Two new faculty expand poultry science at Virginia Tech
Sara Cloft and Evelyn Weaver want more students to see the possibilities in poultry science.
Poultry is Virginia’s largest agricultural commodity, and two new faculty members in the School of Animal Sciences are helping strengthen the university’s work in poultry science.
Broilers ranked number 1 among Virginia agricultural commodities in 2024, generating more than $1.25B in farm cash receipts, according to USDA data. Turkeys and eggs added another $387M. “Poultry is a vital part of Virginia agriculture, and a strong poultry program at Virginia Tech is important to supporting the industry,” said Dave Gerrard, director of the School of Animal Sciences. “Sara and Evelyn will help us better serve our students and the poultry industry.”
The addition of Sara Cloft and Evelyn Weaver brings new expertise to the school’s poultry program in both teaching and research.
“Poultry is a vital part of Virginia agriculture, and a strong poultry program at Virginia Tech is important to supporting the industry. Sara and Evelyn will help us better serve our students and the poultry industry.”
Sara Cloft returns to Virginia Tech
For Sara Cloft, joining the faculty also marks a return to Virginia Tech.
Cloft earned her Ph.D. in animal and poultry sciences at Virginia Tech in 2022 before heading to Purdue, where she spent three years as a postdoctoral research assistant.
Now a collegiate assistant professor of poultry science, Cloft will focus primarily on teaching and student development. She will be teaching Commercial Poultry Enterprise Management and assisting with introductory animal and poultry science courses, including hands-on laboratory instruction.
Her background also includes research in laying hen and pullet heat stress, pasture laying hen management, avian coccidiosis, and intestinal development around hatch.
“...I want Virginia Tech’s Poultry Program to be the place the industry seeks out with its most complex and challenging problems — not only because we want to be challenged, but because we think differently than other poultry programs.”
What brought you to poultry science? Was there a particular person, experience, or moment when you realized, “This is what I want to do”?
I was lucky to have a great undergraduate poultry experience at Michigan State, where I was involved in the poultry science club, undergraduate research, and teaching. I had several outstanding mentors along the way, including Drs. Richard Balander, Darrin Karcher, Cara Robison, and Mike VandeHaar. Through the Midwestern Poultry Center of Excellence scholarship program, Drs. Mark Cook and Mike Lilburn encouraged me to pursue graduate school. Dr. Lilburn helped me secure my master’s position at Auburn and showed me how important it is to open doors for students. I’ve tried to do the same and have since helped two students move on to graduate programs in poultry science.
What’s a question you can’t stop thinking about right now — in your research, your teaching, or the poultry industry more broadly?
I’m currently obsessed with trying to understand how the relationship between universities and the poultry industry is shifting. Historically, universities produced scientific knowledge that industry implemented, but over the past decade the poultry industry has outpaced university research. We’ve also lost poultry faculty across the U.S., along with institutional knowledge and academic positions for graduating students. Universities still contribute to foundational science, but our research interests are getting further from commercial application. In my opinion, that makes it even more important for poultry faculty to work with industry and develop programs that benefit industry while also advancing poultry science.
Looking ahead, what are you most excited to build, explore, or contribute at Virginia Tech?
It’s amazing to be back at Virginia Tech. The poultry program has a rich history, from the former poultry science department to the ongoing contributions of Dr. Paul Siegel’s divergent selection projects. I’m especially excited to be here during a period of reevaluation and transition as Evelyn and I get established. My hope is to connect with our poultry science alumni and the poultry industry to ensure the program continues to meet their needs and support new innovations. Selfishly, I want Virginia Tech’s Poultry Program to be the place the industry seeks out with its most complex and challenging problems — not only because we want to be challenged, but because we think differently than other poultry programs.
What do you hope a student will experience working with you that they might not get anywhere else?
I want all Virginia Tech animal and poultry science students to spend time at our poultry facilities and encounter poultry in their classes. For those who choose to enter the poultry industry, I want them to understand the industry — and, more importantly, to think about how they can translate Ut Prosim to the work they do.
When you’re not teaching, researching, or talking poultry, what are we most likely to find you doing?
I love to go hiking, so my husband, Dominic and I are usually out in the nearby Jefferson National Forest or other natural areas when we’re not working. And when I need a few minutes to ruminate or stretch during the workday you can find me in the Hahn Garden, especially in the mornings.
Evelyn Weaver brings a focus on avian health
Evelyn Weaver joins the School of Animal Sciences in a research and teaching appointment focused on avian science and health.
Weaver earned her Ph.D. from Penn State, where she also spent three years as a USDA postdoctoral fellow in the Avian Biology Lab.
Her USDA-funded research used whole-genome CRISPR screening to identify genes that may be involved in resistance to avian influenza. At Virginia Tech, her research will continue to examine questions in avian health, physiology, and reproduction, combining traditional physiology with emerging biomedical approaches.
She’ll also bring that research experience into the classroom and her work with students.
“I want to push past the boundaries of classical poultry research and see what happens when we bring in people who don't think of themselves as poultry scientists...There is a lot of room to grow here, and that's exactly why it's exciting..”
What brought you to poultry science? Was there a particular person, experience, or moment when you realized, “This is what I want to do”?
Honestly, chance. I fell in love with reproductive physiology as an undergraduate, got into a lab and found I loved the research process itself. When I started looking at graduate programs, I reached out to a faculty member about a completely different opportunity, and she pointed me toward Ramesh Ramachandran at Penn State instead. Ramesh is a brilliant poultry endocrinologist and physiologist, and he turned out to be the most incredible mentor I could have asked for. That introduction changed the trajectory of my career. What kept me here wasn't just the science, though — it was the poultry science community. It's small, generous, and deeply collaborative in a way I hadn't experienced before, and once I was in it, I didn't want to leave.
What’s a question you can’t stop thinking about right now – in your research, your teaching, or the poultry industry more broadly?
There are two, really. The research one is how we improve broiler breeder welfare and egg production at the same time. Right now, those two goals pull against each other, and we're not in a great position to do both well. We need to find ways to improve both rather than choosing between them. I'm also fascinated by how much more the chicken has to offer as a biomedical model – for example, for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and pancreatic and ovarian cancers. The bird is a far more powerful research tool than most people outside our field realize.
The other question keeps me up for different reasons: how do we bring students back to poultry science? Poultry research can feel like a dying art in some corners of academia, and that worries me. The industry needs people, and the science is genuinely exciting — we just have to get students in the door to see it.
Looking ahead, what are you most excited to build, explore, or contribute at Virginia Tech?
Working with my colleagues to rebuild the poultry side of the program. I'm looking forward to deepening relationships with producers across the Commonwealth and building collaborations across departments and colleges. I want to push past the boundaries of classical poultry research and see what happens when we bring in people who don't think of themselves as poultry scientists. Part of that is bringing new tools into the program: CRISPR, omics approaches, organoid models. There is a lot of room to grow here, and that's exactly why it's exciting.
What do you hope a student will experience working with you that they might not get anywhere else?
First, I hope I can light a spark — that they leave caring about poultry and poultry research the way I do. Beyond that, I want them to become genuinely independent thinkers. Not just technically skilled, but able to ask their own questions, defend their own ideas, and troubleshoot when an experiment falls apart. My goal is for them to graduate confident in themselves as scientists and experienced with tools they’ll actually use in modern research.
When you’re not teaching, researching, or talking poultry, what are we most likely to find you doing?
Out on a trail exploring with my dog Gerty and my new puppy, Mud. Otherwise: loving on my cats, fussing over my plants, or crocheting.