Dr JESSICA Martin, a lecturer in statistics and animal welfare at the University of Edinburgh has been named Young Poultry Person of the Year at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference. The welfare expert received the award for her work at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, which is focusing on improving bird welfare during poultry production.

The award was set up in memory of renowned egg processor Clive Frampton, former owner of Frampton’s egg processing business, who passed away in 2012. The award is made annually to recognise the efforts of up and coming stars in the poultry industry.

Her current research evaluates the welfare impacts of both stunning and on-farm killing techniques for poultry. She has a particular focus on the welfare assessment of a new method of stunning poultry, called Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning. On receiving this award, Dr Martin said: “I am truly honoured to receive this award from the UK poultry Industry and so grateful for their on-going support over the years. It demonstrates the strengthening relationship between industry and the scientific community to produce high quality data and results, with high impact."

Jessica has also carried out studies on bird behaviour and the merits of multi-sensor platforms for remote monitoring of poultry flocks, such as thermal imaging and technologies to monitor vocalisations.