Scientific Committee
WVPAC 2027 BRUSSELS (Belgium)
CHAIRMAN
Prof. Dr. Gunther Antonissen
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECPVS
Gunther Antonissen is the chairholder of the Chair Poultry Health Sciences at Ghent University.
His research group adopts a multidisciplinary approach, with a focus on mycotoxins
(investigating their impact on intestinal health, interactions with infectious diseases,
mechanisms of action, and the safety of detoxifying agents), gut health (including antibiotic
alternatives and diagnostic tools), and poultry welfare (monitoring systems and intervention
strategies). He is also the initiator and coordinator of the Postgraduate Programme in Poultry
Health Sciences at Ghent University. Since 2024, he is the President of the Belgian Branch of the
World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA).
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME CONVENOR
Prof. Dr. Richard Ducatelle
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECPVS, Dipl. ECVP
Richard Ducatelle is emeritus professor in veterinary pathology at Ghent University. His research is mainly on intestinal health and on interactions of zoonotic agents with the animal host reservoir, with a focus on poultry (necrotic enteritis, dysbacteriosis, Salmonella). He served as President of the Belgian Branch of the World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA) from 1991 to 2024. He has published more than 600 papers in peer reviewed international scientific journals. He was an invited speaker at more than 80 national and international congresses and symposia.
SECRETARY
Prof. Dr. An Garmyn
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECPVS
An Garmyn is an associate professor in Poultry and Companion birds and heads the Necropsy Division for the Clinic of Poultry and Exotic Animals at the Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, at Ghent University. Professor Garmyn has expertise in avian pathology, veterinary microbiology, in vivo infection modelling in poultry and poultry management. Research emphasis is on host-pathogen interaction and development of mitigation, situated in the field of bacterial infections in poultry with a focus on Campylobacteriosis.
Dr. Tahseen Abdul-Aziz
DVM, MS, PhD, Diplomate ACPV
Dr. Aziz is the avian pathologist of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System of the State of North Carolina, USA. He is responsible for necropsy and histopathology of avian diagnostic submissions. He is internationally regarded for his expertise in the diagnosis of poultry diseases, particularly in the field of diagnostic avian pathology (gross pathology and histopathology). Dr. Aziz authored two books: Avian Histopathology and Gross Pathology of Avian Diseases: Text and Atlas. He is a frequent speaker about diagnosis and diagnostic poultry pathology at workshops and conferences.
Prof. Celia Abolnik
PhD
Professor Celia Abolnik, from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, holds the South African National Research Foundation’s Chair in Poultry Health and Production. Her research focuses on diagnosis, epidemiology, genomics and vaccine development for several pathogens that impact the national flock, with an emphasis on high pathogenicity avian influenza.
Prof. Dr. Maria Eliana Icochea
PhD
Professor at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, in Lima, Peru. Head of the Avian Pathology laboratory at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Dedicated to the diagnosis, prevention and control of poultry diseases in domestic and wild birds; and development of research projects in Avian Pathology.
Assoz.Prof. Dr.med.vet. Dieter Liebhart
Dipl. ECPVS
Dieter Liebhart is an associate professor at the Unit for Poultry Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria. He is a Diplomate of the European College for Poultry Veterinary Science. He has extensive experience conducting histopathological examinations of poultry tissues, and his research focuses on the immune response of poultry to infectious diseases.
Prof. Dr. Clara MarÃn Orenga
DVM, PhD
Dr. Clara MarÃn Orenga is a Full Professor and lead lecturer in Poultry Infectious Diseases, with over 20 years of experience in the control of zoonotic Salmonella in poultry production systems. She leads the research group Development of Efficient Production Systems for the Control and Evaluation of Food Quality and Safety, focusing on the epidemiology and control of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli. A European Diplomate in Poultry Veterinary Sciences since 2014, she currently serves as Vice President of the World Poultry Veterinary Association. Dr. MarÃn has coordinated and participated in European and national research projects, supervised 15 PhD students, and published more than 80 JCR-indexed scientific articles.
