Nottingham Uni opens Monogastric Centre of Excellence

The centre of excellence will allow several researchers to work at the university, which is well known for its agricultural focus. They shall devote their time doing monogastric research projects, partly funded by Lallemand, which will enhance the knowledge of the intestinal system of weaning pigs.

The contacts between the yeast producer and the university date from several years back, as its lecturer and director of the new centre Dr Ken Mellits has been working closely with Lallemand for several years. Mellits said he was ‘delighted’ to have the centre established in Nottingham.

Progress
At a special event around the official opening, Dr Yannig Le Treut, general manager of Lallemand Animal Nutrition, acknowledged the progress the company has made in teaming up with Nottingham University. “We have achieved a lot of progress thanks to this cooperation over the last couple of years.”

The company’s animal nutrition division is headquartered in France – and was looking for a research facility outside France, preferably in an English speaking country, in order to emphasise its international ambitions.

Host response
Two researchers, supported by the  yeast producer, presented their progress at the opening ceremony, attended by about 50 people. Dr Mélanie Le Bon, zoomed in on the host response in weaning pigs – so how does an animal deal with the stress of weaning? Phil Richards, research assistant, focused on the intestinal microbiota, and how these can be modulated

Other speakers included Prof Julian Wiseman, Nottingham University; Dr Jean-Paul Lallès, INRA, France; and Prof Robin Spiller, Nottingham University.

The total investment costs of the cooperation for Lallemand in this year alone is about €300,000.

More about the opening and the research by Le Bon and Richards in the upcoming issue of Pig Progress.