[LEXINGTON, Ky.] — In just a few short weeks, some of the brightest scientific thinkers from colleges and universities around the world will gather under one roof for an opportunity to compete at the highest level and be rewarded for their innovative research. The Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) program, now in its 12th year, features the world’s largest agriscience competition, with 154 nominations from 134 professors representing 121 universities from 36 countries in 2017 alone.

The regional finalists will attend AYS Discovery Week, held in conjunction with ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17), May 21–24 in Lexington, Kentucky, to present their papers to a panel of international judges. The prizes include a fully funded Ph.D. position for the global undergraduate winner as well as $5,000 USD and a fully funded postdoctorate position and $10,000 USD for the global graduate winner.

The regional finalists selected for the graduate AYS award and their paper topics are:

• Tanimowo Damilola, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
  • “Broiler nutritional programming using betaine”
• Syed Saad Gilani, University of Adelaide, Australia
  • “Gut health biomarkers in poultry”
• Delano Dias Schleder, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
  • “Shrimp resistance to stress and disease”
• Jonas de Souza, Michigan State University, United States
  • “Fatty acid metabolism”

The regional finalists selected for the undergraduate AYS award and their paper topics are:

• Sophie Hazelden, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
  • “Pre-weaning dietary supplementation in piglets”
• Sujiyanto, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
  • “Trehalose supplementation for heat-stressed broilers”
• Nicolàs Curubeto, Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Argentina
  • “Edible coatings for food applications”
• Joshua Gukowsky, University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States
  • “Detecting antibiotic residues in foods”

“The Alltech Young Scientist program provides a great opportunity for students to showcase their research talent in front of a global audience, including some of the most respected leaders within agriculture and agriscience,” said Dr. Aoife Lyons, director of educational initiatives and engagement at Alltech. “We are rewarding the undergraduate and graduate competition winners with the opportunity to join our global team.”

For more information about the Alltech Young Scientist program and to view the regional placements from this year’s program, please visit: AlltechYoungScientist.com and stay connected through the Alltech Education Facebook page.

Tanimowo Damilola, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, has been selected as a graduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Syed Saad Gilani,University of Adelaide, Australia, has been selected as a graduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Delano Dias Schleder,Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil, has been selected as a graduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Sophie Hazelden,Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Sujiyanto,Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Nicolàs Curubeto,Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Argentina, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.

Joshua Gukowsky,University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States, has been selected as an undergraduate regional finalist for the 2017 Alltech Young Scientist program.