2024, and he is developing a new course titled Gut Health in Livestock Species.
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Jessica Canada graduated in December 2022 from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in Animal Science and a double minor in Equine Science and Animal Nutrition. She is currently employed as the assistant manager at Webb Farm. Her responsibilities include the day-to-day care of our flock of Dorset sheep, our 6 horses, and our herd of Angus cattle. She also assists with animal handling labs as well as the animal management capstone courses. | |
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Jan Unflat is the mother of 2 girls and 2 boys, and Mom-Mom to 6! She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before re-entering the workforce. She has worked for the University for 15+ years; 15 of those years were at the Kent County Extension Office as administrative assistant to various Agents. She helped run many of the Statewide Extension programs including ServSafe, DineSafe, Dining With Diabetes and Master Gardeners. She is enjoying her time with the wonderful faculty and staff. | |
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Faculty Members Leaving the Department | |
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Dr. Ryan Arsenault joined the Department of Animal and Food Sciences in the summer of 2015 as an assistant professor. His research focused on kinomics and the gut health of poultry, and included the topics of immunometabolism, host-pathogen interactions, feed additives
and antibiotic alternatives.
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Research projects included host-pathogen interactions of Salmonella, Coccidiosis, avian influenza and Necrotic Enteritis in broiler chickens, gastrointestinal immune development in broiler chickens, and the immunometabolic mechanism of action of antibiotic alternatives and feed additives.
Dr. Arsenault established the first undergraduate class in One Health at the University of Delaware. One Health is a life science approach focused on the integration of human, animal, and environmental health. This sophomore-level class included topics in agriculture, GMOs, vaccines, viral zoonoses, antibiotic resistance, prions, zika, avian influenza, COVID-19, climate, ecology, and critical thinking. The class, and One Health in general, became very popular with the ANFS students, and expanded into two additional classes, ANFS 124 Pandemic Preparedness and One Health (established during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020) and ANFS 448/648 Current Topics in One Health. These classes form the core of a Certificate in One Health that students can take during their degree. Since being established in the Fall of 2022, more than 60 students have registered for or graduated with the certificate.
Dr. Arsenault trained numerous Ph.D., master’s and undergraduate research students during his time at UD, as well as instructed thousands of students. Dr. Arsenault is departing UD in Spring 2024 to take up a research leader position in the Feed and Food Safety Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Texas. He will supervise a growing team of 17 scientists, technicians and post-doctoral fellows researching infectious diseases in swine, cattle, and poultry of concern for human food safety.
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Dr. Amy Biddle is retiring from UD at the end of June. She joined the Department of Animal and Food Sciences in the summer of 2015 as an assistant professor with a focus on equine science. Her research focuses on the bacteria, parasites, and commensal eukaryotes that inhabit the horse gut and their roles in health and disease. Through a nationwide, crowdsourced sampling effort, the Equine Microbiome Project (EMP) enabled the Biddle Lab to identify community patterns associated with diet, age, and keeper status. The Biddle Lab collaborated with companies such as Fuji, ProbioTech and Kibow Biotech to assess the safety and efficacy of supplements in in vitro experiments, and worked with colleagues from across the country on a variety of equine microbiome research topics. | |
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Other projects included the geographic distribution of cyathostomin species, mechanisms of natural immunity to parasites, and their resistance to anthelmintics. Dr. Biddle mentored several Ph.D., Master’s and undergraduate students including 15 awarded Degrees with Distinction for writing Senior Theses under her direction. Dr. Biddle taught courses in the gut microbiome, forage management and equine nutrition. Her Equine Management Capstone class connected students to more than 20 local equine organizations to work on projects and develop professional networks. Dr. Biddle expanded opportunities for students pursuing the Equine Science Minor to include courses in equine business management and equine therapeutics and established the Equine Therapeutics Certificate for students across the university who are interested in this field. In her retirement, Dr. Biddle plans to spend time riding her horses, playing music, contra dancing, creating things with her sheep’s wool, and working on projects to help people and animals in need. | |
Dr. Rolf Joerger is retiring from UD at the end of June. He joined the faculty of the Animal and Food Sciences department in 1996 to conduct research in microbial food safety and to teach courses in food science. One of the first courses he taught was Food Biotechnology. The topics of this course included the traditional fermentation technologies that bring us such foods as cheese, beer and chocolate, but over the years also the new technologies that create genetically engineered organisms. | |
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The genetically engineered FlavrSavr tomato, long since forgotten, was a much-debated topic in the first year Dr. Joerger taught the course, and the discussions of the pros and cons of genetically engineered organisms for food production continued over the years as more and more genetically engineered organisms were introduced. Animal cloning and cultured meat, recently in the news again, were also additions to the course content over the years.
