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.

As President, Helen is committed to supporting early career researchers, fostering international partnerships and ensuring that animal science continues to play a vital role in delivering sustainable, evidence-based solutions for the livestock sector. She is delighted to welcome delegates to the BISAS 2026 Conference and looks forward to an engaging and inspiring event.

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 Campus.

Prof Burton gained a BSc in Animal Physiology and Nutrition from the University of Leeds and a PhD in the nutritional value of soya beans for broiler chicks from the University of Nottingham. She spent seven years as a post-doctoral researcher mainly focusing on feed quality and exogenous enzyme effects on broiler performance, but also briefly investigating the capacity of fibrolytic enzymes to improve forage digestion in dairy cows.

After a spending two years as the companion bird nutritionist for Mars at their Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, Dr Burton established a new poultry research unit at Nottingham Trent University in 2009.

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 Defra, with the remit of enhancing the capacity, quality and impact of animal welfare research. I am also a member of the UK government Animal Welfare Committee.

At QUB, I am also the Director of Postgraduate Research for the School of Biological Sciences. In this role I have gained useful skills and experience in developing initiatives to support early career researchers. This has included developing a training programme and a range of student support activities. BSAS has a number of excellent initiatives supporting early career researchers and I think my experience in this area would be useful for supporting future developments. Furthermore, I am also aware of the importance BSAS places on animal welfare, particularly as it is a holistic concept that is integrated with many aspects of animal science research. As a behavioural biologist, my research spans a number of farm and companion animal welfare topics, and includes links to relevant underlying animal science and physiology.

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).

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 University of Aberdeen in 2001 followed by a postgraduate certificate for teaching in higher education from Aberystwyth University in 2012. He worked for the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research from 2001-2008 (with his first post-doc on ruminal lipid metabolism), before the merger with Aberystwyth University, where he stayed as a Principal Scientist and Senior Lecturer in animal nutrition and rumen biochemistry until moving to the University of Bristol, School of Veterinary Science (Bristol Veterinary School) in 2013 as a Reader in Sustainable Livestock Systems. In 2015, he took a joint appointment between Rothamsted Research and the University of Bristol as Head of Site at North Wyke and was promoted to Chair in Sustainable Livestock Systems later that same year. In November 2020, Michael moved to his current position as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University, England’s premier specialist agriculture and land use University. He has published more than 350 research articles and papers, including articles in Nature and Science. He was awarded the Sir John Hammond Memorial Prize in 2015 for services to Animal Science. In August 2016, he was elected as Vice President of the European Federation of Animal Science Livestock Farming Systems Commission and in August 2019, became President of the commission. He served as a Trustee for the British Society of Animal Science for more than 10 years, including the President's group from 2019 - 2023 (President 2021-2022). He is Co-Chair of the UK Universities Climate Network - Net Zero Group, as well as representing the UK in the Animal Task Force in Brussels, feeding into EU policy discussion around the role of livestock in sustainable food systems. In March 2023, he was appointed as a Technical Advisor to the FAO of the UN within its Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) group.

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. 

Her PhD focused on comparing the carbon footprint, biodiversity impacts, antimicrobial use and animal welfare of a broad range of UK and Brazilian pig production systems - from intensive through to organic systems. She identified the types of farms that best limit negative externalities. Her work has been featured in the Guardian, BBC Farming today and she presented it at New Scientist Live.

Harriet researchers the best ways of farming for people, the planet and the animals we farm. Her research interests were sparked by concerns about tradeoffs in our farming systems – it is commonly perceived that systems that use less land (and so are better for biodiversity) perform worse in other ways. Eg. they have higher carbon footprints, use more antimicrobials and have poorer animal welfare. She found that these tradeoffs were largely assumed – very few systems and externalities had been empirically and systematically tested. Her work aims to fill these gaps; to identify tradeoffs among externalities where they exist and where they don’t.

Her work applies interdisciplinary methods to enable informed decision-making on the types of farm we should be promoting. She works in UK and Brazilian livestock systems, specialising in pig and cattle systems. She specialises in making empirical and systematic comparisons of outcomes for the climate, biodiversity, animal welfare and emerging infectious disease risks.

Before joining the Smith school, Harriet completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the University of Sao Paulo. During her PhD, Harriet was selected to take part in the Homeward Bound program, a global leadership initiative for Women in STEMM, which culminated in the world’s largest expedition of women to Antarctica. Harriet is passionate about diversity, equity and outreach, and is involved in various initiatives.

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 in animal welfare. Currently, Fiona serves as Impact Director at First Milk, continuing their dedication to improving standards in the livestock sector.

Session: Small Ruminants - Reproduction & Nutrition

Date: Tuesday 14th April | 14:15

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 manufacturer, and a brief move to the pharmaceutical industry, Anna has been Ruminant Technical Manager at AB Agri for 9 years. Based in Yorkshire, she provides nutritional support and advice to dairy farmer customers.

