Online Guest Lecture: Enhanced Early Life Programs: Harnessing the Microbiomes of Neonatal Calves

Speaker: Dr. Nilusha Malmuthuge 

Affiliations: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada 

Date: 6th May 2025 

Time: At 17:00 Estonian time 

Location: Online

Zoom link: Join here

Bio: Dr. Nilusha Malmuthuge is a Food Animal Microbiologist and Immunologist, aiming to enrich the early life of neonatal calves by harnessing microbiomes. Dr. Malmuthuge recently joined the University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine Faculty as a Canadian research Chair Tier 2 to lead a research program on Microbiomes in Large/Livestock Animals. Before joining academia, she was a research scientist at Agriculture Agri-Food Canada/ AAFC. She developed a new research program at AAFC on beef cattle health by incorporating multi-omics tools to design enhanced early-life programs for beef calves. She is a recipient of the prestigious Banting Fellowship, an elite Federal research capacity development program for emerging leaders. Dr. Malmuthuge obtained her master's and Ph.D. from the University of Alberta. Her work has contributed to discovering the neonatal calf gut microbiome, the impact of early life management practices on the establishment of the gut microbiome, and the close interactions between microbes and the host immune system. As an early career researcher, Dr. Malmuthuge has contributed to 36 peer-reviewed publications and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international conferences. She is highly passionate about nurturing future leaders in Animal science, with a special focus on the interface of microbiology and immunology.