Another course Dr. Joerger taught for 20 years was the Food Science Capstone course. This course challenged the students to come up with an idea for a novel food product, to create the product from scratch, and to deal with everything that would have to be taken care of when introducing a food product into the market such as regulations, marketing and packaging design. The highlight of the course was the introduction of the students’ products to the public on AgDay or to the College at a “product launch” at the very end of the semester.
Prior to joining UD, Dr. Joerger was a visiting scientist at safety-conscious DuPont, and the department decided that with this experience, Dr. Joerger was a good candidate for the departmental Chemical Hygiene Officer and Safety Committee Chair positions. He held these positions for 27 years.
Dr. Joerger was co-editor of this newsletter since its inception, and he is looking forward to reading all the future editions during his retirement.
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Therapeutic Riding Update! | Starting in Fall 2024, the Equine Therapeutics program will be moving to the UD Webb Farm! For the past four years we have had a wonderful collaboration with the New Castle County/ TROT program at Carousel Park. At Webb Farms, the program will be able to expand interdisciplinary opportunities in research and teaching across departments and offer services and programs for the community. Under the direction of Elyssa Doner, the Equine Therapeutics program at the Webb Farm is poised to become a Premier Accredited Center through PATH International. | |
Introducing the Vet Skills Studio! | |
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The Vet Skills Studio, opened in Spring 2024, was born out of an idea to provide students with a safe space to practice their skills in a veterinary setting before stepping foot in a live veterinary hospital. Having a space that gives the true feeling of the flow of a hospital with familiar equipment and surroundings provides a learning environment that builds muscle memory. When students find themselves in a similar situation in the future in a working veterinary hospital, they can draw from these experiences in a truer fashion than when they learn a skill in a laboratory classroom setting.
These characteristics are exemplified by our mission statement: The Veterinary Skills Studio is an immersive simulated veterinary hospital environment that develops University of Delaware students’ client-patient relationships and standards of professionalism. Via hands-on experience, this risk- and stress-free space supplements their academic knowledge and skills required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement.
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The Honors College selected Dr. Lesa Griffiths as a recipient of the 2024 Excellence in Honors Teaching Award. Nominations were submitted by UD students, who praised Dr. Griffiths for her mentorship, commitment to her students, and passion for sharing knowledge with her students and the community.
Dr. Laura Hougentogler, Laboratory Manager and Instructor, was nominated as Most Valuable Professor (MVP) by a member of the Delaware Softball team and recognized with her student-athlete at their game on May 2, 2024.
Kathryn Ellwood, Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Aditya Dutta’s lab, was awarded second place in the Ph.D. presentation category at the 2023 CANR Graduate Research Symposium.
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Alexis Omar, Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Kali Kniel’s lab was a recipient of the coveted IAFP Travel Scholarship in 2023.
Gianna Metzger, undergraduate in Dr. Amy Biddle’s lab, was awarded a DE-INBRE Academic Year Fellows Award.
Kasey Hobert, M.S. student in Dr. Amy Biddle's lab has garnered her experience as a member of the UD Marching Band as an undergraduate to join the marching band for the Baltimore Ravens!
Undergraduate students Isabella Ferraro and Lillian McGarvey as well as alumna Emma Rigaud (UD Class of 2023) were awarded scholarships from the Delaware Equine Council.
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Alexis Omar accepting her award. | |
Animal Science and Food Science Clubs | |
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The Animal Science Club had a remarkable year filled with events, providing students hands-on experiences, insightful conversations with vet schools and professionals, volunteering opportunities, and fun social gatherings. Our commitment to community service extended to volunteering at the BVSPCA animal shelter, where members also had the unique opportunity to shadow spay/neuter surgeries. Further expanding our horizons, we enjoyed a tour of the Wolf Sanctuary of PA and received valuable insights from UD wildlife professor, Dr. Kyle McCarthy. A highlight of our year was the highly successful Ag Day, where our club hosted the largest tent featuring a dairy cow and calf, sheep and their lambs, and engaging activities for community members of all ages. Notably, our mock animal hospital provided an exciting introduction to the veterinary medicine field for children to treat stuffed animal patients. Towards the end of the semester, our collective efforts raised funds to support the Camden Aquarium and led to the adoption of our very own club Hippo, Genny!
In the Fall semester, the club continued its engagement with professionals, including representatives from veterinary schools like Tufts, UPenn, Missouri, and Ross, along with experts from Mountaire Farms. Equine enthusiasts among our members enjoyed tours of Applewood Equestrian and participated in volunteer opportunities at the Maryland 5 Star Equine competition. We wrapped up the year with our celebratory holiday dinner at Dr. Griffiths’ house to celebrate her many years of commitment and support to the club since its inception in 1987 with now alumnus Pat Carroll, Director of Delaware Humane Animal Partners, with whom we are looking forward to collaborating with. While we will miss the guidance of Dr. Griffiths as our senior advisor, we are excited to continue our advisorship with Dr. Hougentogler and extend a warm welcome to Dr. Gaab. We look forward to an exciting year ahead, beginning with our upcoming participation in NESA 2024 at UMass Amherst.
