Pre and Probiotics for Poultry Gut Health

Helen Massey O'Neill

Helen Massey O'Neill, known as Nell, graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BSc in Nutritional Biochemistry before going on to do her Ph.D., researching the influence of storage and temperature treatment on nutritional value of wheat for broilers. She progressed to postdoctoral research along with undergraduate teaching in equine science and animal nutrition at Hartpury College and later the University of Nottingham. This included supervising undergraduate and postgraduate projects which lead to her gaining accreditation with the Higher Education Academy in 2010. Teaching commitments continued into 2010-11. Nell's postdoctoral research at Nottingham included involvement in two DEFRA Link funded projects in feedstuff evaluation for pigs and poultry. Nell joined AB Vista in June 2010 as Research Manager where she is involved in managing research and development and regulatory trials for various AB Vista products.

Emily Burton

Emily 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. After seven years as a post-doctoral researcher focusing on feed quality and exogenous enzyme effects on broiler performance, Emily briefly investigated use of fibrolytic enzymes to improve forage digestion in dairy cows, followed by two years as companion bird nutritionist for Mars at their Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition. Her research now focuses on interactions between feed materials and gastrointestinal physiology in poultry. Emily is a senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, where she leads the Poultry Research Unit. She is a Council member of the World's Poultry Science Association (WPSA) UK Branch and chairs the Program Committee of their annual meeting which is jointly held with the BSAS annual meeting. Emily is also past Chair of the BSAS Academia Association and has worked to build up the strength of the AA and to establish a strong relationship with the BSAS Industry Association. Alongside her research, Emily's passion is for helping students to develop into scientists capable of making a tangible contribution to the advancement of animal science. To this end, she invests time liaising between industry and academia and also promoting positive connections between the general public and the animal science sector.

Dawn Scholey

Dawn Scholey completed her first degree in Applied Biology and worked as a researcher in ruminant reproduction for nine years, before joining a large multinational pet food company, specifically looking at palatability and behavior in domestic cats. This was followed by a period in R&D managing factory trials. 2006 brought a move to Nottingham Vet School as a foundation member of staff involved in both research and teaching. Dawn also managed the radiation and histology labs there, before joining Nottingham Trent University as a PhD student in 2009. She gained her PhD at Nottingham Trent University in 2012, after undertaking an EPSRC funded industrial CASE studentship in association with AB Agri entitled "The optimization of distillery co-products for use in poultry feed." Her research into environmentally sustainable forms of poultry nutrition is ongoing and she is regularly asked to speak on this topic. Dawn is in charge of poultry research at NTU alongside unit leader Emily Burton. As such Dawn collaborates with both internal and external customers to run poultry studies, mainly in the area of broiler nutrition. Dawn is also a member of both the WPSA UK Branch Council and Program Committee for the annual spring meeting.