• Poultry Health Management

• Personnel
• Teaching
• Research
• Outreach
• Facilities

Dr. Michael P. Martin

Education

• BS - Zoology University of California, Davis, 1993
• DVM - Avian Emphasis University of California, Davis, 1997
• MPVM - University of California, Davis, 1999

Professional Experience

• 2005-present --- Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
• 2003-2005 --- Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
• 2001-2003 --- Principal Research Scientist, Embrex Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC.
• 2001-2002 --- Director of Research and Development, Immunobiosciences Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC
• 1999-2001 --- Resident, Poultry Medicine, Department of Population Health and Pathophysiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
• 1997-1998 --- Practicing Veterinarian

Areas of Research/Study

• Avian Biosecurity/Disease Prevention
• Diseases in Broiler Breeders
• Vaccine and Biological Development
• Avian Epidemiology
• Avian Ethics and Welfare
• Avian Influenza

Disease prevention is a critically important part of rearing agricultural animals and other animal populations. Healthy animals are more productive and require less feed, water, and other resources to maintain productivity. Animal health in agricultural production is also crucial for protecting our nation's food supply and maintaining public health. This is especially important when looking at emerging public health concerns such as the Avian Influenza pandemic in Asia. Prevention of disease in an animal population can be accomplished through promoting disease resistance, controlling infected animals and insects, controlling contaminated materials (feces, urine, saliva, dust, feed, water, etc), regulating movement of people and equipment among farms, and continual surveillance for evidence of disease causing microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) including evaluation of abnormal production parameters.

Biosecurity embodies the practices and procedures taken to reduce or prevent the entrance and spread of microorganisms that might cause disease within an animal population. Biosecurity procedures can be as simple as wearing protective clothing/boots or washing hands, although more complicated procedures are often necessary to adequately protect most animal populations from disease. Each animal population and their environment are unique and have unique biosecurity concerns. Careful consideration is required to determine which biosecurity procedures are most appropriate for a given animal population based on risk assessment.

In poultry, intensive rearing, integrated production practices, and high regional farm density make biosecurity and disease prevention concerns even more critical. Many advances have been made by the poultry industry to promote high biosecurity standards. Yet, there is still more that can be done to protect individual poultry facilities as well as the poultry industry and food supply as a whole.

Epidemiology is the study of the relationships of potential risk factors when evaluating disease potential within a population. Often in epidemiology the geographic and animal distribution, frequency, and pathogenesis of disease (or how an agent is able to cause disease in an animal) are evaluated. Information obtained from epidemiological evaluations play a major roll in direct prevention and minimization of future disease outbreaks as well as improves our knowledge of lesser-known emerging diseases.

My research and service work strives to facilitate continued development of high-quality, practical biosecurity and epidemiology for individual poultry farms, regional poultry facilities, and poultry industry. Biosecurity and epidemiological issues for other captive, companion, or wild birds are also studied, especially as they may relate to disease introduction and spread into poultry flocks.

Helping me in my mission are the resources of the Avian Health Services and Research Laboratory (AHSRL). The AHSRL is dedicated to the support of the poultry industry and provides pertinent diagnostics to evaluate poultry health issues.