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 technical and commercial advice for premixes and feed additives.

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 in have been associated with breeding for improvements in carcass and meat quality, alongside traditional production and reproductive traits, and have considered both hill and terminal sire breeds. I have also worked on similar projects with beef cattle and pigs.

More recently, my research has been concerned with understanding and selecting for new traits in sheep, such as greenhouse gas emissions, feed efficiency and disease resistance.

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 a PhD in animal breeding. One of the key things I learned as an early-career researcher was to be flexible and open to new ideas. Since my PhD I have continued my research career at SRUC where I have been fortunate to have worked with academic colleagues throughout the UK and internationally across a range of areas, such as animal breeding, production efficiency, climate change, meat science and more recently precision livestock farming. This has led to some memorable collaborations as far afield as New Zealand. As a researcher I am focussed on working closely with the industry and delivering practical solutions to address real challenges – this is where I get a real buzz! These days you will find me at the Beef and Sheep Research Centre where I have a fantastic group of colleagues. As well as research I supervise PhD students and deliver lectures to undergraduate students. Away from work I like to spend time outdoors. You can normally find me in a field somewhere competing in agility with my two border collies or spending time in the hills with friends and family.

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 Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), which aligned farmers to consumers using modern data, decision support and precision agriculture techniques (read more on p15 of the Transforming Food Production Delivering Impact brochure). The collaboration with Breedr has continued using funding from Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK, to explore innovative solutions for a low carbon, pasture-fed beef system with FAI Farms.

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 mycotoxins.

Dr. Borutova has more than 12 years of experience in the global animal nutrition industry, where she has served in prominent roles at several leading institutions. Over the course of her career, Dr. Borutova has worked with stakeholders throughout the feed supply chain to better understand the impact of mycotoxins in all primary species and to help establish the most effective strategies for mitigating mycotoxin risks.

Dr. Borutova currently serves as the European technical support manager for the Mycotoxin Management program at Alltech. She has previously served as the chief state counsellor in the Ministry of Agriculture for the Slovak Republic and as a post-graduate student, teacher and member of the Laboratory of Selenium Metabolism at the Institute of Animal Physiology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

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) Veterinary Biosciences at University of Glasgow where she got her first experience of parasitology though her honour’s project which investigated the potential pathogenicity of rumen fluke in cattle and sheep. After this, she returned to Glasgow to undertake one-year research Master of Veterinary Medicine (MVM) funded by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and in collaboration with Moredun working on using existing data to inform sheep scab control strategies.

Eilidh is now a postdoctoral research scientist working on understanding the mechanisms of resistance to macrocyclic lactones in the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis.

Eilidh is also a Lantra Industry Champion and the vice president of the British Association for Veterinary Parasitology.

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 mindsets.

Profile: Tamzin is a social scientist with a background in global health, and has a specific interest in the interconnections between human and animal health and wellbeing. She completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool studying how we can improve the management of obesity in horses, particularly focusing on horse-human relationships and human behaviour change. She now works on projects covering a wide range of aspects of understanding human behaviour in order to improve companion animal welfare, and in using social sciences to find out more about how we can help people to change.

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 impact.
From agricultural technology investors who stressed the importance of fully comprehending target users’ priorities and the challenges they face, to the significance of accidental counsellors, examples demonstrate the importance of considering both practical and personal factors in the process of change. I will argue that we, as researchers, should use reflexive practices throughout the research process, and better consider whose knowledge and experience matters when we consider what constitutes an ‘enabling environment’ for change. Thus, meaningful engagement is not only a means to disseminate research findings; it starts at (or before) the conception of research, to collaboratively shape the objectives, questions, and solutions to empower potential ‘change-makers’.

Profile: Dr Laura Palczynski is a postdoctoral researcher in the Engaging for Change group within the Centre for Social Science at Harper Adams University. Starting out with a degree in animal behaviour and welfare, completing a PhD exploring different human perspectives and priorities regarding dairy calf management and several years working in agricultural knowledge exchange have informed her thinking about barriers to change. Her research now focuses on how people can work together effectively, considering factors such as mental health and wellbeing, as well as communication and practicality of research recommendations for industry.

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 Animal Science at Aberdeen University, before moving to Nottingham University where he completed his PhD on the interaction between  dietary energy and protein supply on microbial protein synthesis in the  rumen. He then moved to Harper Adams University as a lecturer in 1992, progressing to Professor of Animal Science in 2010. His research interests are focussed around dairy cows and include improving the health attributes of milk, increasing forage utilisation, improving mineral nutrition, and reducing the environmental impact of dairy cows. He was awarded the Sir John Hammond Prize in 2011 for his research in ruminant nutrition and the ability to transfer research findings to industry, and in 2016/2017 held the position of President of the British Society of Animal Science.

