Teun van de Braak, born in 1987, joined Hendrix Genetics Layers after graduating from Wageningen University in 2010. With a Master’s in Poultry Breeding and Genetics and a minor in Business Management and Marketing, he began as a geneticist.

Currently, as Manager of Global Technical Services and Customer Support, Teun oversees various departments including Global Technical Service, Product Management, Data-Strategy, and Communication. He aims to support customers both technically and promotionally, using field feedback to guide the breeding program and align product development with global egg market expectations.

Teun’s interests include poultry husbandry, genetic research, poultry welfare, and sustainability. He actively participates in scientific research initiatives representing the poultry genetics sector and advocates for collaboration between scientific institutes and industry partners to enhance the sustainability of the global egg sector.

Dr. Arne Jung is working as a researcher at the Clinic for Poultry of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany since 2005. He received his veterinary license in 2004, his doctoral degree in 2006 and finished his habilitation in 2022. Since 2015 he is diplomate of the European College of Poultry Veterinary Sciene. Until now, he has published more than 40 articles in peer reviewed scientific journals and has given more than 25 public talks at scientific conferences. His main research interest is bacterial diseases of poultry in genereal and Enterococcus cecorum (EC) associated disease in meat type chickens in particular. Currently he is working on projects dealing with EC immune answer and chicken genotype associated differences in susceptibility to EC.

Embryologist by training, Dr. Cinnamon began his academic career while completing his MSc and PhD studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His PhD studies were focused on myogenesis in avian embryos. He subsequently undertook two post-doctoral fellowships at the Hebrew University and the National Institute for Medical Research in London, UK. His studies in London focused on congenital heart defects and related developmental biology. Upon returning to Israel, Yuval joined the Hadassah Medical Center to manage the genetic research lab, focusing on rare diseases in humans. With a diverse skill set including bioinformatics, biochemistry, molecular biology, embryology, cell biology, microsurgery, imaging, genetics, genomics, and whole-animal biology, he became a PI at the Agricultural Research Organization – the Volcani Institute. Dr. Cinnamon’s research centers on embryology, utilizing chickens as a model organism. Within the Poultry and Aquaculture department, his laboratory investigates topics related to early embryonic development, utilizing a platform tailored for genomic transformations in avian species. The primary aim of these efforts is to address critical societal needs, including food security, public health, global sustainability, and the promotion of animal welfare, leveraging advanced genomic technologies to achieve these goals. To translate research outcomes into commercial products that provide practical solutions to societal needs, Cinnamon serves as the founder and CSO of Poultry by Huminn. In this role, he leads efforts to enhance poultry production sustainability and promote animal welfare.

Animal Welfare Research Scientist at IRTA since 2005, he earned his BVSc degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in 2000, followed by a Master’s degree in Animal Production and a PhD in Veterinary Sciences from UAB in 2003 and 2005, respectively. He also holds a Master’s degree in Management of Meat Industries since 2006 and became a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine in 2016, specializing in Animal Welfare Science, ethics, and law. His expertise lies in animal welfare during transport and slaughter, farm and abattoir assessment, and behavior of farm animals and wild ruminants. His research focuses on various aspects of animal welfare, including stunning methods, religious slaughter, transportation, and the development of welfare protocols for multiple species. With numerous publications and presentations, he has also conducted extensive training for professionals in the field, including veterinarians, farmers, transporters, and slaughterhouse personnel. He has actively participated in EU animal welfare training programs, including the Better Training for Safer Food initiative, as a tutor.

Pharmacy graduate with a PhD, serving as Professor of Nutrition and Food Science and Head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). Teaches human nutrition across various programs including Pharmacy, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, and Food Science and Technology. Directs the Master’s program “Nutrition, Health and Women” and co-leads the UCM research group VALORNUT. Research focuses on nutritional status across diverse population groups and the impact of nutritional imbalances on physical and mental health. Involved in national-level projects in collaboration with AESAN, such as the ALADINO, ENALIA, and ENALIA2 Studies, offering key insights into childhood obesity and dietary habits in Spain. With over 200 publications, including scientific papers, reviews, and book chapters, she is actively engaged in the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) and the National Academy of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Additionally, she serves on the Delegate Commission of the Advisory Council of the Spanish Institute for Egg Studies.

Education: Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 2023 and M.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan in 2018.

Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh.

Previous Positions: Research Associate at Scotland’s Rural College and Research Technician at the University of Saskatchewan.

Measures of Esteem: Council member, WPSA UK; recipient of the 2023 PhD Award at the European Symposium on Poultry Genetics; recipient of the 2022 Alltech Student Research Manuscript Award by the Poultry Science Association; winner of the 2022 President’s Prize at the WPSA UK Spring Meeting; and recipient of the 2020 Alltech Student Research Manuscript Award by the Poultry Science Association.

Selected Publications: Notable publications include examinations of maxillary beak shape variations in laying hens, heritability of premaxillary bone shape in laying hens, and the impact of infrared beak treatment on turkey beak length and welfare.

J. I. Barragán has been involved in poultry production since 1982, focusing primarily on nutrition and management for broilers, breeders, and layers. Since 2002, he has worked as a freelance consultant for companies in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and South America, providing technical support in pathology, nutrition, and management. He assists clients in optimizing production costs and evaluating performance. Additionally, he has a keen interest in carcass quality and maintain relationships with slaughterhouses in Spain, Portugal, and America.

His expertise lies in broiler production, particularly in nutrition and intestinal health, and I collaborate closely with additives companies worldwide. At Galimetría SL, he contributes to comparing and evaluating technical performances and cost values for various integrations in Spain, involving approximately 60% of total production.

Furthermore, he holds the position of Associate Professor in Poultry Production at a private university in Valencia, Spain, where he is actively involved in research programs. Some of his papers and presentations can be found online.

Sonia Ventanas (May 16th 1979, Leon, Spain) received her degree in Veterinary Sciences in 2002 and her PhD degree in 2006 at the University of Extremadura (Spain). She made a post-doctoral stay at the University of Helsinki (Sensory Laboratory) from 2007 to 2009 under the supervision of Prof. Hely Tuorila. Afterwards, she joined the “Food Technology” research group at the University of Extremadura where she has developed her academic and research career. At present, she is Full Professor and teaches in both graduate and postgraduate level (Master in Meat Science and Technology) and has acted as supervisor of several dozen graduate, Master and PhD Thesis. She has been working on food sensory science for more than 20 years. Main research lines are focused on applying dynamic and rapid sensory techniques to a variety of food matrices, including meat and processed meat products. Moreover, the study of emotional response to foods and the impact of different factors is also an area of interest. Currently, she is involved in different regional, national, and European projects, with some of them focusing on the study of consumers perception, attitudes and preferences to plant-based meat and dairy analogues applying different sensory approaches. She has authored more than 70 articles in JCR Journals along with several book chapters on sensory science which makes her one of the most cited sensory scientists in Europe (H index at Scopus: 32). She is member of the committee (secretary) of the National Association of Sensory Scientists which is member of the European Sensory Science Society-E3S.