Nina von Keyserlingk awarded the 2024 Dr. Suning Wang Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship
UBC AWP’s Dr. Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Dr. Suning Wang Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS). Dr. von Keyserlingk is known not only for her groundbreaking research but also for her exceptional commitment to mentoring graduate students. She is deeply […]
Nina von Keyserlingk received an honorary doctorate from Ghent University
On March 21st, 2025 UBC AWP’s Professor Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk received an honorary doctorate from Ghent University, Belgium. Nina was nominated for this award by Dr. Frank Tuyttens and Dr. Christel Moons from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. This prestigious recognition celebrates her pioneering contributions to animal welfare science and graduate mentorship. Professor von […]
Congratulations to AWP students for hosting and presenting at the 2025 LFS GSC!
Students from the Animal Welfare Program were recognized for their outstanding research and leadership at the 2025 Land and Food Systems Graduate Student Conference. The annual event brought together graduate students from across the faculty to share their work, exchange ideas, and build connections across disciplines. Several graduate students took home top awards for their […]
Welcoming Visiting MSc Student Victoria Gaia
Victoria Gaia had recently joined the Animal Welfare Program from the end of the summer of 2024 until the beginning of 2025 as a visiting international research student. Visiting students contribute to the exchange of ideas throughout the program, conducting their own research work while also engaging in activities with students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty […]
PhD Candidate Elizabeth Russell earned the Graduate Student Service Award
Congratulations Elizabeth Russell for earning the Graduate Student Service Award! Elizabeth is a PhD candidate at the AWP. Elizabeth’s responsibilities have grown since she’s been in LFS and she’s supported the AWP on several committees. My leadership journey began during my master’s program (2019-2021) and has continued well into my Ph.D. studies. As Chair of […]
Welcoming Visiting PhD Student Sara Dusel
Sara Dusel recently joined the Animal Welfare Program for the month of September, as a visiting international research student. Visiting students contribute to the exchange of ideas throughout the program, conducting their own research work while also engaging in activities with students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty during their time. Learn about Sara’s research interests and […]
Meet the new faces of the AWP of Fall 2024!
Oceania Kreutzer is an Indigenous student who previously completed a BSc. in the Honour’s Applied Animal Biology program at UBC. She is now a part of the companion animal lab in the Animal Welfare Program and her research will be focused on the behaviour of feral rabbits living in urban environments and in colonial housing. […]
David Fraser and Ian Duncan celebrate the 50th anniversary of writing the first text-book chapter on farm animal welfare
A 50-year milestone in animal welfare This summer David Fraser and Ian Duncan celebrated the remarkable milestone of the 50th anniversary of writing the first text-book chapter on farm animal welfare. The chapter was published in the 1975 edition of The Behaviour of Domestic Animals. David and Ian worked alongside David Wood-Gush (1922–1992), a pioneering figure in […]
Dr Marina von Keyserlingk has been recognized with the 2024 ISAE Creativity Award
Earlier this summer the 57th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) took place in Curitiba, Brazil from July 22nd to July 26th 2024. Many members of the UBC Animal Welfare Program (AWP) attended the event. Dr Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk, AWP Professor, was recognized with the 2024 ISAE Creativity Award. This award […]
Dr. Alexandra (Sasha) Protopopova promoted to Associate Professor at the AWP
Congratulations to Dr. Sasha Protopopova, who was recently promoted to Associate Professor at the Animal Welfare Program. Since joining the AWP in 2019, she has developed a novel line of research that aims to learn more about dogs and improve companion animal welfare. In 2022, Dr. Protopopova opened the new Human-Animal Interaction Lab, the first […]