The death has been announced of Dr James (Jim) McKay, a formidable scientist who, over nearly five decades, made a substantial and lasting contribution to the development of the global poultry industry. He worked at the UK Poultry Research Centre near Edinburgh and subsequently at Ross Breeders, Aviagen and the EW Group. Born in 1952 and brought up in Ayrshire, McKay received a first class honours degree and PhD from the University of Edinburgh, followed by academic research in Dublin. His calm, disciplined application of the scientific method regularly addressed significant industry challenges, including avian leukosis virus, highly pathogenic avian…