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Evelyn Weaver

Assistant Professor, Avian Science and Health

Dr. Evelyn Weaver is an Assistant Professor of Avian Health and Disease in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her background spans poultry reproductive physiology, molecular biology, and avian health, with an emphasis on understanding the biological mechanisms that influence poultry health and production. 

Dr. Weaver's research program focuses on understanding how perturbations in energy metabolism affect reproductive function in broiler breeder chickens. By integrating classical molecular biology and physiology with emerging approaches, including multi-omics, CRISPR-based technologies, and organoid models, her lab aims to identify and functionally characterize the molecular pathways linking metabolism and reproduction. Ultimately, her research seeks to translate these mechanistic insights into strategies that improve reproductive efficiency, health, and sustainability in poultry production.

  • Ph.D,  Animal Science, May 2023
    The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA  
  • B.S., Animal Science, May 2017

    Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
  • A.S., May 2014
    Collin College, Frisco, TX

  • Certificate of Excellence for Oral Presentation in Physiology and Reproduction. Annual Poultry Science Association conference. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 2019 
  • Deans Honor Roll. Texas A&M University. Fall 2014 and Spring 2017. 
  • Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture. April 2015. 
  • Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. February 2015.

 

Grants & Fellowships

  • USDA-NIFA-AFRI Postdoctoral Fellowship for proposal titled “Functional identification of avian influenza resistance host factors through genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screening in chickens”. June 2023- May 2026. $225,000.
  • USDA-NIFA-AFRI Predoctoral Fellowship for proposal titled “The role of increased visceral adiposity in the development of lipotoxicity and ovarian dysfunction in the broiler breeder hen”. January 2022-December 2023. $119,731.
  • NIH T32 Training Grant Fellowship - Physiological Adaptations to Stress. Penn State University. July 2019- July 2021.
  • Fund for Excellence in Graduate Recruitment Scholarship. Penn State University. 2017-2018               
  • Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Scholarship. Texas A&M University. 2014-2017.

 

Teaching & Mentoring

Teaching Assistant, The Pennsylvania State University

  • ANSC 500- Current Issues in Animal Science
    (Guest Lecture - Spring 2025)
  • ANSC 311- Poultry Production and Management
    (Guest Lecture - Fall 2021)
  • ANSC 431- Physiology of Reproduction Lab
    (Fall 2021, Fall 2022 and Fall 2023)
  • ANSC 431- Physiology of Reproduction
    (Guest Lecture - Fall 2022)

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Texas A&M University

  • ANSC 433 Honors- Reproduction in Farm Animals Lab (Fall 2016)

Mentoring - 2 Ph.D. student’s, 2 master’s students and 6 undergraduate students

  • Postdoctoral Scholar, Penn State University. May 2023- July 2023.
  • USDA Postdoctoral Fellow, Penn State University. June 2023- May 2023.
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Penn State University. August 2017- May 2023.
  • Undergraduate Research Assistant, Texas A&M University. May 2016- May 2017.
  • Undergraduate Research Assistant, Texas A&M University. January 2015- May 2017.

  • International Society for Animal Genetics: 2025 - Present
  • Society for the Study of Reproduction: 2017 - Present
  • Poultry Science Association: 2018 - Present
  • Endocrine Society: 2021 - 2023

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