Willem Heemskerk, poultry processing researcher of Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V, earned his MSc degree in Food Science at the Agricultural University of Wageningen (Netherlands) in 1987. In 1988 he was hired by MEYN as a food technologist, with a focus on food safety, animal welfare, process yield and product quality. That job brought him to poultry processing plants in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, N-America, S-America and Australia. He has held several presentations during scientific meetings and for customers. A further present focus is on making relevant scientific publications useful for MEYN.
     He is a member of the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) and a former member of the Board of WPSA Dutch Branch (2010-2016). In 2000 he joined the European Working Group 5 (on Quality of poultry meat). In 2018 Willem was appointed as secretary of WPSA’s Foundation for the Promotion of Poultry Science (FPPS).