New appointment - Research Fellow, pigs and poultry

The AWSC is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean-Loup Rault to the position of pig and poultry research fellow at the University of Melbourne.

Jean-Loup has recently completed his PhD at Purdue University under the supervision of Dr Don Lay. He has previously worked with Dr Xavier Boivin and Dr Alain Boissy at INRA in France where he received his MSc in ethology from the University of Paris.

His research interests focus on the potential for positive social interactions to enhance animal well-being, with an emphasis on social support.. His PhD research aimed to elucidate the involvement of oxytocin in social behavior and he was recently assigned a plenary presentation at the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) conference in Indianapolis.

Jean-Loup has considerable knowledge of behavior, endocrinology, neurophysiology and immunology and has worked with an array of species: swine, veal calves, sheep, horses, beef and dairy cattle.

In a bold move to ensure research capability in pigs and poultry, his position at the University of Melbourne has been funded by Australian Pork Limited, Australian Egg Corporation Limited and the Rural Industries Research Corporation (chicken meat).

Jean-Loup will be “on deck” from the end of September and we look forward to his research input as the AWSC continues to deliver important research in pigs and poultry.