USPLF Committee Member Bios

Todd J. Applegate, Ph.D., is R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Distinguished Professor, Department Head of Poultry Science, and Assistant Dean for International Program in the college of agricultural and environmental sciences at the University of Georgia. In that role, he is responsible for recruiting and building teams of faculty and students to effectively respond to challenges affecting Georgia and the global poultry industries through scientific research and technology transfer for efficient and environmentally sustainable production of poultry products while providing for optimal animal well-being. Prior to his current appointment, he obtained degrees in animal sciences from Ohio State and Iowa State Universities, and afterwards as a research associate at the University of Maryland. Preceding his current appointment, he served on faculty at Purdue University where he developed an active research program which complemented his outreach program by providing readily applicable research answers to everyday management and nutrition questions by the poultry industry. Todd has been a member of several national committees and has served as President of the Poultry Science Association (PSA), member of the national (US) Coordinating Animal Nutrition Committee of State Agricultural Experiment Stations, and past-chair of a USDA working group to minimize impact of animal agriculture on the environment. Dr. Applegate was elected as the PSA Fellow in 2020.

Dr. Ramesh Bahadur Bist is an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University (NC State) specializing in AI, computer vision, robotics, and sensing technologies for precision livestock and poultry farming. He earned his Ph.D. in Poultry Science (2024) from the University of Georgia under Dr. Lilong Chai, an M.S. in Animal Science (2018) from Arkansas State University, and a B.S. in Animal Science (2014) from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. In 2024, he also joined the University of Arkansas as a postdoctoral fellow, where he worked on computer vision and robotics research. His research focuses on developing data-driven tools for animal health, behavior, welfare monitoring, autonomous unmanned vehicles, and rapid non-destructive food quality detection. Dr. Bist has published 100+ scientific publications, contributed to major journals in agriculture and AI, and currently serves as a guest editor and active reviewer for multiple leading scientific journals.

Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Ph.D., is a Professor and the William E. and Eleanor L. Splinter Chair in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She received her B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering and a dual M.S. degree in Animal Science and Biological Systems Engineering from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Brown-Brandl’s research focuses on precision animal management, integrating engineering, sensing, imaging, and data analytics to improve animal well-being, labor efficiency, and sustainability across livestock systems. Her work spans swine, poultry, and beef production systems and emphasizes the development of animal-based metrics to inform housing design, management decisions, and long-term genetic and systems-level outcomes. She works closely with industry, government, and academic partners to translate engineering innovations into applied solutions for animal agriculture. Dr. Brown-Brandl has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and abstracts, along with peer-reviewed book chapters and invited publications. She has delivered over 70 invited presentations nationally and internationally and provides leadership in multidisciplinary research and education initiatives in precision livestock farming.

Guilherme Rosa, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Prior to his current appointment, he held faculty positions at Michigan State University and at São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil. Dr. Rosa’s teaching and research focus on statistical and computational methods for the analysis of livestock data, encompassing beef and dairy cattle, swine, poultry, and other species. His research spans farm-level operational data analysis to support optimized management practices; high-throughput phenotyping for real-time animal monitoring and disease surveillance; and quantitative genetics, genomics, and animal breeding. Dr. Rosa has authored 16 book chapters and more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles, and has secured over $18 million in external research funding. His honors include the LeClerg Rotary Lecturer Award from the Biometrics Program at the University of Maryland (2011) and the Rockefeller Prentice Memorial Award in Animal Breeding and Genetics from the American Society of Animal Science (2016). Additional recognitions include the Pond Research Award (2013), the Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award (2017), the Excellence in International Activities Award (2017), the Kellett Mid-Career Award (2021), and the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professorship (2024), all from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Lingjuan (Ling) Wang-Li is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on air quality, environmental control, and animal welfare in livestock and poultry production systems, with growing emphasis on integrating artificial intelligence, advanced sensing, and environmental engineering to address air emissions, animal welfare, and productivity challenges in livestock and poultry systems. She has served multiple terms on the USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force and is actively involved with ASABE and NPPC-related advisory efforts. Dr. Wang-Li’s work bridges science and engineering to support practical, data-driven animal and environmental management for U.S. animal agriculture.

Hongwei Xin, Ph.D., has been serving as the dean of UT AgResearch and the director of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station at The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) since April 2019. He is responsible for the research programs of 150 faculty scientists and more than 450 professional staff located in seven departments and one school on campus and at 10 AgResearch and Education Centers across the state, overseeing approximately $97 million annual budget. He is actively engaged with stakeholders of agricultural and forestry industries, government agencies, and commodity groups in Tennessee and beyond. Xin’s academic and leadership endeavors have resulted in impacts on U.S. and global animal agriculture, contributions to scientific literature and engineering practices related to animal production systems, and training of next-generation professionals and leaders. His impacts have been expanded through serving on scientific advisory boards or committees for academia, industry organizations, and government agencies at state, national, and international levels.