Representative Publications/Presentations

• M.P. Martin, V.R. Bullock, M.J. Wineland, O.J. Fletcher, and H. John Barnes.  Use of the I-Stat Serum Chemistry Analyzer for Evaluation of Flock Health in Pre-Peak Lay Broiler Breeders.  Abstract provided and oral presentation to the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2007, Washington, DC.
• O.J. Fletcher, M.P. Martin, and H.J. Barnes.  Proliferative Lung Disease in Broiler Breeder Hens.  Abstract provided and poster presentation to the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2007, Washington, DC.
• E. Vivas, M.P. Martin, S. Kathariou, R. Siletzky, and H.J. Barnes.  Effect of Breeder Flock and Management System on Sibling Turkeys.  Abstract provided and poster presentation to the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2007, Washington, DC.
• V.R. Bullock, M.P. Martin, M.J. Wineland, O.J. Fletcher, and H.J. Barnes.  Pre-Peak Lay Broiler Breeders with Impaired Mobility and High Mortality Associated with Myopathy and Hypocalcemia.  Abstract provided and oral presentation to the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2007, Washington, DC.
• M.P. Martin, P.S. Wakenell, P. Woolcock, and B. O’Connor.  Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Two Infectious Bronchitis Virus Vaccine Programs for Preventing Disease Caused by a California IBV Field Isolate.  Avian Diseases 2007, Vol 51 (2), 584-589.
• M.P. Martin, K.S. Pecelunas, J. Helms, M.J. Dykstra, D.P. Wages, and H.J. Barnes.  Disseminated Aspergillus flavus Infection in Broiler Breeder Pullets.  Avian Diseases 2007, Vol 51 (2), 626-631.
• K. Roza, M.P. Martin, and H.J. Barnes.  Litter Impaction of the Lower Intestinal Tract in Male Broiler Breeders.  Avian Diseases 2006, Vol 50 (3), 460-462.
• M.P. Martin, M. Anderson, B. Johnson, and P.S. Wakenell.  Predation as a Cause of Neurological Signs and Acute Mortality in a Pheasant Flock. Avian Diseases 2006, Vol 50 (3), 463-466.
• M.P. Martin, M. Wineland, H.J. Barnes.  Calcium Tetany in Broiler Breeders.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• K. Roza, M.P. Martin, and H.J. Barnes.  Litter Impaction of the Lower Intestinal Tract in Male Broiler Breeders.  Abstract provided and poster presentation at the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• C. Osorio, S. Clark, M. Martin, and H.J. Barnes.  Cytological Diagnosis of Coccidia Infection in Turkeys.  Abstract provided and poster presentation at the American Association of Avian Pathologist in July, 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Martin, M., Avakian, A. P., Link, D., Wakenell, P. S., Blackmore, C., and Whitfill, C. Protective immunity to Newcastle Disease in broilers vaccinated in ovo with an infectious bursal disease-antibody complex vaccine and against Newcastle disease post-hatch.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the American Association of Avian Pathologist and World Veterinary Poultry Association Conference in July, 2003.
• Haddad, E., Martin, M., Schaeffer, J., Burns, K., and Whitfill, C. In Ovo Vaccination Against Newcastle Disease: Field Safety Evaluation.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the 2003 Western Poultry Disease Conference.
• Link, D., Avakian, A., Martin, M., and Whitfill, C.  Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) Variant Strain Delaware E and Mississippi Challenges in SPF Chickens Vaccinated with an IBDV Antibody Complex Vaccine.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the 2003 Western Poultry Disease Conference.
• Whitfill, C., Avakian, A., Haddad, E., Martin, M., van den Wijngaard, J., and Chettle, N.  Virus-Antibody Complex Vaccines: Present and Future.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the 2002 Western Poultry Disease Conference.
• Garner, J. P., Falcone, C., Wakenell, P., Martin, M., and Mench, J. A.  Reliability and Validity of a Modified Gait Scoring System and Its Use in Assessing Tibial Dyschondroplasia in Broilers. British Poultry Science 2002, (43), 355-363.
• Martin, M., Wakenell, P., Chick, R., and O’Brien, C.  The Effects of Chemical Litter Treatment on Clostridia perfringens Induced Necrotic Enteritis in Broiler Chickens; A Pilot Study Verifying a Laboratory Model.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the 2001 American Association of Avian Pathologists Conference.
• Martin, M., Wakenell, P., and Woolcock, P.  Evaluation of Commercially Produced Infections Bronchitis Virus Vaccines Against an IBV Field Isolate Obtained from Broilers in California.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the 2001 Western Poultry Disease Conference.
• Martin, M., Anderson, M., Johnson, B., and Wakenell, P.  Neurological Signs and Acute Death Observed in a Flock of Ring-Necked Pheasants with a History of Undiagnosed Chronic Upper Respiratory Disease.  Abstract provided and oral presentation at the 2000 Western Poultry Disease Conference.