Dr. Yan Ghazikanian Receives AAAP Honor


Dr. Galestan Yan Ghazikhanian was inducted into the American Association of Avian Pathologists’ (AAAP) Hall of Honor at its recent meeting held in San Antonio, Texas.


Dr. Yan, as he is known throughout the industry, joined Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms (NTBF) in 1974 as staff veterinarian.  He spent 33 years of his career with Nicholas and officially retired as Vice President of Veterinary Medicine in 2007.  He continues to work with Aviagen Turkeys on a consultancy basis as part of the technical services team.


A graduate of the University of Tehran, Iran, Dr. Yan earned his DVM at the top of his class.  He then traveled to the U.S. to continue his higher education through a scholarship foundation.  He earned his MS and PhD in Comparative Pathology from the University of California, Davis.  Dr. Yan is a Charter member and Diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.


As a director of a mobile laboratory from 1972-74, Dr. Yan worked at USDA/APHIS/VS participating in the eradication of Velogenic Viscerotropic Newcastle Disease (VVND) from the Southern California poultry industry.  During his career with NTBF, Dr. Yan researched and coordinated the eradication of the following avian mycoplasmas from Nicholas primary breeding stocks: M. meleagridis, M. synoviae, and M. iowae.  He also completed the eradication of several salmonella species including S. arizonae.


Dr. Yan has traveled widely in the USA, Europe and South America visiting turkey companies, attending to customer technical needs in turkey health management.  His ability to work with customers to help them identify issues and develop solutions, all with his unique and charming style, has been a tremendous asset to the industry.  Dr. Yan’s knowledge and years of experience has also made him a popular speaker and he has been honored to give numerous technical presentations at industry trade and scientific association meetings around the world.  In addition, he co-authored the chapter on Mycoplasma meleagridis in Diseases of Poultry:  Editions 9, 10 and 11.


Congratulations to Dr. Yan for this latest honor in a long and distinguished career.