George Fahey Appreciation Club: Companion Animal Science Program at Annual

Fund Purpose:

This fund was formed to recognize the contributions of Dr. George C. Fahey, Jr. to companion animal science, to comparative animal nutrition, and to the American Society of Animal Science. The money is used to maintain the esteemed reputation of the Companion Animal Program at the ASAS Annual Meetings, including support of speakers from companion animal and comparative animal science, a graduate student competition, and a reception for attendees interested in companion animal science broadly defined.

Biographical Sketch:

Dr. George Fahey is one of the most accomplished and influential comparative animal nutritionists in ASAS history and the founder of the Companion Animal Science program held annually at the Joint Annual Meeting. It is our honor to initiate this fund in 2013, which marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of this highly successful program. The Companion Animal Science program has charted the changing landscape of companion animal biology and has included research and teaching presentations in the areas of nutrition, reproductive physiology, immunology, behavior, human animal interactions, and the role of companion animals in animal science departments and society. This program is well known for embracing the importance of comparative nutrition thinking by including symposia that encompass captive exotic, wildlife, companion, and production animal species.

Dr. Fahey received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, a Master’s degree in Agricultural Biochemistry, and a Ph.D in Animal Nutrition from West Virginia University, Morgantown. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1976, and he is currently a Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences and Nutritional Sciences. He is held in high esteem by his mentees, colleagues, and associates. Indeed, animal science departments, the animal feed industry, and the pet food industry have benefited significantly from his effective mentorship of more than 90 postdoctoral research associates, Ph.D. and M.S. degree recipients, most of whom hold positions of importance in these organizations today.

Dr. Fahey’s research has been a critical resource as regards the nutritional and health benefits of macronutrients in the diets of companion animals. His area of research is comparative nutrition and the primary disciplines studied are carbohydrate nutrition, including work on dietary fibers, novel polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, starch, and resistant starch. He has also studied protein nutrition, including work on amino acid bioavailability and indices of protein quality. His contributions have strengthened the understanding of comparative aspects of nutritional biochemistry and improved practices for optimizing nutrition and health of domestic animal species and companion animals. These contributions have been nationally recognized, including awards from ASAS, the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society for Nutrition, the Federation of Animal Sciences Societies – American Feed Industry Association, and an endowed professorship position in Nutritional Sciences sponsored by Kraft Foods, Inc.

Past Symposia:

2023 Companion Animal Symposia

Symposium I: What We Know and What is Next for NRC, AAFCO, and FEDIAF

L. Koutsos and C. Haynes - MTAAFCO approval and regulatory process for novel ingredients.
D. Laflamme - Life stage feeding: Is there path forward for senior/geriatric nutrient recommendations?
J. Guazzelli Pezzali - Sulphur amino acids: Assessing requirements and utilization in dogs and cats.
J. H. Kersey - Implications of regulations, consumers and companies on dog and cat nutrition.

Symposium II: Comparative Nutrition: Animal Protein from Different Perspectives

E. Huff Lonergan and C. Frame - Implications of processing and handling on the functionality of animal derived products for pet foods.
C. L. Morris - Animal based ingredients in diets for captive exotic animals.
E. S. Dierenfeld - Sustainable feeding solutions across the animal kingdom: Identifying and implementing.
S. Wilder and C. Barnes - Nutritional ecology of arthropod predator-prey interactions.

2022 Companion Animal Symposia

Symposium I: Effects of Processing on Nutrients and Nutrition

D. Meeker - Rendering effects on pet food ingredients.
G. Bosch - Protein and amino acid modifications during extrusion.
K. Kerr and M. Brooks - The raw truth: Feeding zoo-housed carnivores.
J. Duckow and G. Meidl - Freeze dried pet food process.

Symposium I: Effects of Processing on Nutrients and Nutrition

A. Steelman - Overview of the immune system.
E. Bobeck - Ingredients that modify the immune system.

2021 Companion Animal Symposia

Symposium I: Experimental Design and Statistics Applied to Companion Animal Nutrition

N. M. Bello – Statistics for reproducible research in Companion Animal nutrition.
S. Rodriguez-Zas – Analytical strategies for survey data in pet nutrition and management.
E. Bermingham – The use of meta-analysis in Companion Animal research: A focus on energy requirement.
J. Ellis – Nutrition modeling: What can the pet field learn (or steal) from recent directions in other species?

