British & Irish Society of Animal Science President: Helen Warren Helen is President of the British & Irish Society of Animal Science (BISAS) and a respected leader within the animal science community. With extensive experience in research, collaboration and knowledge exchange, she has been a longstanding advocate for advancing scientific excellence and strengthening links between academia, industry and policy. Read more As President, Helen is committed to supporting early career…  Open

Session: Opening Address Date: Tuesday, 14th April |10:00 Presentation Title: The role of collaboration between industry and academia in driving resilient livestock production. Profile: Emily Burton is a Professor in Sustainable Food Production. She undertakes a mixture of teaching, commercially driven research investigations and applied research into poultry nutrition and related fields. Prof Burton leads the University’s poultry nutrition research team, based at the Brackenhurst…  Open

Session: Sustainability & Animal Welfare Date: Tuesday 14th April | 11:30 Profile: I'm a Professor of Animal Behaviour, Cognition and Welfare within the School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). I am also the academic network lead of the Animal Welfare Research Network (AWRN) which has provided skills and experience relevant to the Trustee position. The AWRN was established in 2016 and is currently funded with a grant from BBSRC and…  Open

Session: Sustainability & Animal Welfare Date: Tuesday 14th April | 11:30 Profile: Professor Michael Lee is an expert in sustainable livestock systems, defining their role in securing global food security at the same time as protecting environmental health (Livestock’s role in human and planetary health). Read more He graduated with first class honors in Animal Science from University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1997 and gained a PhD in ruminant nutrition (protein and energy metabolism) from the…  Open

Session: Sustainability & Animal Welfare Date: Tuesday 14th April | 11:30 Profile: Harriet is an interdisciplinary scientist working on figuring out and incentivising the best ways to farm for people, the planet and the animals we farm. Her background is in preclinical veterinary medicine, which she studied at the University of Cambridge. She then worked at CSIRO, Brisbane on climate mitigation in red meat systems.  Read more Her PhD focused on comparing the carbon footprint, biodiversity…  Open

Session: Sustainability & Animal Welfare Date: Tuesday 14th April | 11:30 Profile: Fiona Roberts has worked in the fields of agriculture and animal welfare since graduation, focusing on monogastric species, particularly pigs, and gaining extensive experience in the global poultry industry. She has held various roles including Technical Supply Chain Analyst, Technical Resources Manager, and External Examiner at multiple colleges, demonstrating a strong commitment to education and assessment…  Open

Session: Small Ruminants - Reproduction & Nutrition Date: Tuesday 14th April | 14:15  Open

Session: Nutrition Date: Tuesday 14th April | 16:15 Profile: With dairy farming experience as a teenager, Anna’s interest in ruminant nutrition led to a degree in Animal Science from Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD from Nottingham University investigating the dynamics of rumen function and the impact of designing rations that synchronised energy and protein supply to the rumen microbiome on cow productivity. Following a stint as research and development manager for a national feed…  Open

Session: Nutrition Date: Tuesday 14th April | 16:15 Profile: Anna is Technical Manager GB & Ireland at Trident Micronutri. Following completion of a BSc in Animal Science and University of Nottingham, Anna started as a nutritionist within AB Agri’s graduate programme gaining experience in livestock and pet nutrition. She then joined Premier Nutrition as a commercial Ruminant Nutritionist developing the Transition Management System, working with feed mill and farm accounts providing…  Open

Session: Small Ruminants - Methane & Rumen Date: Tuesday 14th April | 14:15 Presentation Title: Residual feed intake of maternal sheep breeds and relationships with body composition and methane emissions Profile: I have over 20 years experience working on sheep breeding research projects. I manage the work of the SRUC CT scanning unit and undertook my PhD (2005) based on CT scanning of breeding hill ewes to assess seasonal tissue changes. The sheep genetic projects that I have been involved…  Open

Session: Holistic Systems in Addressing Climate Change Date: Wednesday 15th April | 08:45 Profile: I am an animal scientist in the Agriculture, Horticulture and Engineering Sciences Department. I started my academic journey at the University of Aberdeen in the 1990’s, studying animal science and agriculture. From this point I was determined to pursue a career in Agriculture with a focus on livestock production science. Following my studies in Aberdeen I moved to SRUC in Edinburgh to undertake…  Open

Session: Holistic Systems in Addressing Climate Change Date: Wednesday 15th April | 08:45 Profile: Michael McWhinney, Head of AgriFood R&D at Dunbia UK, has a history of managing large collaborative innovation projects that have improved the efficiency, quality, and consistency of beef production in the UK. Funding secured through the UKRI Transforming Food Production Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK and BBSRC, fuelled Dunbia’s ‘Conception to consumption’ project with Breedr and…  Open

Session: Dairy Cattle Nutrition and Management Date: Wednesday 15th April | 08:45 Presentation Title: How Mycotoxins Impact Dairy Cow Health and Performance Profile: A native of Slovakia, Dr. Radka Borutova received a doctoral degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Kosice. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Effects of fusarium mycotoxins on antioxidant and immune status in poultry," and she has since authored 14 peer-reviewed studies about…  Open

