Brazillian researcher Jessica de Souza Vilela is living in Armidale while she undertakes a PhD in Poultry Nutrition under supervisors Dr Isabelle Ruhnke and Professor Nigel Andrew. Initially Jessica was worried about the cold temperatures that Armidale reaches in Winter however she has been happily surprised to find herself enjoying the environment here –even our recent snow!
Attracted to UNE by Dr Ruhnke’s innovative approach to production which takes into account animal welfare and environmental issues, Jessica’s research looks at optimum broiler diets.
To remind her of home she listens to samba and eats pastel and Brazillian feijoada. It can be hard being so far away from loved ones but Jessica believes it is also a unique opportunity for personal growth.
When asked what drives her research career Jessica replied:
“I study animal nutrition because I have always been passionate about animals, nature and nutrition.
When I was a child I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to study. I have always loved being around animals and nature. I use to steal chicks in farms and take them home without my parents knowing. My parents usually were going to find out just when we were in the car, on the way back home.
I also use to take all different types of insects and put them in jars to observe them and tell my parents that was an experiment to observe their behaviour.
My parents did everything to fill my house with pets, because I kept asking to have more pets. People use to ask me if I wanted to be a vet and I wasn’t sure. I use to imagine a vet as someone who stay in the vet office taking care of dogs and cats injury and that is not what I wanted to do.
As I grew up a bit and became a teenager, an interest in how we human’s organize ourselves as a society, the relationship we have with animals and nature, and how it affects one and another appeared and increased in myself. So, I wanted to do something that in my mind was bigger than looking after cats and dogs. I wanted to do something that was going to have an impact in the society and how we interact with animals as well as nature.
During my undergrad I decided to work with chickens as chicken meat is the most consumed meat worldwide and they are also very efficient when it comes to natural resources usage and they are also a cheaper compared to other meats. In the main while, chemistry and nutrition were two of my favourite subjects. I did two years of voluntary chemistry teaching at my university back in Brazil.
Today, I study the inclusion of Black Soldier Fly larvae in meat chicken diets. The Black Soldier Fly larvae is a very efficient organic waste eater, can replace conventional feed ingredients, feed chickens and if in the future used in a large scale it can reduce environmental impacts in the poultry production, feeding people and taking care of nature.
Here, I am also having the opportunity of learning how to do research and in my opinion if you know how to do research you can try and put into practice any “childhood project” you have to make the world a better place. “