Symposium II: Brewing and Fermented Ingredients Used in Pet Nutrition

C. Edwards – Food fermentation basics.
J. Li – Bioactive Peptides for enhancing intestine health.
E. Rhoades – Fundamentals of distilled beverages: Spirits and their raw materials.
R. Zijlstra – Use of fermentation co-products in pet foods and animal feeds.

Symposium III: Dietary Supplements in Companion Animal Nutrition

M. Martinez – Nutritional and extra-nutritional compounds in fruit and vegetable waste and their potential for use in dietary supplements.
W. Pearson – Equine nutraceuticals: Is science finally catching up to Ffction?
W. Bookout – Animal supplements: Market trends, benefits and limitations of academic research, and regulatory considerations in product development.
C. L. Morris – Homemade pet diets: What are the key supplement considerations?

2020 Companion Animals Symposia

Symposium I: Food Fraud and Food Safety in Companion Animal Foods

R. Hanner - Food fraud prevention.
D. Edwards and C. Conway - Pet food safety: Truth in labeling.
B. Bookout - Pet supplements: Is fraud a concern?
Y. Wang - Biosensors and intelligent packaging to improve food safety.

Symposium II: Feeding Behavior & Management

A. C. Carciofi - Targeting food formulation considering nutrient intake.
J. Villarreal - Why kennel and cattery food preference trials may not predict pet preferences in home?
T. W. Gettys - Dietary methionine restriction: An approach to treating obesity that does not involve food restriction.
K. Koppel - Consumer sensory cues in pet food selection.
R. Pretlow - What's causing obesity in pets and what can we do about it?

Symposium III: Dairy Ingredients and Their Application in Pet Food

L. E. Bennett - Whey proteins for prevention and intervention in Alzheimer's Disease.
M. Nakano, M. Tanaka, and F. Abe - The use of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase for oral health.
K. Seo - Health benefit and safety of probiotics originated from kefir in pet food.
E. Arentson-Lantz - Practical applications of whey protein in promoting skeletal muscle maintenance, recovery, and reconditioning.
S. Donovan and R. N. Dilger - Milk fat globule membrane from Bovine milk on brain development of early life.

2019 Companion Animal Symposia

Symposium I: Nutrition and Health: Companion Animal Applications

E. A. Bobeck - Functional nutrition to modulate the immune response.
J. S. Suchodolski - Effect of dietary intervention on gut microbiome and microbial-derived metabolites.
D. Waters - Nutrition and pet aging: Principles inform practice.
R. A. Matulka - Nutritive feed ingredients that pose toxicological potential.

Symposium II: Comparative Animal Nutrition

P. Tyedmers, T. Cashion, and R. Parker - Sustainability of fish-derived feed inputs: An ecological perspective .
N. Pelletier - Sustainability of terrestrial protein sources.
M. R. C. de Godoy - Current knowledge in plant protein sources.
A. Shoveller - Can we help support protein sustainability by considering optimizing dietary protein delivery?
J. Villalon - Current trends in protein sourcing for aquaculture diets.

Symposium III: Analytical Tools and Techniques to Advance Nutrition

T. Faber - Digestibility and fermentation models.
R. P. Middleton - "Omics" tools in nutrition.
K. Carnagey - Wearable devices, behavior, and health outcomes.
L. McKnight - Tracers for tracking energentics.

Symposium IV: Companion Animal Teaching Symposium: Incorporating Companion Animals into an Animal Science Curriculum

L. Karr - Integration of teaching and extension of Companion Animal biology and nutrition.
S. Albert - Companion Animals outside the classroom: An overview of experiential learning opportunities.
G. Davenport - An employer perspective: What are employers looking for in terms of Companion Animal knowledge.
S. E. Kitts-Morgan, C. Lenox, and D. Spangler - Challenges and opportunities in developing a Companion Animal Nutrition Curriculum for veterinary students.

2018 Companion Animal Symposia

Clinical Pet Nutrition

K. S. Swanson - Clinical Pet Nutrition Introductory Remarks.
A. Verbrugghe - Different protocols and technologies Employed to help pets lose weight.
L. Weeth - Feeding dogs and cats with renal disease: What do we really know?
L. P. Weber, J. Adolphe, and J. Briens - Effects of glucose metabolism and carbohydrate sources on cardiometabolic health in dogs and cats.
S. Perea - Feeding the critical care patient.