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 Technical Manager with the Massey Harpers Feeds Group, a family owned and run business providing animal feeds across the country. His role involves providing training and technical support for the sales teams, feed formulation, forage analysis and coordinating trials as well as being out on farm with customers. David is also a Cow Signals® Master Trainer. He is involved with the AIC Forage Analysis Assurance Group, the Feed Advisor Register working group and actively involved in the UK Agritech Centre. David has extensive experience in the animal feed industry, having worked for premix companies, feed additive manufacturers and the compound feed sector, working closely with farmers, nutritionists, consultants, academics and veterinarians. He is an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham, visiting lecturer at Harper Adams University, has over 40 published papers, abstracts and conference proceedings and has been a member of the Society for almost 30 years.

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 years’ experience working across the global ruminant and monogastric feed sectors. She is passionate about transforming on-farm data into practical insights, and about understanding the role of nutrition in supporting the immune system of production animals.

Sophie is a co-founder of Abireo Animal Nutrition, a feed additive business delivering products underpinned by first-class technical support.

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 commercial role before moving into research and development for animal feed supplements. Since joining ED&F Man she has been responsible for nutritional support, new product development and both academic and commercial trials with a key focus on improving feed efficiency and promoting sustainability on farm.

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 and Feeding in 2010.}

He teaches Feed Technology in Veterinary Medicine, Genetic Improvement in Animal Biotechnology, and Food Efficacy in the International Food Animal Nutrition and Management in the Circular Economy course.

His main lines of research include the study of the microbiome in ruminant and monogastric digestive systems, rationing strategies, chemical – biological analysis of animal nutrition foods, and in vitro biological systems, estimation of methane emissions, and development of strategies to mitigate their production.

Since 2021, he has been responsible for the Animal Production laboratory of the SPASA service, collaborates with various Italian and foreign research institutions, and has actively participated in several national competitive projects, relating to Ministerial and / or regional calls for proposals.

Alberto Palmonari is the author and co-author of more than 50 publications in indexed journals and has participated in national and international conferences, as lecturer, chairman and invited speaker.

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 technical service team. Passionate about cow wellbeing, he focuses on hoof health, transition management, and practices that support sustainable, productive herds.

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 sustainable and regenerative grass-based livestock production systems - taking a holistic, system-wide attitude connecting soil, pasture, animal, product and environment. Her research portfolio spans themes such as grass lipid biochemistry and nutritive value, grazing management and environmental impacts, reducing GHG emissions from sheep and beef production, nutrient density of ruminant meat, and use of precision livestock technologies in grazing-based systems.

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, in 1987 and worked as a mixed veterinary practitioner in rural New South Wales for 7 years, including a period as practice owner. In 1995 he commenced a PhD in bovine reproduction at the University of Queensland, and he was subsequently employed by the Queensland Government as a researcher in dairy science, before taking academic positions at the University of Glasgow and then again University of Queensland. He returned to Glasgow in 2009, as Professor of Animal Health and Production. Professor Jonsson is past Chair and now member of the UK Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs, and his teaching, consultancy and research interests are in animal management, with emphasis on systems for efficient cattle production. The main strands of his research are ruminant gut function and pathology, the use of sensor technologies to optimize ruminant health and production, the genetics of adaptation in cattle, and sustainable strategies for parasite management.

Session: Multi-species Swards & Climate-Smart Grazing Systems

Date: Wednesday 15th April | 15:45

Presentation Title: Mixture composition and Inorganic N: Effects on multispecies sward performance and persistency.

Profile: Grace Welling is Strategic Development Manager at Germinal Horizon, where she works closely with colleagues in the plant breeding and product development teams. She also leads engagement across research institutions, funding bodies, and the wider food supply chain to support effective collaboration toward a secure and sustainable food future.

A graduate of Harper Adams University, where she completed a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture and Crop Science, Grace’s academic foundation is complemented by extensive practical experience gained at Syngenta, NIAB trials farms, Germinal’s seed production agronomy, and trials work at Germinal Horizon’s applied research site in Wiltshire. Grace is firmly focused on current and future challenges facing modern agriculture and on steering the development of robust, evidence-based solutions to address them. Her recent work on multi-species trials in Wiltshire ideally places her to discuss the role of diverse swards in supporting resilient, environmentally responsible livestock production.

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 both economic and environmental terms. Too much mobilisation creates unwanted correlated responses in fertility, health and welfare and concomitant losses in environmental impact efficiency. Balancing traits according to their value requires economic values that are intriguing to calculate when the trait has societal value. The construction of overall indices is an area of great interest since it alone produces the change in the national dairy cattle population. Bringing component science into systems work has unique aspects of interest especially in identifying where tradeoffs have to occur and what the magnitude of the tradeoff is.

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.