A distinguished agri-food scientist from Northern Ireland has been awarded an honorary professorship by Queen's University Belfast.
Dr. Elizabeth Magowan was bestowed with the award by the university's Global Food Security (IGFS) and the School of Biological Sciences in recognition of her research in animal science.
Dr. Magowan, who has a PhD in dairy nutrition from Queen’s University, has worked extensively in the area of decarbonising agriculture and making livestock farming more sustainable.
She is currently director of sustainable agri-food sciences at the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and vice-president of the British Society of Animal Science.
Dr. Magowan has led reports commissioned by the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) aimed at providing farmers, processors and policymakers with evidence-based methods for decarbonising agriculture.
Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Magowan said: “I am delighted to receive the honour of holding a professorship within Queen’s and to be part of an innovative, highly driven family of great individuals.
"Working closely with Prof. Nigel Scollan and others, I look forward to furthering the development and impact of the Queen’s-AFBI Alliance, working in partnership with industry and government.
"There are many challenging, as well as exciting, times for science in the coming years and I am humbled to be able to work with excellent scientists across both AFBI and Queen’s," Dr. Magowan said.
A second honorary professorship was awarded to Dr. Itzik Mizrahi, a professor of microbial ecology at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel and an internationally recognised expert in the gut microbiome of ruminant livestock.
A winner of the Shilo Prize from the Israeli Society of Microbiology, Dr. Itzik has made several headlining research discoveries, resulting in a bacterial species being named after him.
Welcoming the appointments, Prof. Nigel Scollan, Director of IGFS, said:
"These new professorships are richly deserved and congratulations to Elizabeth and Itzik. The appointments recognise the excellence of the science undertaken.
"I look forward to continued partnership with them as collectively we seek to further embrace excellence in science and partnership to address global challenges in agriculture and food systems," Prof. Scollan concluded.
