NTU represented at British Society of Animal Science’s 75th Anniversary Conference

Staff and students from the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences attended the conference, which celebrated the progress animal science has made over the last 75 years.

The event, “Fit for the Future” focused on the challenges and opportunities the animal science industry faces in trying to feed a growing world population with fewer resources, as well as identifying ways to meet the world’s challenges.

Around 300 delegates from across the world gathered at the conference, which was held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in April.

The university was represented at all levels during the conference by three undergraduate students, one masters student and five PhD students.

NTU academic staff members Dr Emily Burton, who is current president of the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA-UK) was also present, along with Dr Dawn Scholey who as programme committee chair chaired several sessions during the conference. Dr Anne Carter was also invited as a special speaker on the Human Bond with companion animals presenting a paper on non-invasive temperature monitoring in domestic species.

Alongside this, Dr Melanie Le Bon, who currently sits as a BSAS trustee, gave a talk on “The impact of an Oregano based Eubiotic on the health and performance of sows and their progeny” co-authored by Courteney Harlow: final year Animal Biology dissertation student. Dr Le Bon also chaired the Gut Microbiome session of BSAS.

PhD students Alex Desbruslais and Alex Kemp also both presented their PhD research. Alex’s presentation received the president’s prize for best short oral communication.

Dr Le Bon said: “The conference was a tremendous success and NTU was strongly represented across multi-disciplines as key players and influential leaders in animal sciences.

“We are looking forward to the next annual conference, which will be held in Nottingham at the East Midlands Conference Centre.”