Lexington, KENTUCKY – As part of its commitment to furthering scientific education, global animal health and nutrition company Alltech has presented the 4th annual Alltech Young Scientist Award to Tung M. Che and Fan Liu during Alltech’s 25th International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Tung M. Che, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois who submitted a paper examining the Effects of mannan oligosaccharide on immune function and disease resistance in pigs is the overall graduate winner of the competition.
Fan Liu of Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China who submitted a paper on HSP70 as a new biomarker in the development and evaluation of anti-stress feed additives is the overall winner in the undergraduate category.
“This year’s Alltech Young Scientist Award program was a very close competition which attracted many high caliber young scientists” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “At a time when we need the brightest young minds in the world to engage in scientific study, I am delighted to present this prestigious award to such talented young students.”
Tung M. Che and Fan Liu will be awarded prizes of $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.
Tung M. Che holds a degree in animal science from Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and a masters degree in animal nutrition from Universiti Putra Malaysia in Malaysia. In 2005, Tung M. Che left his native Vietnam to pursue a Ph.D. programme in the area of swine nutrition at the University of Illinois. Tung M. Che has published extensively and in 2004 co-authored a book entitled “Husbandry Techniques for Aquatic Birds”. Professionally, he has worked as both a teaching and research assistant on university based projects and as a consultant for a number of private swine production farms in Vietnam. His areas of interest include: pig and poultry production; dietary factors on animal health and performance; and nutrigenomics/nutritional immunology.
Twenty four year old Fan Liu comes from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China. He is currently studying for a degree in animal science at Nanjing Agricultural University. Scientifically, his interests include reproductive and molecular nutrition. When he graduates, Fan Liu intends to pursue a Ph.D. in animal nutrition.
Each student who entered the competition was required to submit a scientific paper of 3,000-5,000 words on a topic involving Alltech's natural solutions to animal health challenges. Out of the 1,800 entries received, eight regional semi-finalists were invited to the USA for the international phase of the competition where they presented their papers to a panel of judges.
The Alltech Young Scientist Program provides a forum for undergraduate and graduate students throughout the world to interact with one of the leading players in the animal feed industry while strengthening their academic portfolios.
Students interested in participating in the 2010 Alltech Young Scientist Award competition should visit www.alltechyoungscientist.com to register, review a list of suggested paper topics and submit their paper.