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Jacob BrostPosition/Title: MSc. Thesis email: jbrost@uoguelph.ca Phone: 7054929091 Office: ANNU 015
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Short Biography
I obtained my bachelor of science in Animal Biology (2021) at the University of Guelph where I first found an interest in poultry welfare, biomechanics, and metabolics. I first started working with the Harlander lab in my third year as an undergraduate research assistant. In this position I worked to write experimental procedures, analyze data, and develop my knowledge in the field of poultry research. I continued my work with the Harlander lab into my fourth year and completed a capstone research project investigating the effects of injury status and NSAIDS on the landing kinetics of laying hens (Poster Presentation). This work led to me accepting a Master's by thesis position under the supervision of Dr. Alexandra Harlander where I currently works on a variety of projects spanning from poultry metabolics, biomechanics, landing and flight kinematics. The Harlander lab has a strong focus on poultry locomotion and welfare, my colleagues Grace Hong and Mackenzie Marmina are doing incredible work research into exercise, fear, and keel bone fractures.
Read about more about my master's journey and experiences: https://www.recruitguelph.ca/cecs/jacob-brost
Summary of Current Research
Doubly Labelled Water: Keel bone fractures (KBF) in laying hens is a prevalent and important welfare concern. Nearly 90% of laying hens suffer from KBF in their lifetime. This research looks to investigate the effects of KBF on core biological processes, specifically metabolism. Learn more about doubly labelled water here!
Open Flow Mask Respirometry: This project is designed to investigate how much energy is consumed when hens with and without KBF exhibit activities associated activities common to aviary style housing systems. Using open-flow mask respirometry we can measure the energetic costs of a hen performing an activity and compare the associated metabolic cost between hens with and without KBF to determine how KBF influences the metabolism of laying hens.
Awards and Achievements
Undergraduate Research Assistantship (2020)
NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (2021)
Frank and Gertaude Hurnik Poultry Science Scholarship (2021)
W. R. Graham Memorial Award (2021)
Avian Research Symposium Talk of the Day (2022)
King Cole Ducks Ltd. Graduate Award in Poultry (2022)
Campbell Centre Study For Animal Welfare Talk of the Day (2023)
Poultry Science Association Travel Award (2023)