Farina Khattak

Farina Khattak is a Professor at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), specializing in poultry nutrition and gut health research. She holds roles in the Agriculture & Land-based Engineering School and the Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Centre. Her work focuses on optimizing poultry feed resources, nutritional interventions for improved production, and combating pathogens like Campylobacter. She has led multiple industry-funded projects totaling over £1.5 million, including research on feed additives and phytase efficacy. Dr. Khattak has supervised numerous PhD and MSc students, with a strong emphasis on poultry welfare and sustainable farming practices.

Education:

• PhD, University of Aberdeen (1997)
• MSc (Hons), N.W.F.P Agricultural University, Pakistan (1992)
• Bachelor's, N.W.F.P Agricultural University, Pakistan (1990)

Research Interests: Nutritive evaluation of feedstuffs, gut health modulation via additives, Campylobacter infection models, and non-antibiotic nutritional strategies. She explores how feed interventions impact bird resilience, carcass quality, and environmental sustainability.

Recent Projects:

• Nutritional Strategies to Stimulate Endogenous Antimicrobial Peptides (2022–2027)
• Predicting Bone Quality in Laying Hens (2024)
• Hyper-oxygenated Water for Livestock Performance (2024)

Advising & Grants: Supervises 11+ students on topics like carbohydrase enzymes and tryptophan levels. Her grants include DSM-funded research on feed additives and Adisseo-funded phytase studies. She actively participates in poultry science organizations, serving as Treasurer of the WPSA UK Branch since 2018.

Labs/Teams: Leads SRUC's poultry nutrition research group, collaborating with global industry partners like FermentationExperts and Elanco.