YVONNE VIZZIER THAXTON

Professor of Poultry Science

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CURRENT TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES:

PO 4523/6523 Commercial Broiler Processing Techniques, Fall

Distance Learning Version online

PO 3834 Microbiology of Food Animal Production

NTR 8123                               Methods in Nutrition Research
PO 4513/6513/FNH 4513       Poultry Processing
PO 3021                                  Seminar, HACCP certification

EDUCATION:

Mississippi University for Women, Columbus, Mississippi
            B.S., 1968       Bacteriology
            M.S., 1971      Biological Sciences
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
            Ph.D., 1990     Poultry Pathology

CONTINUING EDUCATION

U.S.E.P.A. Perrine Primate Laboratory, Gas Chromatography Electron Capture Analysis of Pesticide Residues, Certificate, 1971
American Association of Feed Microscopists, Feed Microscopy, Certificate, 1975
Dun & Bradstreet Companies, Inc., Accounting I - Certificate, 1975
Dun & Bradstreet Companies, Inc., Credit & Financial Analysis - Certificate, 1976
Massachusetts Institutes of Technology, Advances in Food Microbiology, Certificate, 1978
University of Alabama, Time Management by Objectives, 1980
University of Alabama, Leadership for Performance, 1981
University of Santa Clara, Practical Food Law, Certificate, 1981
American Institute of Baking, Food Processing Sanitation, Certificate, 1984
University of Wisconsin, Advanced Corrugated Container Workshop, Certificate 1985
KFC – Quality Leadership Workshop, 1993
Mississippi State University, Excellence in Teaching Fall Symposium, 1999
Mississippi State University, Advanced Power Point Workshop, 1999
Mississippi State University, 12 Keys to Successful Grant Writing, 1999
Mississippi State University, New Faculty Research Orientation Workshop, 1999
USDA/CRESS Competitive Grants Workshop, 1999
Mississippi State University, GroupWise Workshop, 1999
Mississippi State University, Accessing the Libraries' Electronic Journals, 1999
Mississippi State University, Identifying Grants and Funding Resources, 2000
Mississippi State University, Excellence in Teaching Fall Symposium, 2000
Mississippi State University, Faculty Instructional Technology Series, 2001
International HACCP Alliance, Train-the-Trainer HACCP Course, 2004
Mississippi State University, Web CT Jumpstart Workshop, 2005

EMPLOYMENT:

1999 – present    Professor, Poultry Science, Mississippi State University
1997 - 1999        Full time Consultant to Novus International, Inc., St. Louis, MO
1992 – 1999       Adjunct Professor, Poultry Science, Mississippi State University
1983 - 1996        Vice President, Science & Quality Assurance, Marshall Durbin Food Corporation, Birmingham, AL
1981 - 1983        Assistant Vice President, Marshall Durbin Food Corporation
1975 - 1981        Director, Laboratory Services, Marshall Durbin Food Corporation
1974 - 1975        Manager, Marshall Durbin Laboratory
1971 - 1974        Manager, Food Products Laboratory, MFC. Services (AAL), Jackson, MS
1969 - 1971        Microbiologist, MFC Services (AAL)

CONSULTING ACTIVITIES:

KFC Poultry Advisory Board, Yum Foods, Inc., Lexington, Ky 2007
Executive Editor, POULTRY Magazine, Marketing & Technology Group, Chicago, IL August, 2001 – present
Consulting Food Technologist/Microbiologist, GenSpec Foods, Baldwin, GA 2002
Full time Consultant to Novus International, Inc., St. Louis, MO, 1997 - 1999

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Food Safety through the relationship of the environment to bird microflora, development of immunity and subsequently the finished food product.

GRADUATE STUDENT TRAINING:

Major Professor

                        Michael E. Chaloupka, M.S. 2001, Agribusiness Management
                        Montika Putsakum, Ph.D., candidate in Nutrition
                        Ryn McDonald, Ph.D., candidate in Food Science
                        Zachery Williams, M. S. Candidate, Poultry Science

Graduate Advisory Committee

Sirilag Puvadolpirod, Ph.D., 1996 Animal Physiology
Jeanette Tankson, Ph.D., 2001 Animal Physiology
Becky Fiorillo, M.S, 2002, Food Technology
Davis E. Wilbourn, M.S. candidate in Poultry Science
Jane Odhiambo, Ph.D., Nutrition, 2005
Tucker Bielman, M. S. Candidate in Food Science
Scott Virden, Ph.D., Nutrition 2006
Vijayakumar Radhakrishnan, M. S. Food Science, 2007
Vamsidhar Battula, M.S. Candidate in Food Science
Karen Christense, Ph.D. Candidate in Animal Physiology

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE:

