1 February 1942–15 June 2013
Born in Mexico City, Benjamín Lucio-Martínez received the DVM degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry at the National University of Mexico in 1966. He subsequently joined the Department of Animal Production: Poultry at that institution. He was the Department Chairman from 1973 to 1975 and was promoted to the position of Full Professor in 1976. Also in 1976 he became the Head of the Graduate Studies Division. Together with several colleagues he founded the Asociación Nacional de Especialistas en Ciencias Avícolas (ANECA) and was the founding president (1970 to 1972).
While on two separate leaves from his position at the National University, Ben earned MSc (1969) and PhD (1979) degrees at Cornell University under the guidance of Dr S. B. Hitchner. In 1986 he joined the Department of Avian and Aquatic Animal Medicine at Cornell University.
Throughout his career Ben carried out a large variety of projects, many of them with his students, on the diagnosis, control and pathogenesis of poultry diseases. He worked on infectious bronchitis, avian encephalomyelitis, Newcastle disease virus, egg drop syndrome, infectious bursal disease, chicken infectious anaemia, Marek's disease, and Salmonella enteritidis in chickens. He also worked on canary pox, parrot pox and tragopan herpesvirus. He confirmed the presence of infectious bursal disease, highly pathogenic Newcastle disease virus, inclusion body hepatitis and egg drop syndrome in Mexico. He published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals. In his final years at Cornell University, he served the New York State poultry industry through extension service and diagnosis. He retired in 2011 as Director of Avian Diagnostic and Extension Services.
In his words, he felt fortunate to have worked with some of the best poultry pathologists in Mexico and the United States (Dr Antillón, Dr Calnek, Dr Cuadra, Dr Estudillo, Dr Hitchner, Dr Levine, Dr Mosqueda and Dr Rosenwald, among others). He was proud that many of his students occupy important positions in the avian industry in Mexico and abroad. His impact as a teacher of avian veterinarians was of tremendous importance for the development of the Mexican and Latin American poultry industries. A similar impact was seen in his extension efforts in New York State. A true mark of his international stature in the field of avian medicine is his inclusion by the World Veterinary Poultry Association as an inaugural member of its newly established Hall of Honour.
In his retirement in Ithaca, NY, he spent his time reading, gardening, house remodelling, photographing and entertaining his three grandchildren. He is survived by his beloved wife Eglantina, daughters Eglantina and Araceli, and their families.
Bruce Calnek
K. A. Schat
Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY 14853, USA