Mike Persia appointed assistant professor of animal and poultry sciences
Mike Persia has been named an assistant professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech.
He is one of 19 new faculty members that were recently hired in the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. New positions were identified to bring new talent to its focus areas, including food and health, infectious disease, biodesign and processing, and agricultural profitability and environmental sustainability. The new faculty members are distributed across teaching, research, and Extension.
Persia received his bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State in University Park in 1997, his master's degree from Ohio State University in 1999, and his doctoral degree from the University of Illinois in 2003.
The focus of Persia’s research program aims to increase the efficiency of poultry production through the characterization, understanding, and manipulation of bird digestive processes. Persia hopes to generate a better understanding of the nutrient requirements and costs of maintaining healthy gastrointestinal structure and function, and quantify the effects of various dietary treatments on nutrient utilization and overall bird performance.
Diverse tools will be developed and utilized to evaluate progress, including classical nutrition, physiology, histology, and molecular techniques.
Persia is a member of Gamma Sigma Delta and previously served as the president of the Southern Poultry Science Society from 2012 to 2013.
Written by Amy Loeffler.