1985    Institut National Agronomique and the Guinea Industry of France
1985, Selected to tour the guinea industry in the Loire Valley of France and discuss the feasibility of establishing cooperative guinea processing operations with the U.S. Broiler Industry
1989    Served as a Delegate to review the USDA-Pollos Picu Inspection Activities, Coamo, Puerto Rico
1995    Invited to address the Taiwan National Poultry Association on "Management Philosophy of Vertically Integrated Broiler Production in the USA"
1996    Taiwan National Poultry Association. Management of Farmers Cooperatives for Vertically Integrated Broiler Production in the USA
1998    Avicol La Guasima, C.A, Technical Semianr: Sanitation in the Commercial Hatchery, Antigua, Guatemala

World’s Poultry Science Association, U.K. Branch Symposium on Laying Hen Welfare, Bristol, England, July 16 - 20

VIV International Trade Show, Utrecht, The Netherlands and tour poultry processing plants in England, Holland, Germany and Denmark representing Poultry magazine, October 28 – November 4

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

Southern Poultry Science Society, Member, 1978-present
1999 - 2001 Executive Secretary
1989, President
1988, 1st Vice President
1987, 2nd Vice President

Poultry Science Association, Member, 1975-present
1987-1991, Committee on Drugs & Chemicals 1991, Chairman
1992, 1993, Representative to Southern Poultry Science Society
2003 2005– Maurice Stein Research Award Committee, Chairman, 2005
2007 – present – Section Editor, Processing, Products & Food Safety, Poultry Science Journal

American Poultry Historical Society, 1990-present, Life Member
1995, Chairman Nominating Committee
1992 – present, Membership Committee, Chair, 1994
1997-2000, 2nd Vice President
2000-2001; 1st Vice President
2002-2004; President
2004-2005, Past President
2007 – present, Editor Newsletter

World Poultry Association, Member, 1988-present

Institute of Food Technologists, Member, 1982-present

American Society of Microbiology, Member, 1971-present

American Association of Avian Pathologists, 1990-2003

American Association of Feed Microscopists, 1975-1994

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, 1989-1996

Mississippi Poultry Association, Member, 1976-1998
1976-1997, Board of Directors
1992, Chairman of Board
1991, Vice Chairman
1990, Treasurer
1990-1994, Executive Committee
Research Committee, 1981-1997, 2000- present
Poultry Management School Committee, 1984-1997, 2000 – 2006. Chair, 1987-1988
Membership Committee, 1985-1997
Convention Finance Committee, 1985
Education and Promotion Committee, 1985-1997
Convention Program & Entertainment Committee, 1987, Chairman, 1992
Convention Business Program, 1986-1997, Chairman, 1992
Environmental Committee, 1994 – 1997, 1999- 2006

American Chemical Society, Member, 1976-1996

Board of Directors, Central Industries, Inc., 1977 to 1997; Secretary & Chairman of Laboratory Committee

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

1985-1989
PO 4303 -Lectures on "Principles of Sanitation in Commercial Hatcheries"
1983
University of Alabama Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Institutional Management - Regulation of the Broiler Industry and How the Consumer is Affected
1992
Served on Advisory Committee for Curriculum Evaluation for the Division of Math and Sciences, Mississippi University for Women
Appointed Adjunct Professor, Poultry Science, Mississippi State University
1993
            Admitted to graduate faculty of Mississippi State University
1993-1994
Developed and taught PO 4523, Commercial Broiler Processing Techniques
1993, 1994 & 1997
Poultry Physiology Lectures on "Opportunities in the Mississippi Poultry Industry"
1994
Animal Physiology Seminar Series, Mississippi State University: "MSU's Interaction with the Mississippi Poultry Industry"
1995
Participated in CSRS Review of Poultry Programs at Mississippi State University as Industry Representative
1998-1999
Member, Problem Statement Subcommittee of MSU Nutrient Management and Water Quality Task Force; Chairman, Sanderson Farms-Mississippi Chemical Special Project Committee
Presented Food Quality Control Laboratory for NTR 8253, 3 sections
1999
Member MSU Nutrient Management and Water Quality Task Force
Member of Poultry Committee
2002
Member MSU Nutrient Management and Water Quality Task Force, Member of Poultry Committee
Member MSU Food Science Institute
2003- Member MSU Nutrient Management and Water Quality Task Force, Member of Poultry Committee
Member MSU Food Science Institute
2004- Member MSU Nutrient Management and Water Quality Task Force, Member of Poultry Committee
Member MSU Food Science Institute
2005- Member MSU Nutrient Management and Water Quality Task Force. Member of Poultry Committee
Member MSU Food Science Institute
Member CALS Teaching Evaluation Committee
Member CALS Excellence in Teaching Committee
Member of Faculty Senate Teaching Evaluation Committee
2006    Member MSU Food Science Institute
Member CALS Teaching Evaluation Committee
Member CALS Excellence in Teaching Committee
Member of Faculty Senate Teaching Evaluation Committee
2007    Member MSU Food Science Institute
Member CALS Teaching Evaluation Committee
            Member of Faculty Senate Teaching Evaluation Committee
            Chair, Poultry Science Department Award Committee
            Member CALS Promotion & Tenure Committee
Department Representative on MSU Biosafety Officer Search Committee

