SETU student receives funding for pig feeding system research

A graduate of the BSc in Molecular Biology with Biopharmaceutical Science, and a final year PhD student, he was one of only three awardees of this competitive fund.
The award was based on his proposal to investigate the impact of sanitisation of a liquid-feeding system for pigs on the bacterial and fungal microbiota of liquid feed and of the liquid feeding system itself.
As part of the award, James was invited to present his findings at the Society of Feed Technologists/Pig Veterinary Society joint pig conference, held in Birmingham.
Earlier in 2023, James was also awarded the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) Industry Prize Award, which was sponsored by Kepak. He presented his work on optimising the hygiene of liquid-feeding systems for pigs at the 2023 BSAS conference.
Based on his submission, James was shortlisted to give an additional presentation to industry representatives to highlight the impact of his research and based on this, he was awarded the industry prize.
James’ PhD focuses on the microbial quality of liquid feed for pigs and how strategies to optimise feed microbial quality might impact the feed and pig gut microbiome. The PhD is supervised by Professor Gillian Gardiner from the EIRC within SETU Waterford’s Department of Science, Dr Peadar Lawlor from the Pig Development Department in Teagasc Moorepark, and Dr Paul Cormican from the Animal Bioscience Research Centre in Teagasc Grange. James is funded by an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship, a SETU PhD Scholarship and a Higher Education Authority grant.