BSc. Animal Biology, University of Guelph, 2018 - 2022 

M.Sc. Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, 2022 - present

 

While completing my undergraduate degree I made the decision to take a research course with Dr. Jim Squires and Dr. Christine Bone. This was my first real introduction to swine production and it sparked a love of research and solidified my decision to pursue a Master’s studying boar taint in their lab. Boar taint is an off taste or smell that is present in meat that comes from sexually mature entire male pigs. Currently, boar taint is prevented by castrating the males at a young age, but this method causes significant pain and stress to the animals and that is why a new and less invasive method to prevent boar taint is needed.  

The aim of my research is to determine a way to prevent boar taint without using conventional methods such as surgical or immuno-castration. My work focuses on feeding boars dietary binding agents, like activated charcoal, as a method to bind boar taint-causing compounds in the digestive tract of the pigs and prevent it from tainting the meat. Previous work in Squires' lab has had limited success with this concept and my goal is to better understand which animals this treatment can effectively be used for. In order to do this, I will be looking at the relationship between hormone levels in the blood, the microbes in the digestive tract and how they impact one another as well as how they interact with the dietary binding agents in my experiments. 

Ultimately the goal of my work is to contribute to the creation of a genetic panel that can help predict which boars can be effectively treated for boar taint through their diet.