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS:

U.S. Congress
1988, Agriculture Committee: Testified in Field Hearing on Programs Mandated Under the Food Security Act of 1985; Tuscaloosa, AL
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1981-1986; 1988; 1990-1992, Appointments by Secretary of Agriculture to the USDA Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection
National Broiler Council, Washington, DC
1976-1997, Scientific Advisory Committee
1989, Served as a Delegate to review the USDA-Pollos Picu Inspection Activities, Coamo, Puerto Rico
1982-1986, Ex-Officio Member of Processing Committee
1986-1989, Salmonella Committee
1983, Chairman, Processing Committee Subcommittee to Review GAO Recommendations for Improvement in Water Safety, Facility and Blueprint Review Regulations
Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association, Atlanta, GA
1979-1989, Feed Mill Management Seminar Planning Committee, 1985, Chairman
1979-1984, Processing Committee, 1982-1983, Co-Chairman
1986, Escort for Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Earl Butz and Assistant Secretary, C. W. McMillian through International Exposition, Atlanta, GA
Poultry & Egg Institute of America, Chicago, IL
1974, Committee on Chlorine in Poultry Processing
1974, USDA-FDA - Industry Task Force on Salmonella
National Broiler Marketing Association
1973, Advisor for FDA regulations to NBMA Foreign Investors on Regulatory issues for importation of Peruvian Fish Meal

INVITED LECTURES

1975
Chromatography Discussion Group Annual Meeting, Pesticide Residue Detection in Private Laboratories, New Orleans, LA
1978
Laboratory Discussion Group, Annual Meeting, Quality Control in the Laboratory, Jackson, MS
1983
SP&EA Processors Workshop - Update on Activities of USDA National Advisory
Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, Atlanta, GA
1985 SP&EA Processors Workshop - QC Cut-up to Further Processing, Atlanta, GA

MPA Poultry Management School - Testing Water Quality, Jackson, MS
1987
SP&EA Feed Mill Management Seminar - Microbiological Concerns, Atlanta, GA

Delmarva Poultry Health and Condemnation Schools - Reducing Downgrades
Through a Preventative Quality Assurance Program, Salisbury, MD

Watkins, Ludlam & Stennis, P.A., Recruiting Seminar - Introduction to the Mississippi Poultry Industry

Mississippi University for Women, Division of Science & Mathematics Honors Day Guest Lecturer: Foodborne Diseases and Poultry, Columbus, MS
1990
Mississippi Quail Producers Association, Principles of Sanitation, Jackson, MS

The Mississippi State Department of Education, Educational Equity Program, The Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education and the Miami Desegregation Assistance Center, New Horizons for Women, Creative Uses of Technology in Business
1991
SP&EA, Feed Mill Management Seminar, New Tools for Quality Control, Atlanta, GA
1993
Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association, Women in Management Seminar, Featured Speaker, A Career in the Poultry Industry, Atlanta, GA
1998
Mississippi Poultry Association Management School. Processing: Equipment Adjustment for Zero Tolerance, Jackson, MS.

Novus International, Product Development Seminar, Poultry Processing 101, Sonoma, CA

Novus International Sales Development Seminar, Microbial Interventions and HACCP in Broiler Processing, ST. Louis, MO

Novus Farm Workers Seminar, Microbial Interventions in the Hatchery, St. Louis, MO

Omnus, Inc. Technical Seminar: Process Control in commercial Processing Plants, ST. Louis, MO
1999
Mississippi Poultry Association Management School. Salmonella Control in Broiler Operations.

Mississippi Poultry Association Management School. Salmonella Control in Breeder Operations.

Mississippi Poultry Association Management School. Processing Issues: A Panel Discussion.

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Feed Mill Management Seminar. Feed Ingredient Handling and Quality Control
2000
Mississippi Poultry Association Management School. Nutrient Management Regulations

            Cochran Fellow Program Lecturer for delegates from Cote d’Ivorie, 2 lectures
2001
            Seminar, Jackson State University, Research Collaboration Opportunities, Jackson Heart & Lung Institute

Seminar, Jackson State University - Hinds Community College Bridges Program

Cochran Fellow Program Lecturer for delegates from South Africa, 2 lectures
Mississippi Broiler Roundtable – Forest, Mississippi

2006 Mississippi Poultry Association, Poultry Management School, May 16, Mississippi State University. Pre-Slaughter Salmonella Control and Avian Influenza Update

