Dairy Research Centre
Scotland's Rural College

https://www.sruc.ac.uk/rdewhurst
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9357-7372
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/D-2384-2010
https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/170346/overview
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=35268377900

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Professor Richard Dewhurst   Institute Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC): Professor of Ruminant Nutrition & Production Systems   Qualifications M.A. (Oxon.); Ph.D.   Employment history 2018-present               Head of Dairy Research & Innovation Centre; SRUC. 2016-present               Head of Future Farming Systems Group; SRUC. 2013-2018                   Head of Beef & Sheep Research Centre; SRUC. 2008-2013                   Principal Research Officer: Teagasc. Head of Animal & Bioscience Research Department: (2009 to 2013). 2005-2008                   Professor of Dairy Production: Lincoln University, New Zealand. 1993-2005                   Senior Research Scientist (1993-1999), then Principal Research Scientist (1999-2005): IGER, Aberystwyth, UK. 1989 1993                   Lecturer/Adviser Grade 3: Scottish Agricultural College, UK. Honorary Lecturer: University of Glasgow. 1987 1989                   Research Assistant Grade 1A: University of Bristol.   Synopsis of current research interests Research on less-invasive techniques for ruminant nutrition has developed into a range of projects looking at biomarkers in accessible samples - including milk, urine, faeces and breath. Application of this work ranges from high-throughput phenotyping, particularly for hard-to-measure traits, to precision livestock farming. Current research focuses on chemical and isotopic markers for feed conversion efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. Interests span the biology of rumen function, digestive efficiency and feed efficiency, with current projects on: Gene-centric and 16S-based rumen metagenomics linked to genetic variation in feed conversion efficiency; Nitrogen isotopic fractionation as a marker for feed conversion efficiency; Markers/proxies for rumen methane production; Diagnostic components of breath and milk headspace. I have a long-standing interest in ruminant fatty acid metabolism –fatty acids in herbage, meat and milk; rumen biohydrogenation; effects on product quality and animal function.                                  Research grants awarded (since 2014) European Regional Development Fund (Inter-REG Atlantic Area Programme). Dairy-4-Future: Propagating innovations for more resilient dairy farming in the Atlantic area. (2018-2021; €270,000). Co-I. European Union (Horizon 2020). SmartCow: an integrated infrastructure for increased research capability and innovation in the European cattle sector. (2018-2022; €414,216). Co-I. BBSRC: Understanding the functional and genomic architecture of the rumen microbiome affecting performance traits in bovines (2016-2019, £382,888). Co-I Department for Business Innovation and Skills: Agri-Tech Innovation Centres (Agri-EPI Centre Ltd.): £17.5 million (2016-2019). Co-I. Scottish Government/RESAS: Greenhouse gas reductions from livestock. (2016-2021; £708,329). PI. Scottish Government/RESAS: Novel greenhouse gas reduction measures. (2016-2021; £1,281,719). Co-I. EU Horizon 2020: Development of an easy-to-use metagenomics platform for agricultural science. (2016-2019; €72,000). Co-I. SRUC REF Funding: Investment to ground Scottish capability in rumen microbiology and systems biology at SRUC (2016-2017; £78,294). Co-I. NERC: Refinement of techniques and evaluation of options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant production systems in Brazil and the UK. (2015-2016; £30,000). Co-I. DEFRA: Improving the sustainability and competitive position of the UK beef industry through selective breeding. (2015-2018; £1.5 million). Co-I. Innovate UK/BBSRC: Cow Health Monitor. (2015-2018; £386,017). Co-I. Innovate UK/BBSRC: Precision Beef. (2015-2017; £433,782). Co-I. Innovate UK/BBSRC: Evaluating a potential proxy test for Feed Conversion Efficiency in beef cattle. (2015-2017; £176,481). PI. FACCE/Joint Programming Initiative: Understanding the development and control of stability in the rumen microbiome as a basis for new strategies to reduce methanogenesis. (2014-2017; €1,269,142). PI.   MEASURES OF ESTEEM AND OTHER ACTIVITIES Director of Agri-EPI Centre Ltd. (2016). Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (2015). British Society of Animal Science: Sir John Hammond Memorial Prize (2008). British Society of Animal Science: President (2017-2018); New Zealand Society of Animal Production: President (2007-2008). Member of the Editorial/Management Boards of ‘Animal Science’ (2002-2005); ‘Animal’ (2011-2016); ‘Journal of Dairy Science’ (2002-2008) and ‘Proc. Nutrition Society’ (1997-2001).   Selected recently refereed publications (currently 109 refereed papers published or accepted for publication) ORCID:                       0000-0002-9357-7372            ResearcherID:                       D-2384-2010 Stewart, R., Auffret, M.D., Warr, A., Snelling, T., Dewhurst, R.J., Walker, A.W., Roehe, R., Watson, M. 2018. Assembly of 913 microbial genomes from metagenomic sequencing of the cow rumen. Nature Communications 9, 870. Auffret, M.D., Stewart, R., Dewhurst, R.J., Duthie, C-A., Rooke, J.A., Wallace, R.J., Freeman, T.C., Snelling, T.J., Watson, M., Roehe, R. 2018. Identification, comparison and validation of robust rumen microbial biomarkers for methane emissions using diverse Bos Taurus breeds and basal diets. Frontiers in Microbiology 8, e02548. Meale, S.J., Auffret, M.D., Watson, M., Morgavi, D.P., Cantalpiedra-Hijar, G., Duthie, C.-A., Roehe, R., Dewhurst, R.J. 2018. Fat accretion measurements strengthen the relationship between feed conversion efficiency and Nitrogen isotopic discrimination while rumen microbial genes contribute little. Scientific Reports 8, 3854. Auffret, M.D., Dewhurst, R.J., Duthie, C-A., Rooke, J.A., Wallace, R.J., Freeman, T.C., Stewart, R., Watson, M., Roehe, R. 2017. The rumen microbiome as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity genes is directly affected by diet in beef cattle. Microbiome 5, 159. Wang, H., Zheng, H., Browne, F., Roehe, R., Dewhurst, R.J., Engel, F., Hemmje, M., Xiangwu, L., Walsh, P. 2017. Integrated metagenomic analysis of the rumen microbiome of cattle reveals key biological mechanisms associated with methane traits. Methods 124, 108-119. Palarea-Albaladejo, J., Rooke,J.A., Nevison, I.M., Dewhurst, R.J. 2017. Compositional mixed modeling of methane emissions and ruminal volatile fatty acids from individual cattle and multiple experiments. Journal of Animal Science 95, 2467-2480. Roehe, R., Dewhurst, R., Duthie, C.-A., Rooke, J.A., McKain, N., Ross, D.W., Hyslop, J.J., Waterhouse, A., Watson, M., Wallace, R.J. 2016. Bovine host genetic variation influences rumen microbial methane production with best selection criterion for low methane emitting and efficiently feed converting hosts based on metagenomic gene abundance. PLOS Genetics 12, e1005846. Rugoho, I., Liu, Y. and Dewhurst, R.J. 2014. Analysis of major fatty acids in milk produced from high-quality grazed herbage. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 165-179.