Animal Sciences

Our ethos is to utilise high quality animal science to address challenges facing society. We do this under the following five research themes:

Animal health and welfare

We have an international reputation for our research into improving animal health and welfare.

This ranges from fundamental work on understanding animal needs and behavioural problems, to mechanistic studies of health and disease at the molecular level.

Assessing pain and distress

A particular focus is the development of effective means of assessing pain and distress in farm, laboratory and companion animal species.

Some of the research conducted under this theme links closely with the work undertaken under the research theme of Precision Livestock Farming.

Collaboration with social scientists within the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences enables us to explore public opinion and market values relating to these complex issues.

Welfare issues

Exploring welfare issues in companion animals, including the health and behaviour of newly recognised cross-breed dogs such as labradoodles, and the impact of irresponsible dog breeders on the subsequent behaviour and welfare of puppies.

Exploring the quality of the human animal relationship in companion and farm animals.

Comparative molecular animal physiology

We are investigating basic molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms underpinning animal function, which includes:

• reproduction
• ion transport
• stress regulation
• food intake
• energy balance

We are interested in how molecular mechanisms controlling these functions have evolved in vertebrates. We are using this knowledge for practical applications in agriculture and biomedicine.

We work with vertebrate species including laboratory rodents, farm animals, amphibians and wild bird species.

Research techniques

We use a range of techniques for molecular physiology. At the gene expression level, these include:

• RNA sequencing and real-time qPCR
• measurement of plasma hormones and metabolites
• in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry

This enables us to identify sites of protein synthesis in brain and body tissues. At the cellular level, we use a variety of electrophysiological methods such as:

• microelectrode recordings
• patch-clamp
• transepithelial transport measurements.

One of our particular strengths is the ability to integrate physiological measurements in whole-animal studies, including quantification of behaviour.

Animal nutrition and resource efficiency

Our work in animal nutrition and resource efficiency is internationally recognised and we are the UK Centre of Excellence for Research into Monogastric Nutrition.

We address:

• raw ingredient evaluation
• interactions between animal health
• nutrition and reproduction efficiency
• the prediction of animal responses to their management, including feeding and health challenges

'Field to fork' expertise

Our 'field to fork' expertise allows us to study the relationships between husbandry systems and nutritional inputs of animals and the composition of their products.

We also cover further consequences for human diet and health, investigated in collaboration with the Food Quality and Health Research Group.

Decision support tools

Our decision support tools are used widely by the pig and poultry industries. They are now developed further to include the consequences of variation in animal and environment characteristics.

While the emphasis of our work is mainly in temperate systems, staff and research students are involved in work in the tropics through British Council link programmes, and split PhD programmes.

Environmental impact of livestock and agricultural systems

The environmental impact of livestock systems and agricultural systems are an increasing focus of our research.

To improve the efficiency of resource use, we examine the consequences of changes such as:

• modifications in nutrition and husbandry
• alterations in breeding and reproductive strategies

We input into the latest methodological developments for environmental impact assessment.

This includes modelling of energy flows and life cycle analysis, and influence-relevant bodies, both national and international.

Precision livestock farming

Our aim is to exploit the use of novel technologies for the development of more efficient and welfare-friendly livestock systems.

We want to achieve this with minimal environmental impact, and maximum health and welfare of a range of farm species.

This includes the:

• use of digital technologies that enable precision management of livestock
• early detection of health and welfare problems
• integration of on-farm generated data

Collaborations across the University, and with the livestock industry, enable the development and utilisation of these technologies.

Our projects inform policy and practice across livestock farming, but especially in relation to cattle, pigs and poultry.

Current projects

• Developing lifetime animal welfare assessment tools using novel physiological measures of cumulative chronic stress
  Project Leader(s): Dr Tom Smulders: Institute of Neuroscience
• SusPigSys - Sustainable pig production systems
  Project Leader(s): Dr Sabine Dippel (sabine.dippel@fli.bund.de)Germany - Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI)
• The assessment of pain using facial expressions in laboratory mice, rats, rabbits and macaques
  Project Leader(s): Dr Matt Leach

Recently completed projects

• PigSAFE: Re-designing the farrowing environment from first principles to optimise animal welfare and economic performance
  Project Leader(s): Professor Sandra Edwards

Our academic staff in the Animal Sciences group deliver teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate taught degree programmes.

Undergraduate degrees

These include BSc degrees in:

• Biology
• Zoology
• Animal Science
• Agriculture

Masters degrees

We also offer Masters programmes, such as the MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security.

The assessment of companion animal welfare is a popular topic for undergraduate research projects in the final year.

Our research is undertaken using first class facilities that enable us to conduct research from the molecular to the whole animal level. These include:

• NU Smart Farms - commercially-run farms that provide a platform for cutting edge livestock science under real-life conditions
• CDIAL – The Centre for Digital Innovation Applied to Livestock comprises state-of-art animal housing and development space to design and test sensors to monitor livestock performance, health and welfare. The Centre forms part of CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock based at York, one of Government-funded centres for Agricultural Innovation.
• CBC – The Comparative Biology Centre on campus which provides facilities for the use of animals in biomedical research. The University uses animals in research only when there are no realistic alternatives.
• DogBox - a unique mobile research lab created especially for dogs. Based on a parcel van, the mobile lab has been kitted out with thermal and high speed cameras and activity sensors to better understand dog behaviour and dog welfare.
• Molecular & cellular physiology – we access the latest molecular and cellular laboratory equipment to support such techniques as RNA sequencing and real-time qPCR, microelectrode recordings, patch-clamp and transepithelial transport measurement.