Keynote Speakers

The 8^th Mediterranean Poultry Summit features internationally recognized keynote speakers whose expertise and leadership advance poultry science. Additional distinguished speakers will be announced, further enriching the scientific program, promoting knowledge exchange and expanding perspectives. Their contributions foster knowledge exchange, support evidence-based approaches, and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry across the Mediterranean region and beyond.

In alphabetical order

Nuhad Daghir

Dean Emeritus Nuhad Daghir received his B.Sc. from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. He began his career at AUB in 1962, serving as Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences from 1996 to 2006, where he introduced new programs in landscape design, food science, and environmental sciences.
Dr. Daghir has published over 100 articles, primarily focusing on poultry nutrition and higher agricultural education. His career includes leadership roles as Director of Technical Services at Shaver Poultry Breeding Company in Canada and Dean at the United Arab Emirates University.
A prominent member of the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA), he established and presides over its Lebanese Branch. In 2012, he became the only Arab scientist inducted into the International Poultry Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Lebanese President Gold Medal in 2018 for his lifelong services to education and agriculture.

Carlos Garcés Narro

Professor Dr. Carlos Garcés Narro is an Agricultural Engineer with a PhD in Animal Science. He is Full Professor of Animal Production at CEU Cardenal Herrera University and Technical Coordinator of its Poultry Unit. He leads the AviFeed Science research group, focusing on poultry production and nutrition, particularly in laying hens, with experience in regional, national, and European research projects in collaboration with the poultry industry. His research focuses on sensory evaluation and preference tests in poultry, including experimental approaches to assess the effects of dietary fats, ingredients, and additives on feed acceptance, intake, and performance. He has supervised three PhD theses and published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. He is currently President of the European Federation of the World Poultry Science Association and of the Mediterranean Poultry Network, and served as President of the 16th European Poultry Conference (Valencia, 2024).

Helga Medić

Professor Helga Medić received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in 2001 and 2006, respectively. She has been appointed full Professor in the Department of Food Engineering in 2015, where she has worked since 1996. Professor Helga Medić has been involved in teaching for 30 years at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies. She has published scores of scientific papers, book chapters, peer-reviewed teaching materials, and participated as presenter in many international scientific conferences. She is a secretary and the member of the Executive Committee of the World’s Poultry Science Association – Croatian branch since 2002.

Kazim Şahin

Professor Dr. Kazim Şahin is a Professor of the Nutrition at Firat University, at Department of Nutrition. He is a Principal Member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. He is also Chair of Food, Nutrition and Health Working Group of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. He is also Diplomate of European College of Poultry Veterinary Science. He has been actively involved in international research projects and conferences along with renowned scientists in World including USA, Germany, Austria, Poland and Belgium. He has over 372 publications (SCI or SCI-Expanded) in highly selected peer-reviewed journals with high impact factors. He also received a total of 18574 citations with an h-index of 79 Scholar. His research focuses mainly on vitamin and mineral metabolism, cancer and stress prevention. Kazim Sahin has international patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He served as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee and memberships in many international congresses.

Michèle Tixier-Boichard

Dr. Michèle Tixier-Boichard, PhD, DVM. Director of research at INRAE, Animal Genetics and Integrative Biology, Jouy-en-Josas, France. She has been working at INRAE in animal genetics and genomics since 1985, mainly on chickens. She published more than 150 scientific papers on egg production, heat tolerance, feather colour, and wrote several book chapters and supervised 13 PhD thesis. She is currently coordinating the National infrastructure of biological resource centres for research in agriculture, biology and environment, after having launched its component for domestic animals. She coordinated the H2020 IMAGE project and contributed to multiple European projects. She is the acting President of the World Poultry Science Association (2022–2026).

Peter Van Horne

Prof. Peter Van Horne is a senior researcher at Wageningen Social & Economic Research (WSER). WSER is part of Wageningen University and Research (WUR) in the Netherlands. He got his degree in farm economics at the Wageningen University in 1984. Since than he is working at WSER. He is full time occupied with poultry research projects for the national government, EU, international organisations and industry. Main topics the last years have been the economics of animal welfare, environmental protection, animal health and international competition. As all his research is dealing with economics and poultry his position can be summarized by ‘poultry economist’. He has a long standing experience with leading international projects related to the poultry sector. Peter is involved in several international networks. To mention two: he is Secretary General of the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) and Economic analyst at the World Egg Commission (WEO)..

Servet Yalcin

Prof. Dr. Servet Yalcin joined the Department of Animal Science at Ege University in 1988 as a research assistant, following seven years of experience in the research and development department of a private poultry breeding company. She began her PhD studies in 1984 and received her PhD degree in Poultry Science in 1990. She was appointed Associate Professor in 1992 and promoted to full Professor in 2002. She served at Ege University until her retirement in 2025. She is the author and co-author of numerous articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has participated as both a speaker and an invited speaker in many regional, national, and international scientific congresses, symposia, and workshops organized under the umbrella of WPSA.