Our lab is located in the Department of Poultry Science within the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. The research we conduct is in collaboration with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and serves to provide knowledge to the state and beyond in regard to food safety, physiology, nutrition, animal health, welfare and environmental impact in the poultry industry.

Our group studies the brain of poultry, particularly broilers. Broilers are the type of chickens genetically selected for meat production. Currently we are focusing on the regulation of stress in broilers from hatch to market weight. Similar to all vertebrates, the stress pathway of birds involves the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary and adrenal gland. We are studying the specific types of neurons, their receptors and cell types within the pituitary gland involved in the neuroendocrine regulation of stress in birds. A technique utilized is immuno-histochemistry (IHC) to establish the phenotype of neurons. We use IHC to identify the primary neuropeptide, neurotransmitter or receptor that occurs in neurons, anterior pituitary or other structures. We then map the distribution of peptidergic neurons and receptors throughout the avian brain. Quantitative RT-PCR is also used to quantify gene expression in dissected parts of the brain, anterior pituitary and other dissected anatomical structures and provides information on what particular structures are activated during stress.