The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) has announced that Dr. Poulson Joseph is the recipient of one of three Distinguished Achievement Awards. The award was given at a special awards banquet at the AMSA 71st Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 in Kansas City, MO. The Achievement Award was established in 1992 and is designed to recognize and foster the development of young AMSA members who have demonstrated significant scientific skills in muscle foods research and technology that contribute to the animal products industry and the AMSA.

Dr. Joseph received his B.S. in 2004 and M.S. in 2006 from Kerala Agricultural University, India and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky in 2011. Following graduation, he was hired as a Post‐Doctoral Research Associate at Mississippi State University. He began his professional career as Lead Scientist at Kalsec and is currently the Principal Scientist and leader of the Center of Excellence in Meat and Poultry. Dr. Joseph has authored and co‐authored more than 80 publications including 35 peer‐reviewed journal articles and 3 book chapters. Additionally, he has delivered invited presentations at conferences and institutions across the globe.

Dr. Joseph is a professional member of AMSA, ASAS, IFT, and Phi Tau Sigma. He has served on the AMSA Color Guidelines Revision Committee and RMC Planning Committee; he has also acted as an RMC Session Organizer and an RMC Graduate Research Poster Competition Judge. Currently, Dr. Joseph serves as the Chair of the IFT Muscle Foods Division as well as Chair of the Phi Tau Sigma Awards Committee. Dr. Joseph has been a recipient of the IFT Muscle Foods Division’s Member‐of‐the Year Award and Outstanding Volunteer Award. Recently, he was awarded the 2018 IFT Emerging Leader Network Award.