Session: Livestock Parasitology Date: Wednesday 15th April | 08:45 Presentation Title: Understanding the mechanisms of macrocyclic lactone resistance in the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis Profile: Eilidh has been at Moredun since starting as a PhD student in 2020. Her PhD, which was in collaboration with SRUC and University of Edinburgh, investigated practical approaches to roundworm control on hill and upland sheep farms in Scotland. Prior to her PhD, Eilidh completed BSc (hons)…  Open

Session: Presidents Session Date: Wednesday, 15th April |10:45 Summary: Tamzin Furtado will share her views on the hurdles of applying research with a focus on the impact of human perceptions as part of the President's Session at this year's Annual Conference. Tamzin will then join other session speakers to take part in a broader panel discussion on the topic including looking at applying research from industry and academic persepctives as well the role of human perceptions and changing…  Open

Session: Presidents  Date: Wednesday, 15th April |10:45 Summary: Is meaningful engagement with human stakeholders an avenue to overcome barriers to change and enhance the application of research? This presentation will draw on insights from various research projects to explore how we can extend our focus beyond scientific evidence and technical know-how to consider the wider contextual and personal factors that affect human behaviour and decision-making, and consequently, our research…  Open

Session: President's Session Date: Wednesday, 15th April |10:45 Summary: Liam Sinclair will share his views on the hurdles of applying research from an academic perspective as part of the President's Session at this year's Annual Conference. Liam will then join other session speakers to take part in a panel discussion on the hurdles to applying research, including looking at the role of human perceptions and changing mindsets. Profile: Liam undertook a degree in Agriculture with…  Open

Session: Presidents  Date: Wednesday, 15th April |10:45 Summary: David Wilde will share his views on the hurdles of applying research from an industry perspective as part of the President's Session at this year's Annual Conference. David will then join other session speakers to take  part in a panel discussion on the hurdles to applying research, including looking at the role of human perceptions and changing mindsets. Profile: David is the National Ruminant…  Open

Session: Unlocking the rumen’s natural power for performance Date: Wednesday 15th April | 13:45 Presentation Title: Enhancing Ruminant Efficiency Naturally: Sensory Additives as Drivers of Feed Intake and Performance Profile: Dr Sophie Parker-Norman began her career working hands-on with dairy cattle, milking cows on a robotic dairy unit. She subsequently pursued a research career in animal sciences, specialising in the immunology of mastitis in dairy cattle. Sophie has over ten…  Open

Session: Unlocking the rumen’s natural power for performance Date: Wednesday 15th April | 13:45 Presentation Title: The Origins of Sugar: Closing the Gap in Modern Ruminant Nutrition Profile: Georgina Chapman is the Nutritionist & Technical Support Manager for ED&F Man Liquid Products in the UK & Ireland. She studied her BSc in Animal Science at The University of Nottingham and completed her MSc in Ruminant Nutrition at Harper Adams University. Georgina began her career in an on farm…  Open

Session: Unlocking the rumen’s natural power for performance Date: Wednesday 15th April | 13:45 Presentation Title: New Perspectives on Branched-Chain VFA’s for Precision Feeding Profile: Alberto Palmonari is Associate Professor at the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences of the University of Bologna. Born in Faenza (RA) on 06-10-81, he obtained his high school diploma in Science in 2000, his degree in Biotechnology, majoring in plants in 2006, and his PhD in Animal Nutrition…  Open

Session: Unlocking the rumen’s natural power for performance Date: Wednesday 15th April | 13:45 Presentation Title: Isoacid modelling in the CNCPS model and practical application Profile: Dr. Huw McConochie is a dairy nutritionist with 35 years of experience in herd management, on‑farm research, and technical service leadership. He holds a BSc and PhD from Aberystwyth University, where he received the RABDF dairy student award. Before joining Zinpro, he led a major UK dairy…  Open

Session: Forage Quality, Rumen Fermentation and Methane Date: Wednesday 15th April | 13:45 Profile: Dr Sarah Morgan is a grazing livestock systems researcher and lecturer within the department of agriculture & environment at Harper Adams University. She has over a decade of experience working on collaborative, transdisciplinary research projects involving a diversity of academic and industry partners operating in the fields of agri-food and agri-technology. Sarah’s expertise centre around…  Open

Session: Precision Technologies in Livestock Management Date: Wednesday 15th April | 15:45 Presentation Title: Intraruminal precision: past and future for ruminal instrumentation Profile: Nicholas Jonsson is Editor in Chief for the Journal of Dairy Research and Honorary Professor of Animal Health and Production in the School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, at the University of Glasgow. He graduated as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Sydney, Australia,…  Open

Session: Multi-species Swards & Climate-Smart Grazing Systems Date: Wednesday 15th April | 15:45  Open

Session: Hammond Lecture Date: Thursday16th April | 11:00 Profile: My main area of interest is dairy cattle breeding and identification of appropriate selection goals that meet as many stakeholders requirements as possible. The number of traits incorporated into the selection goal for all species is increasing which brings challenges when traits have unfavourable correlations. Of particular note is the mobilization of body energy by dairy cows - some is desirable since it adds to efficiency in…  Open

Session: Hammond Lecture Date: Thursday 16th April | 11:00 Profile: Specialist in the international dairy cattle breeding industry. Leads genetic and genomic evaluations of UK dairy cattle and directs national breeding goals.  Open