Nienke van Staaveren

Dr. Nienke van Staaveren is a Researcher in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Netherlands, and serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Animal Biosciences at the University of Guelph, Canada. Her work focuses on improving animal health and welfare across the production chain, with particular expertise in poultry and pig welfare assessment.

Dr. van Staaveren's educational background includes:

• PhD in Veterinary Medicine from University College Dublin and Teagasc – the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (2013-2017)
• MSc in Animal Sciences, Animal Health and Behaviour from Wageningen University, Netherlands (2010-2012)
• BSc in Animal Sciences (cum laude) from Wageningen University, Netherlands (2007-2010)

Her research interests center on animal welfare assessment, particularly through the development and validation of animal-based welfare indicators. She specializes in poultry welfare (laying hens and turkeys), pig welfare, and the application of meat inspection as a diagnostic tool for animal health and welfare. Her current work includes the Horizon Europe funded aWISH (Animal Welfare Indicators at Slaughter) project, which aims to evaluate and improve livestock welfare throughout Europe via automated monitoring at slaughterhouses.

Dr. van Staaveren's scientific contributions span animal behavior, welfare assessment methodologies, and the development of practical tools for improving farm animal welfare. Her work bridges the gap between academic research and practical application in commercial farming systems, with a particular focus on developing science-based welfare indicators that can be implemented at scale.

She has received numerous prestigious awards recognizing her contributions to animal welfare science:

• UFAW Early Career Animal Welfare Researcher of the Year Award (2022)
• Marina van Damme Grant incentive prize for talented female Wageningen University & Research alumni (2018)
• Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship (2017)
• Academic Mentorship Award (2018) from the University of Guelph
• Outstanding Service Award (2022) from the University of Guelph
• Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization (with distinction), University of Guelph (2021-2022)
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)® (2021)

Dr. van Staaveren has been actively involved in supervising research projects and mentoring students throughout her career. She has managed multiple research initiatives including the Horizon Europe aWISH project and previously worked on projects covering the gut-microbiota-brain axis in feather pecking, management strategies to reduce injurious pecking in poultry, and applying genomics to improve turkey and dairy cow breeding.

She is a Working Group Member on Welfare of Turkeys at the European Food Safety Authority and serves as Section Editor for Behaviour, Health and Welfare in Livestock Science. Her collaborative work spans multiple institutions including Utrecht University, University of Guelph, University College Dublin, and Teagasc.