Conrad Lichtenstein

Chief Scientific Officer, Nemesis Bioscience Ltd

Talk title: DNA therapeutics administered before antibiotics to inactivate resistance in bacterial pathogens

Conrad joined Nemesis Bioscience in 2014 after eight years as Chief Scientific Officer for Population Genetics Technologies where he developed methods to enable the rapid, low-cost, simultaneous analysis of candidate genes in multiple genomes and the identification of rare variants in mixed DNA samples from human, plant and microbial sources.

Following a PhD in Molecular Biology under Nobel Laureate Dr. Sydney Brenner at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, he held a post-doctoral position at the University of Washington, Seattle. After this, he took a faculty position at Imperial College London, followed by an appointment as Professor of Molecular Biology at Queen Mary, University of London.

His research has included gene targeting in plants by homologous recombination, RNAi engineering for virus resistance in transgenic plants and transposition by DNA elements spreading antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Fiona Lovatt

Sheep veterinary consultant, Flock Health

Talk title: The new CPD platform for vets and role of an AMR champion in mixed vet practices.

Fiona is a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Recognised Specialist in Sheep Health and Production and a diplomate of the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management. She holds the part time position of Clinical Associate Professor in sheep production medicine at the University of Nottingham and is the clinical lead for the RCVS Knowledge initiative Farm Vet Champions.

Fiona Lovatt graduated from Bristol University in 1995 and worked in first opinion mixed veterinary practice in Barnard Castle, County Durham until 2012. For her first four years in practice, Fiona worked in all veterinary disciplines but particularly with sheep, goats and cattle from 1999. In 2008 she was awarded a PhD from the University of Durham in the conservation genetics of South Georgia reindeer, having worked on this on a part-time basis alongside being a practising farm vet.

As a past president of the Sheep Veterinary Society, Fiona currently chairs the UK Sheep Antibiotic Guardian Group and is a member of the RUMA (Responsible Use of Medicine in Agriculture) Target Task Force, with responsibility for setting and delivering responsible use targets for the sheep industry. 

As founder of the Flock Health Club concept, Fiona is passionate about enthusing farm vets to actively engage with sheep farmers through principles that embrace best practice preventative measures and responsible medicine use.

Salvatore Galgano

Monogastric Science Research Centre, SRUC

Talk title: The potential for peracetic acid nano particles for non-antibiotic modulation of gut microbiota and possible modulation of performance in broilers

Finding alternatives to antimicrobials has a critical importance due to the rise in antimicrobial resistance in animal production systems. We are investigating animal-based applications for the documented wide spectrum biocide effect of peracetic acid (PAA). We observed that in-water PAA delivery via hydrolysis of precursors reduced crop bacterial concentration and improved performance in young broilers. These first encouraging results are informing in-feed PAA delivery trials, as well as pending larger scale work with broilers, but also provide confidence to explore PAA use in other species where non-antibiotic interventions to improve gut health are desired, including in weaner pigs.

Jasmeet Kaler

Professor in Epidemiology and Precision Livestock Informatics, Nottingham University

Talk title: Use of imaging and sensor technologies for early disease detection

The main goal of my research is to improve animal health and welfare on farms. To achieve this I combine understanding of disease biology, epidemiology, animal behaviour with use of innovative technologies, data analytics and predictive modelling in my studies. I also use tools from social science and psychology to understand decision making of stakeholders in this domain.

I am working with industry to develop and test various novel technological innovations for precision livestock. These technologies help us to monitor animal health and welfare continuously and allow for a real-time monitoring and managing system for farmers.

Henry Buller

Head of Geography, Professor of (more-than) Human Geography, University of Exeter

Talk title: The DIAL project - the potential for rapid diagnostics in treating livestock diseases

Henry Buller works principally in the area of non-human geographies, notably animal geographies. He is involved in a number of national and international research projects and professional activities that seek to bring a critical social science understanding to the issue of farm and working animal welfare in contemporary production systems and food supply chains. He also works on issues of wild species re-introduction and upon the conceptual and methodological approaches to social science framings and understandings of human/animal interactions.

Henry is currently leading a major collaborative 4-year research project (DIAL 2017-2021), funded by the ESRC and other agencies, into the innovative use of diagnostic procedures in farm animal health to reduce antimicrobial use in livestock agriculture.

He is also completing, as Co-I, a three-year EU funded consortium research project entitled ‘Hennovation’, exploring innovative practice-led solutions to welfare issues in laying hen production.

Henry is Visiting Professor at the Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), Uppsala.

Henry Buller has written and published widely on animal geographies, animals in the food sector and farm animal welfare, including a series of commissioned research reviews on ‘Animal Geographies’ for the journal Progress in Human Geography. He is co-author of the recently published book ‘Food and Animal Welfare’ (Bloomsbury Press, 2018) and is a contributory author to the Routledge Handbook of Human/Animal Studies and the Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies.

Henry Buller was until recently an appointed member of the UK’s Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) and Chair of the FAWC/Defra Welfare at Killing group.

Henry Buller came to Exeter in 2003. Having worked  at Oxford Polytechnic in the 1980s, then at the CNRS Groupe de Recherches Sociologiques at the University of Paris 10 at Nanterre, Henry was, Maitre de conférences at the Department of Geography, University of Paris VII from 1990 to 2001, during which time he was also Director of the DESS ‘Espace et Milieux’ at that University. He was Professor of Rural Studies at the Countryside and Community Research Unit of the University of Gloucestershire (2001-2003).

He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and member of: the Nature, Materialities and Biopolitics (NAMBIO) Research group