Protecting Our Region’s Poultry Industry with Advanced Technology

Maryland has one of the most densely populated areas of commercial poultry in the U.S. that brings an estimated $1.6 billion in economic impact to the state each year.

Protecting this important agricultural resource from infectious disease, including devastating outbreaks of avian mycoplasma and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), requires vigilance, good science and cooperation between poultry growers, extension agents and policymakers.

At the University of Maryland, one of the region’s top experts in infectious poultry diseases is expanding his scientific toolkit, harnessing the use and application of advanced molecular diagnostic and genotyping techniques for the surveillance, prevention, and control of pathogens like HPAI.

Mostafa Ghanem, an assistant professor of veterinary medicine in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is using these new genomic tools to improve the current understanding of different risk factors controlling the emergence, evolution, spread and persistence of different pathogens within animal production systems and different environments.

He works closely with state diagnostic laboratories, federal agencies, and academic and private industry partners to achieve a common goal of improving the health and wellbeing of animals and humans.

Ghanem is active in the University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Microbiome Sciences, launched in 2023 with a $500K Impact Award from the university’s Grand Challenges Grants program.

—Story and video by UMIACS communications group