Pet Nutrition in Canada

A. Shoveller - Energy and macronutrient metabolism in cats and dogs using indirect calorimetry.
R. T. Ziljstra and T. Vasanthan - Creating kibbles with unique starch, fiber, and protein profiles using Canadian ingredients.
T. Belay, L. K. Lambrakis, S. D. Goodgame, A. K. Price, J. H. Kersey, R. G. Shields - Vitamin Stability in wet pet food Formulation and Production perspective.
C. MacKay - History of the Canadian Food Industry - A Veterinarians' Point of View.

Considerations for exotic or wild animals: Marine animal focus

M. Dick - Interspecies differences in coping with the unique challenges of migration.
D. Rosen - The bioenergetics of marine mammals; insights from laboratory and wild studies.
H. Bissell - Killer whale nutrition at SeaWorld and beyond.
L. A. Hoopes - Nutrition and Feeding Ecology across Aquatic Taxa: Integrating Research into the Feeding of Aquarium Collections.

2017 Companion Animal Symposium: Milk Across the Mammalian Kingdom

J. B. German - Milk: How can such a complex, diverse and functional system have such a simple name?
J. Brunton - Species differences in amino acid and protein content of milk.
J. J. M. Kim - The physiological and biochemical regulation of milk synthesis among species.
M. Power - Comparative macronutrient composition of milk.

2016 Companion Animal Symposia

Fundamentals of Protein Nutrition

D. L. Schaefer - Global protein supply: Present and future considerations and availability.
G. Bosch - Alternative protein supplies for pet food.
A. Shoveler - Amino acid requirements and protein digestibility and assessment in dogs with considerations for cats.
D. L. Harmon - Idiosyncrasies of amino acid metabolism in dogs and cats.

Nutrition and Biology

K. Zwida and M. A. Kutzler - Canine hemangiosarcoma expresses luteinizing hormone (LH) receptors.
G. M. Pirner and J. J. McGlone - Rabbit maternal pheromone delivered in ointment decreases heart rate in domestic dogs during a simulated thunderstorm.
C. A. Iennarella, C. J. Iske, and C. L. Morris - Evaluation of nutrient digestibility and fecal scores in domestic dogs (Canis lupis familiaris) fed raw meat diets varying in protein source.
R. A. Donadelli, C. G. Aldrich, and I. C. Alvarenga - Misncanthus grass utilization as a dietary fiber source for dogs.

Behavior and the Human-Animal Bond

B. Milgram - Cognitive assessment protocols for use with companion animals.
R. T. S. McGowan - Objective evaluation of affective states in dogs.
C. C. Croney - The human-animal bond: Science based approached to improving companion animal welfare and adoption outcomes.

