Palmquist Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award

10 Jul 2008

by: Anne Keller

Palmquist Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award

ARLINGTON, Va., July 9, 2008 – Dr. Donald Palmquist, Ph.D., an expert on dairy cow nutrition at Ohio State University (OSU), was recognized for his professional achievements by the Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS) this week. Palmquist is professor emeritus of animal sciences at OSU.

The FASS New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition award, which is similar to a lifetime achievement award, was presented to Palmquist during a ceremony in Indianapolis, Ind., on July 7. This is the fifth consecutive year the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) sponsored the FASS New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition award.

Palmquist’s career-long pursuit of understanding lipid metabolism in dairy cows was pioneering and innovative, and he aimed to develop practical and profitable strategies to incorporate supplemental fat into dairy cow diets.

His early research provided fundamental information on the metabolism of fatty acids by dairy cows. The use of radioisotopes to quantify the transfer of dietary fat to milk fat was particularly innovative, and it led him to conclude that supplemental fat could improve the efficiency of milk fat synthesis. He also conducted applied studies to determine the effects of dietary fat on milk production and composition.

The highlight of Palmquist’s research in this area was the development of calcium salts of fatty acids. This product greatly expanded the use of fats by the dairy industry because they could be stored, transported and incorporated into diets much more easily than other fats available at the time.

In addition, Palmquist more recently focused on specific milk fatty acids. His research showed the predominant trans fatty acid in milk—vaccenic acid—is converted to trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in mice. Subsequent work confirmed that the synthesis of CLA from vaccenic acid occurs in humans. 

Dr. William Braman of Chr. Hansen Animal Health and Nutrition presented the award to Palmquist; Braman is chairman of the AFIA Nutrition Committee.

A photo of the presentation is attached, along with a suggested caption.

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