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Dr. Maricarmen Garcia Receives 2020 Dr. Charles Beard Research Excellence Award

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) and the USPOULTRY Foundation recognized Dr. Maricarmen Garcia as the 2020 recipient of the annual Charles Beard Research Excellence Award. 

Dr. Garcia is a professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Georgia Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center. The award is named in honor of Dr. Charles Beard, former director of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory and former vice president of research at USPOULTRY.

The USPOULTRY Foundation Research Advisory Committee selected Dr. Garcia for this award based on her “exceptional research on infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), avian mycoplasmas and retroviruses.” Dr. Garcia has received five grants on ILTV since 2000. She used the research funding to develop a genotyping system for ILTV, to evaluate the use of recombinant ILTV vaccine, and to study the epidemiology of ILTV. She received three additional grants that were utilized to develop a system for subtyping pathogenic mycoplasmas that led to the development of a national library of avian mycoplasmas. Another grant from USPOULTRY made it possible for Dr. Garcia to develop an improved RT-PCR for avian leukosis virus subgroup J.

“The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association has been very supportive of my research over the years, and I am extremely appreciative for the research grants that I have been given. Without the Association’s backing, researchers like me would not be able to conduct some of the vital and essential studies needed throughout the poultry industry,” said Dr. Garcia.

“Dr. Maricarmen Garcia is most deserving of this award. The advancements that she has made through her research have provided invaluable knowledge and resources for the poultry industry,” said Dr. John Glisson, former vice president for research programs for USPOULTRY.

Dr. Garcia received a BS degree from the University of Puerto Rico and her MS and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Georgia. She joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in 1997.

The goal of the Charles Beard Research Excellence Award is to recognize outstanding completed research projects, funded by USPOULTRY or the USPOULTRY Foundation, which have made a significant positive impact on the poultry industry. As the recipient of the award, Dr. Garcia received a $1,500 cash prize.

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) is the all-feather organization representing the complete spectrum of today’s poultry industry, whose mission is to progressively serve member companies through research, education, communication and technical assistance. Founded in 1947, USPOULTRY is based in Tucker, Georgia.