Dr. Salim Bootwalla, born in Karachi, Pakistan had his initial school education at the St. Paul’s High School, Karachi and had his graduate degrees in B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. in from the Department of Physiology, University of Karachi. During his Master’s program, he pursued his specialization in Poultry Science offered by the Poultry Research Institute (PRI), Karachi, managed by the FAO UNDP and the Government of Sind. After his graduation in 1979, under the supervision of the FAO poultry expert and professor at the Clemson University, Dr. M.A. Boone (Late), he joined Arbor Acres (Pakistan) Ltd., as a Sales and Service Manager in Karachi, after completing his initial training at the company’s breeding farms in Mancera and Abbottabad.
In 1980, Dr. Bootwalla decided to pursue his higher education in the USA in the field of Poultry Science. After completing his M.S from the University of Florida, Ph.D. from the Oregon State University and Post Doctorate from the University of Florida majoring in poultry nutrition, he availed the position of Research Scientist for poultry nutrition at the Poultry Science Department, University of Florida. Two years later, he decided to pursue further education in DVM at the College of Veterinary Medicine, from the same University.
After completing his DVM and having graduated with M.S and Ph.D., Dr. Bootwalla pursued his professional career with a German based company, Degussa AG. (now Evonik), Feed Additives Division. He had his initial training on the company’s portfolio, amino acids feed additives, in Germany. He was then was assigned as a Technical Service Manager for the Middle East and South Asia, based in Sharjah, UAE. During his tenure, serving in the Middle- East (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Oman and Lebanon), Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, Dr. Bootwalla introduced the concept of optimal use of synthetic amino acids specifically methione and lysine, as one of the sources of balancing the diet, instead of solely based on the crude protein in poultry feed. This was achieved by chemically analyzing amino acid profile in feed and feed ingredients, the optimally balancing of the poultry diets by using the least cost feed formulation based on the total and digestible amino acids and Ideal Protein Concept. This concept was based on the fact that if the essential amino acids requirements are met by substituting synthetic amino acids, the crude protein requirement is reduced resulting in the lower cost of feed formulation without compromising the performance of the chicken.
After completing his tenure in Sharjah, UAE for 5 years, he was assigned in Mumbai, India as a Regional Director, Feed Additives for South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka) to focus on the emerging and growing markets of poultry industry in the region. During his tenure, he established liaison offices for Degussa (Evonik) in Karachi, Pakistan and in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In India he established a team for the Feed Additives Division in Degussa (Evonik) office in Mumbai. He also initiated a project on the analysis of local feed ingredients specifically for India and Pakistan, the summary of data was published annually. During his tenure in the Middle-East and the South Asia for more than 10 years, he also collaborated research projects and seminars with various educational and research institutions including feed mills in the region to promote the use of amino acids in poultry ration.
After spending his time in India for almost 6 years, he was offered a position with the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC) in Singapore as a Director of Animal Nutrition for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. During his tenure with the USSEC, Dr. Bootwalla promoted US soybean meal (SBM) based on the concept of ‘Beyond Crude Protein’ in comparison with the soybean meals with other origins. This concept was based on the idea that the nutrient values of SBM values should not be just based on the Crude Protein, but, one should also consider other nutrients like digestible amino acids, metabolizable energy, mineral contents, trypsin inhibitor activity and other values. The project was based on a three years extensive research collaborating with Dr. V. Ravindran, Professor of Poultry Nutrition, Massey University, New Zealand. The results of the research was published in the Poultry Science Journal.
The final overseas position in Singapore was with the DSM animal nutrition as an Advisor, Animal Nutrition where Dr. Bootwalla was responsible for promoting and the use of feed enzymes in animal feeds.
After completing his final assignment in Singapore and spending almost 25 years overseas, Dr. Bootwalla returned the USA. He is currently working with the USDA-FSIS as a Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer in Texas, USA. His job is mainly being mostly focused on food safety related to poultry products.
During his student and professional carrier, Dr. Bootwalla has published more than 25 publications in refereed journals and about 50 articles, mainly related to poultry nutrition and feed additives, in the international, regional and local magazines. He has also been a speaker at various international seminars and involved in consulting with various organizations on poultry nutrition, management, processing and food safety.
In Pakistan, Dr. Bootwalla have contributed to the poultry industry by working closely with the industry owners, nutritionists and veterinarians as well as with the University of Veterinary and Agriculture Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), Islamabad and other institutions by assisting them in chemical analysis of feed and feed ingredients for amino acids at the Degussa (Evonik) laboratory in Germany, formulation of poultry feed using the least cost feed formulation program, conducting feeding trails on amino acids and feed enzymes, donating Poultry Science Journals series and veterinary and poultry related books to the UVAS library, organizing feed microscopy workshop at the UAF, organizing feed mill auditing with the feed mill technology expert from Evonik, Germany and participating as a speaker at the Poultry Processing Seminar organized by the UVAS.