SERVICE

1999
Organized a week long Hatchery Management Workshop for members of the Moroccan Poultry Industry. Presented a lecture on hatchery sanitation.
Served on Mississippi Poultry Industry Environmental Committee
Chairman, Poultry Science Department Recruiting Committee
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Feed Mill Management Seminar Planning Committee
2000
Nutrient Management with Phosphorous Index Extension Outreach Program, 10 Mississippi Locations
Chairman, Poultry Science Department Recruiting Committee
Cochran Fellow Program Lecturer for delegates from Cote D’Ivoire, 3 lectures
2001
Seminar, Jackson State University, Research Collaboration Opportunities, Jackson Heart & Lung Institute
            Seminar, Jackson State University - Hinds Community College Bridges Program
            Cochran Fellow Program Lecturer for delegates from South Africa, 2 lectures
            Mississippi Broiler Roundtable – Forest, Mississippi
2005
            Mississippi Poultry Association, Summer Poultry Camp, Planning Committee
2006
            U. S. Poultry & Egg Association International Exposition. Presided over 3 sessions in InfoMart, January 26.
            Presided over Marketing & Technology Group, Poultry Processing Educational Session, January 23
            Presided at Alltech Quality Meat Summit, February 22, Lexington, Ky
Cochran Fellow Program Lecturer, 1 lecture

Presided over 2 Educational Sessions for Marketing & Technology Group, Poultry Processing, January 24 & 25

GRANTS AND FUNDING SOURCES

Characterization of Mississippi Poultry Litter, $18,000, 2000 SRI Grant

Poultry Waste Demonstration – RC&D; Funded October, 2000 - $200,000: Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton, Chairman, Funding Committee & PI
$10,000 Hamid Borazjani, S.V. Diehl, H.A. Stewart, Y.Vizzier-Thaxton, T.N. Chamblee, Use of Breeder Litter for Composting of Furniture Wood Waste
$ 8,000 Y. Vizzier-Thaxton, Assessment of Litter Quantities on Mississippi Poultry Farms
$17,500 Hasan M. Jamil & Y Vizzier Thaxton, Development of a Web-based Information/Publication Database
$17,500 Hasan M. Jamil & Y Vizzier Thaxton, Development of a Web-based Clearinghouse to match litter producers with users of litter

Characterization of Mississippi Poultry Litter, $9,000, 2001 SRI Grant, Y Vizzier-Thaxton PI

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association - $20,540; Funded December, 2001, Broiler Litter Compost as Soil Amendment for Truck Crops; Y. Vizzier Thaxton, PI

SRI Alternative Crops and Value Added Products, Poultry Litter as an Organic Means of Plant Parasitic Nematode Management on Cotton, 2002, 2003 , 2004 $45,000, Gary Lawrence and Y. Vizzier Thaxton, Co-PI’s

Research completed to reduce the time of sampling, control the variables and increase accuracy of taking environmental samples for poultry production facility sanitation using the BioScience International SAS Super 180 Microbial Air Sampler as a way. The company supplied all of the equipment and expendables for the work valued at $3,000.

Collaboration with USDA, ARS, Russell Research Center on Attachment of Campylobacter and Salmonella to Avian Spermatozoa. Y. Vizzier is senior author on the project. All work was conducted at RRC at value of $15,000.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Gamma Sigma Delta
Historian 2004, Secretary 2005, Vice-President, 2006
Alpha Epsilon Delta
Beta, Beta, Beta
1968 - 69, Graduate Assistantship
1980-1981, Graduate Assistantship
1984, Selected as one of 25 outstanding alumnae of MUW by the Hinds County Association
1990-present, Listed in Who's Who of American Women
1992-1999, Adjunct Professor, Poultry Science, Mississippi State University
1993-present, Member of Graduate Faculty, Mississippi State University

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Member Bulldog Club 1996 – present

Member Starkville Civic League, 1999 – present
Chairman, Projects Committee, 2001 – 2002
Chairman, International Affairs Committee, 2003
Chairman, Fund Raising, 2000 - 2002
Second Vice President, 2002 – 2004

Member Magnolia Garden Club, 2003 - present

Member, St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1999 – 2006t
Chairman, Vocations Committee, 1999 – 2003
Member, Regional Planning Committee, 1999 – 2002
Chairman, Arts & Environment Committee, 2002 – present
Lector, 1999 – present
Member Liturgy Committee, 2002 – present
Cook for Catholic Student Association
Member of Equestrian Order of Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, 2003 - present
Knight of Columbus Auxiliary, 2000 - present

Member Catholic Foundation, Catholic Diocese of Jackson, MS 1996 – present.
Board of Directors, 2006 - present
Elected to Executive Committee, 1998 – present
Membership Committee, Member 2000 – present
Chairman, 2005 - present

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