Henry Adler
Hall of Honor

Born in New York in 1917, Dr. Henry Adler received his bachelor’s and DVM degrees from Washington State University in 1942 and 1946, respectively, before serving as a pathologist for the State Department of Agriculture in Puyallup. He attended UC Davis as an assistant veterinarian and received his PhD in 1955. Dr. Adler remained in the faculty research group there until retiring in 1982.

Dr. Adler made many contributions to the avian industry, including the development and application of one of the first effective bacterin against erysipelas in turkeys in the early 1950s. He also developed agglutination antigen and agglutination tests for the detection of asymptomatic carriers of Mycoplasma gallisepticum, aiding immensely in the eradication of it in basic breeder flocks of turkeys and chickens.

He participated in numerous organizations and committees, including the Western Regional Research Committee in Respiratory Diseases of Poultry, the Poultry Science Association, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

His previous awards include the Newman International Poultry Association Award (1957), the National Turkey Federation Research Award (1960), an award from the Xllth World Poultry Congress (1962), and the Corn Products Company International, Inc. Award (1970) for distinctive contribution to poultry science advancement. Dr. Adler was also selected to be a National Institutes of Health Fellow in Australia, awarded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Australia, in 1961-1962.

Dr. Adler was one of the organizing charter members of the American Association of Avian Pathologists, and an enthusiastic contributor. He was nominated in June 1983 for a life membership, but passed away in July of that year before the Board of Directors could approve his nomination.