If you would like to support our endeavors as we gear up for our NESA competition and the semester ahead, visit HenFunder and search for "Animal Science Club".
To keep up to date with our club, feel free to check out our website, Instagram (@AnimalScienceClubAtUD), and join our Facebook group!
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During Fall 2023, the Food Science Club worked together and had a great semester. There was an abundance of new freshmen members who made every meeting positive with their regular attendance. They started off the semester with their annual UDairy Creamery ice cream social where they introduced the executive board and got to know the new members. The club heard about the industry from guest speakers UD alumni Matthew Bogdan from Bakerly and Dr. Leola Henry from McCormick. The club also had fun food-themed meetings like the Science of Chocolate and Pumpkin Fest, a pumpkin spice buffet along with pumpkin painting. This spring, they can't wait to meet new members and participate in the Institute of Food Technologists's (IFT) College Bowl held at Penn State University and Ag Day! | |
Recognizing Our Supporters | |
The department is pleased to recognize alumni, faculty, staff, parents, students, organizations, and friends who supported the department during the calendar year 2023. The following listing includes donors who designated gifts to ANFS from January 1 through December 31, 2023.
Anyone interested in donating may visit our giving page.
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AAAP
Wayne I. Anderson
Karen Roth Aniunas
Jessica S. Applebaum
Arkion Life Sciences
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Rachel and Micah Becker-Klein
Kelsey R. Bernarducci
Ann S. Billek
Blackbaud Giving Fund
Tony Brubaker and Sue Haenlein Brubaker
Charmayne P. Busker
Clara S. Chan
Simon Chapman
Elaine Cratty
Deborah Davis
Delaware Holstein Friesian Association
Judith R. DeLuca
Anita M. Donofrio
Michael N. Donofrio
Nicholas M. Donofrio
Nicole M. Donofrio
Heidi Dowlin
Richard A. Drake
Anna Drum
Brooke Durham
John C. Dzik and Theresa Courtney Dzik
Louisa Patnovic Emerick
Samantha M. Emolo
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Joe and Julia B. Fisher
Essence Forbes
Nancy B. and Richard E. Fowler
Paulette and Robert N. Francois
Samantha J. Frontz
Kelly A. Glynn
Jaclyn S. Green
Tanya F. Gressley
Catherine Guay
Walter G. Haenlein and Allyson Blaine Haenlein
Jacqueline E. Haenlein
James Haenlein
Jordan E. Hanson
Shane D. Harper and Sophie Drossman Harper
Gary and Nancy A. Heath
Sharon K. Heath
Ryan Higgins
Alfred L. Pennesi and Candice L. Hoffman
Jennifer Smith Hogan
Katie E. Hogan
Johnson & Johnson Foundation
Anne and Dennis Johnson
Calvin L. Keeler Jr. and Sharon Martin Keeler
Mary D. Kinney
Thomas P. Davis and Patricia J. Kohl Davis
Jeanette Lauer
Amanda Wulterkens Lee and Frank A. Lee
Carolyn J. Littel
Raul F. Lobo and Michele Dickman Lobo
Terry Manucci
Jennifer Cleveland McEntire
Julie E. and Kevin W. McNelis
Terry Meade
Sharon B. and Rex L. Mears
Merck Company Foundation
Sarah Merrell
Serena Metz
Veda J. and Daniel P. Moore
Meghan Fitzpatrick Morrell
Robert and Kathleen Morrison
MOVA Technologies, Inc.
Pallieter Muyldermans
Navonne Owen
Katherine M. Pacer
Philadelphia IFT
Catherine P. and Benjamin K. Raphael
Adam Raymer
Kris Raymer
Mychael R. Raymer
Joseph W. Russell and Linda Hairsine Russell
Christopher M. Sammelwitz
David W. End and Nancy Shaffer-End
Ariana R. Shakory
Susan Silverstein
Cynthia A. Smyth
Maureen T. and Raymond R. Stankiewicz
Dirk Stoop
Ingrid Stoop
Marleen Stoop
Stephen F. Sylvia
Saralee Webb Towers and H. Wesley Towers Jr.
Brenda and Ross Tuxhorn
USPOULTRY Foundation
Valerie Horner Vallely
Estelle K. Tulloss Wagner and Donald J. Wagner
Jacob N. Wagner
Chen Wang
Marilyn B. Weber
Christopher K. Williams
Samantha R. Williams
Louise Witmer
Johan Stoop and Petra Wolters
Hansjorg Wyss
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