Frank Edens
Bio
Dr. Frank Edens earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. His areas of interest include environmental physiology, enteric parasites, immunology, trace mineral nutrition, endocrinology, gastrointestinal physiology and pathology, selenium metabolism and biotechnology. His research supports academic programs in avian anatomy and physiology, physiological aspects of poultry management, comparative endocrinology, and reproductive endocrinology of domestic fowl.
Area(s) of Expertise
Under the broad umbrella of environmental physiology, Dr. Edens' research emphasis continues to explore stress and immunity in domestic fowl. Research approaches study stress incorporate endocrinology, neurophysiology, immunology, pathology and molecular biology associated with antioxidant influence on gene expression governing heat shock proteins, selenoproteins and antioxidant enzymes. Currently, his research focuses on the influence of different dietary selenium sources and levels in poultry focuses on the use of various dietary antioxidant supplements and how these might be used to improve performance of poultry. This research is highlighted by evaluation of the effect of the selenium and antioxidant sources on maintenance of cellular DNA integrity and gene expression.
Publications
- Growth of White Leghorn Chicken Immune Organs after Long-Term Divergent Selection for High or Low Antibody Response to Sheep Red Blood Cells , ANIMALS (2024)
- Role of stressors in histomoniasis transmission and development in turkeys , JOURNAL OF APPLIED POULTRY RESEARCH (2024)
- Tissue cytokines in chickens from lines selected for high or low humoral antibody responses, given supplemental Limosilactobacillus reuteri and challenged with Histomonas meleagridis , FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY (2024)
- Combining supervised machine learning with statistics reveals differential gene expression patterns related to energy metabolism in the jejuna of chickens divergently selected for antibody response to sheep red blood cells , POULTRY SCIENCE (2023)
- Effect of Limestone Particle Size and Potassium Supplementation on Growth Performance, Blood Physiology, and Breast Muscle Myopathy of Male Broiler Chickens , Frontiers in Veterinary Science (2020)
- A role for Sel-Plex™, a source of organic selenium in selenised yeast cell wall protein, as a factor that influences meat stability , Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition (2016)
- Organic selenium in animal nutrition – utilisation, metabolism, storage and comparison with other selenium sources , Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition (2016)
- Sel-Plex™, a source of organic selenium in selenised yeast protein, as a factor that influences meat quality , Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition (2016)
- Selected plasma constituents of broiler chickens fed different levels of dried sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) peels , Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences (2016)
- Improved early performance of turkey poults given an Aloe ferox leaf extract with bentonite , BRITISH POULTRY SCIENCE (2014)