Johanna Soer Position/Title: MSc. Candidate email: jsoer@uoguelph.ca Phone: Office: ANNU 047 LinkedIn

I am a master's by thesis candidate under the supervision of Dr. Lee-Anne Huber, studying swine nutrition. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Honours Agriculture at the University of Guelph in 2021. In the summer of 2022, I worked as a research assistant in Dr. Huber's lab, assisting Nicole Gregory, Brenda Christensen, Cierra Kozole and Maddy Watzeck with their projects.

My project will be looking at post-wean piglets from lactating sows fed diets with varying ratios of lysine: energy contents and investigating the gastrointestinal and growth performance impacts on the piglet throughout the nursery period. Weaning is a significantly stressful event, leading to many issues in the post-wean period, such as growth lag and increased disease susceptibility. Thus, piglets must be healthy and robust when entering this period. Likewise, lactation is a time of extensive nutrient demand for sows. The diet must meet these needs to minimize body store mobilization and improve milk production to produce a large, healthy litter at weaning. 

I was raised on a cash crop and pig farm, where I was always most interested in spending time in the nursery barn, where piglets required a lot of care and attention. This sparked my interest in the post-wean period and managing it to reduce the impact of stress. During my undergraduate degree, I worked as a research assistant in the Plant Agriculture department, assisting with weed science research and as a Livestock Assistant with OMAFRA's swine specialists, Laura Eastwood and Jaydee Smith. These experiences allowed me to gain an appreciation for research at the field level and motivated me to pursue my master's degree working with post-weaned pigs.

When I'm not spending time in the barn, you can most likely find me with my Springer Spaniel, Penny. She is my sidekick on all outdoor adventures, and always by my side while I'm baking, playing the piano, or reading.