Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta
What brought you to the Animal Welfare Program
I conducted my Master’s thesis in collaboration with AWP as a Masters student at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. I really enjoyed working in this group and in the UBC farm environment, so it was the perfect step to pursue a PhD at the AWP after completion of my Masters at Wageningen University. I graduated with my PhD in 2019. In my PhD, I studied the preference of dairy cows for different types of outdoor access.
What have you been doing since graduating from the AWP?
After graduating from the Animal Welfare Program, I started a post doc at the University of Calgary at the Production Animal Health group. I am currently collaborating with AWP on a few projects, all related to outdoor access for dairy cows. During my Masters, I developed a strong interest in animal welfare research. During my PhD at AWP, I noticed the value of this type of research for the industry and the motivation to continue my career in this field only grew stronger!
Do you have any advice for students in Animal Welfare?
My advice for current students and recent graduates would be to follow your interests. During your graduate student time, make sure to engage with the industry whenever possible and make connections, these will be very important for your post-grad life!
Anne-Marieke can be found at the following: Research Gate | Facebook