2015 Companion Animals Symposia

Nutrition and Behavior

K. R. Kerr, M. Zenobi, R. Gardinal, J. Zuniga, A. Adesogan, C. Staples, and E. Valdes - Evaluation of pelleted diets targeted for grazing ruminants housed in zoological institutions.
M. R. Pallotto, M. R. C. de Godoy, K. L. Pappan, P. R. Buff, and K. S. Swanson - Serum metabolite profiling to identify biomarkers and mechanistic insight into the metabolic changes associated with weight loss in overweight cats.
M. Scheraiber, T. T. Sabchuk, T. Ramos, J. R. de Silva, L. P. Dominques, A. V. F. da Silva, and A. P. Felix - Behavior assessment of dogs fed soybean hulls.
J. J. McGlone and R. R. Plummer - Evidence for a cat pheromone that modulates kitten scratching.
A. E. Manbeck, C. G. Aldrich, and S. Alavi - The use of varying strengths of gelatin and the effect of physical properties of extruded pet food.
T. T. Sabchuk, D. C. Lima, C. B. M. Brito, L. Barrile, A. P. Felix, S. G. Oliveira, and A. Maiorka - Digestibility and palatability of diets containing crude oil in dogs.
G. M. Pirner and J. J. McGlone - Effects of androstenone on reduction of leash pulling in dogs.
A. N. Beloshapka, M. R. C. de Godoy, K. B. Detweiler, I. S. Middelbos, G. C. Fahey, and K. S. Swanson - Effects of graded dietary HP 300 concentrations on apparent total-tract macronutrient digestiblity, fecal characteristics, and fecal fermentative end-products in healthy adult dogs.
M. R. C. de Gody and K. S. Swanson - Characterization of hindgut microbiota during the onset of obesity in adult domestic cats.
J. J. McGlone and R. R. Plummer - Evaluation of cat scratcher efficacy.
C. J. Iske, C. L. Morris, and K. Kappen - Evaluation of pork and pork by-products in raw meat diets for African wildcats.
A. M. Jeffrey, C. K. Jones, G. Aldrich, A. R. Huss, and C. Knueve - Identifying sources of Salmonella contamination in animal feed and pet food facilities.
C. S. Sobelman, J. K. Suagee, and C. Cldari - Dog ownership increases the richness of the cutaneous microbiome
S. D. Trible, C. G. Aldrich, and C. K. Jones - Effects of thiamine type, species meat versus livers, and sulfite addition on water-soluble B-vitamins in a canned cat diet.
P. Deng, C. Parsons, and K. Swanson - Chemical composition, nutrient digestibility, and true metabolizable energy of commercially available protein sources using the precision-fed cecectomized rooster assay.
A. E. Manbeck, C. G. Aldrich, and S. Alavi - The effect of low-bloom gelatin on physical properties of extruded pet food.
A. P. J. Maria, P. Deng, H. D. Holscher, F. N. Yoshitoshi, T. C. Putarov, K. S. Swanson, and A. C. Carciofi - Effects of age and diet on colonic mucosa microbiota of dogs.
T. T. Sabchuk, K. Vanelli, L. Barrile, F. Y. Murakami, A. Maiorka, S. G. Oliveira, and A. P. Felix - Digestibility of the crude corn oil in dogs.
A. Andre, I. Leriche, G. Chaix, and P. Nguyen - A high protein intake allows the preservation of lean mass and prevents the increase of fat mass, compared with a moderate protein intake, in neutered cats.
A. K. Mooney, C. G. Aldrich, C. K. Jones, and S. Alavi - The effect of processing and elevated storage temperatures on omega-3 fatty acid stability in pet food.
M N. Gray, C. G. Aldrich, C. K. Jones, and M. W. Gibson - The impact of rendered protein meal level of oxidation on shelf life and acceptability in extruded pet foods.

Comparative nutrition - Protein and energy across species

M. S. Edwards - Thinking comparatively allows flexibility: The legacy of Duane Ullrey.
D. J. Baer - Protein and energy metabolism in the development and management of obesity and chronic diseases in humans.
R. W. Johnson - Brain and cognitive development: Assessing the impact of nutrition in a neonatal piglet model.
N. Trottier - Comparative gastrointestinal utilization of nitrogen, lysine, and glucose in equids and suids.
D. M. Gatlin and S. Castillo - Carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores - Concepts of ideal protein formulation for ornamental and commercial aquaculture feeds.

2014 Companion Animals Symposium: George C. Fahey Companion Animal Nutrition Symposium: Preparing Future Companion Animal Biologists

J. P. McNamara - Challenges in training companion animal biologists: Missing the research component, how to overcome it?
L. Karr-Lilienthial - Extension outreach: Use of technology in companion animal biology and nutrition.
A. Shoveller - A circuitous route: Preparing for a career in the companion animal industry.
K. Koppel - How to effectively communicate science with pet owners and society: Understanding pet owner, purchasing decisions, and sensory characteristics of pet foods.

2013 George C. Fahey Companion Animal Nutrition

Symposium I: Effect of Dietary Format on Nutrition, Food Management, and Food Safety

A. Verbrugghe - From wild to captive diets: Metabolic flexibility of cats.
P. R. Buff, R. A. Carter, and J. H. Kersey - What is natural? Marketing versus science of natural pet diets.
P. Nguyen, B. Paragon, H. Hazewinkel, V. Leray, G. Blanchard, S. Serisier, and A. Andre - Potential health benefits of phytochemicals in pets.
C. Knueven and G. Aldrich - Ramifications of the food safety modernization act on the pet food industry, along with new technologies to control salmonella in pet food.