Canadian wins 2020 Poultry Science Association Research Manuscript Award
Canadian Sarah Struthers is the recipient of this year’s Alltech Student Research Manuscript Award. The award, which recognises young leaders in scientific innovation for their commitment to publishing and sharing their work in the poultry sector, was presented virtually to Ms Struthers.
She is the senior author of an outstanding research manuscript, “The Effect of Beak Tissue Sloughing and Post-treatment Beak Shape on the Productivity of Infrared Beak-treated Layer Pullets and Hens,” which was published in Poultry Science or The Journal of Applied Poultry Research, in September 2019.
Ms Struthers is completing her PhD in genetics and genomics at The Roslin Institute, the University of Edinburgh and Scotland’s Rural College.
“Innovation is the core of our business and we are proud to support students and the advancements they are making in the poultry industry,” said Dr Kayla Price, the Canadian technical manager, Alltech during the presentation ceremony.
The Canadian worked on the paper with co-authors Dr Henry Classen, Dr Susantha Gomis, and Dr Karen Schwean-Lardner, all from the University of Saskatchewan.
Born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, she grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and received her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Saskatchewan in 2015.
She then worked for her master’s degree in 2016, with Dr Schwean-Lardner at the same university, successfully defending her thesis in 2018.
Her doctoral research focuses on determining the pre-existing variation in beak shape that occurs within layer hen breeding flocks, and identifying which beak shapes cause the least amount of damage when hens are feather-pecking.
This year marked the 20th anniversary for the award, which has been sponsored by Alltech since 2000.
Alltech was founded in 1980 by an Irish entrepreneur and scientist, Dr Pearse Lyons. Its products improve health and performance of both plants and animals, delivering smarter and more sustainable solutions for agriculture.