Prof. Dr. Didier Marlier
DScV, DMV
Prof. Dr (DScV, DMV) D. Marlier is Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Management of Animal Resources, of the University of Liège, Belgium, and Head of the Poultry, Rabbit and Racing Pigeon Medicine Service. His clinical, teaching, and research activities focus on preventive health management, sustainable production systems, and performance medicine. His current work is mainly dedicated to the development of sustainable poultry production systems, particularly in low-resource settings, and to the study of the relationship between homing ability and sporting performance in racing pigeons.
Dr. M.G.R. (Mieke) Matthijs
DVM, EBVS ECPVS dipl.
Mieke Matthijs is currently working as the head of the poultry division of population Health Science (PHS) at the veterinary faculty of the Utrecht University. She leads this section and is also strongly involved in teaching both Master and Bachelor students in Veterinary Science about poultry management and disease control. Moreover she focuses on poultry research with special interest in infectious diseases, immunology, heat stress in poultry and on the global education of Veterinarians.
Prof. Dr. Abdul Rahman Omar
DVM, PhD, FASc
He served as the Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He has more than 25 years of teaching and research experience in avian viral diseases, including Newcastle disease, avian influenza, and infectious bursal disease.
Prof. Dr. Aijian Qin
PhD
Dr Aijian Qin is a professor in Yangzhou University and the vice chairman of the Poultry Disease Branch of the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine. He was the Dean (2000-2013) in College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, a deputy leader (2009-2015) of the poultry disease expert group of the National Animal Epidemic Prevention Expert Committee in China. He got an AAAP poster award in 1999 in USA and Certificate Merit (2004, USDA). His research focuses on the control of MDV and avian leukosis virus.
Prof. Dr. Shayan Sharif
DVM, PhD, FCAHS
Shayan Sharif is a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), University of Guelph, Canada. Sharif is currently OVC’s Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies and the Distinguished Research Chair in Agri-Food Biosecurity. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Sharif's research is focused on immunology of viral diseases of chickens, including avian influenza and Marek’s disease. His lab is also interested in interactions between chicken’s intestinal microbiota and the host immune system.
Dr. Mieke Steensels
PhD, MSc
Mieke Steensels is a Belgian bioscience engineer and senior scientist at Sciensano, the Belgian institute for public and animal health, where she serves as Head of the Avian Virology and Aquatic Diseases Service. She coordinates national diagnostic, surveillance, research, and reference activities for avian and aquatic animal diseases and leads several National Reference Laboratories, including those for Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease. Her expertise encompasses avian virology, infectious disease surveillance, vaccination, biosecurity, and zoonotic disease preparedness. Dr. Steensels has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and is internationally recognized for her contributions to avian influenza, Newcastle disease, emerging viral diseases, and veterinary public health.
Dr. David Swayne
DVM, PhD, DACVP, DACPV
Dr. David Swayne is a poultry veterinarian and veterinary pathologist with over 40 years’ experience in research on the pathobiology and control of avian influenza in poultry and wild birds. Previously, he served for 28 1/2 years as the Laboratory Director and a scientist at USDA Agricultural Research Service in Athens, Georgia, USA and for 7 years as a tenured faculty member at the College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University. He is currently a private veterinary medical consultant and an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center.
Prof. Filip Van Immerseel
PhD
Filip Van Immerseel is Professor at the Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University in Belgium and is head of a research group that studies host-bacterium interactions in the poultry intestine. Filip Van Immerseel currently has more than 260 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals, has written book chapters and edited books on Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens and is a well-known speaker at international events. He is editor of the journal Avian Pathology and involved in many international collaborative research networks on disease control.
Prof. Dr. Sjaak de Wit
DVM, PhD, EBVS® European Specialist in Poultry Veterinary Science
Sjaak is senior researcher at Royal GD and professor Integrated Poultry Health at the veterinary faculty of the University of Utrecht. He has been actively involved in applied and fundamental research related to the diagnosis and control of poultry diseases, especially viral diseases as infectious bronchitis virus, infectious bursal disease, Newcastle Disease, and Avian Influenza.