Frederic J. Hoerr, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of the Alabama State Diagnostic Laboratory and a professor at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine where he has taught diseases of poultry since 1980, is the recipient of the Phibro Animal Health Excellence in Poultry Research Award for 2010.

The poultry research award is presented to a member of the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) for sustained excellence in research in poultry disease and health over a period of 20 years or more.   Dr. Hoerr has made important contributions to the understanding of a wide spectrum of avian diseases, with an emphasis on immunosuppressive diseases and their impact on poultry health, over the past 33 years.

“Dr. Hoerr continues to collect epidemiological and pathological evidence regarding the harmful effects of immunosuppression in poultry populations and he has significantly contributed to its awareness in the poultry disease community,” said Haroldo Toro, D.V.M., Ph.D., a professor with the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine who nominated Dr. Hoerr for the award.

“From a broader perspective, Dr. Hoerr has contributed to the understanding of many other avian diseases by careful pathological observations and by effective analysis of the vast data produced at the State Diagnostic Laboratory,” said Dr. Toro. “His insight has been essential to many other avian disease researchers at Auburn University and elsewhere.”

Dr.  Hoerr joined the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries in 1980 to develop a poultry disease diagnostic program.  He was appointed laboratory director in 1987. He is a past president of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians and the American Association of Avian Pathologists.  Dr. Hoerr received the Phibro Animal Health Excellence in Poultry Research Award on August 2 at the AAAP Symposium held during the American Veterinary Medical Association Convention in Atlanta.