Dr Sharon Huws
Lecturer in Animal Science funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol / Darlithydd y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol ym maes Gwyddor Anifeiliaid
PhD
Contact
Email: hnh@aber.ac.uk
Office: IBERS, Gogerddan Campus, SY23 3EB
Phone: +44 1970 823202
Fax: +44 1970 823155
Responsibilities
Sharon is a Lecturer in Animal Science with the remit of teaching undergarduates and postgraduates 75% in Welsh and 25% in English (funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol). As well as class based teaching she has a research group focussed on understanding the functionality of the rumen gut microbiome with the ultimate goal being to increase ruminant nutrient use efficiency and product quality.
Research
I am a microbiologist with a key role in driving a research agenda focused on understanding the role that the rumen microbes play in ruminal nutrient use efficiency and the fatty acid composition of meat and milk. Recent statistics from the government show that by 2050 food and indeed ruminant products will be in short supply due to the growing population and an increased demand from the Far East. Thus, the focus of the research is to understand the rumen as a system and ultimately ensure that the nutrients in the forage are effectively metabolised by the rumen microbes which ultimately provide the ruminant with the nutrients required for the production of meat and milk.
Alongside the rumen-focussed research my group are involved in investigating the lung microbiome in disease status, and prospecting metagenomic libraries (rumen libraries and those made from other bacterial ecosystems) for enzymes important to the biotechnology industry. Genomics, metagenomics and reverse transcriptomics alongside bioinformatics are central techniques used by my group in order to deliver a fundamental understanding of these ecosystems and ensure papers of the highest impact factor.
Herbivore Gut Ecosystems Research Group
BEACON
Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol