Alltech has proudly continued its commitment to supporting the Poultry Science Association (PSA) and student research, celebrating the 22ndanniversary of the Alltech Student Research Manuscript award. This year’s award recipient was Sarah Struthers from Canada, who is currently in her third year of working toward obtaining a Ph.D. in genetics and genomics at The Roslin Institute, the University of Edinburgh and Scotland’s Rural College. Struthers is a two-time recipient, as she also received the award in 2020.
This award is given to a student who is the senior author of an outstanding research manuscript published in Poultry Science or The Journal of Applied Poultry Research. Struthers’ winning paper, entitled “Determining the variation in premaxillary and dentary bone morphology that may underlie beak shape between two pure layer lines,” was published by Poultry Science in 2021.
"Alltech is proud to support students and the advancements they are making in the poultry industry, as ongoing innovation is instrumental to our business," said Dr. Lauren Nolan, poultry technical consultant at Ridley Feed Ingredients, an Alltech company.
Struthers was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Saskatchewan in 2015. After overcoming her initial fear of chickens, she began working toward her master’s degree in 2016 with Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner at the University of Saskatchewan, where she focused on the impacts of infrared beak treatment on the production, behaviour and welfare of layer pullets and hens. After successfully defending her thesis in 2018, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Schwean-Lardner’s lab and conducted further research on the impacts of infrared beak treatment.
In September 2019, Struthers moved to Scotland to study under the supervision of Dr. Jeff Schoenebeck, Dr. Vicky Sandilands and Dr. Ian Dunn. Her doctoral research focuses on determining the pre-existing phenotypic variation in beak shape that occurs within layer hen breeding flocks and identifying which beak shapes cause the least amount of damage when hens engage in feather pecking behaviour.
Dr. Nolan presented and accepted the award on behalf of Struthers during the PSA’s annual meeting. Alltech has sponsored this award since 2000, recognizing young leaders in scientific innovation for their commitment to publishing and sharing their work in the poultry sector. For more information, visit poultryscience.org.
