Guest Lecture on Enhanced Early Life Programs: Harnessing the Microbiomes of Neonatal Calves by Dr. Nilusha Malmuthuge 

On May 6, 2025, Dr. Malmuthuge presented her research on the microbiome of neonatal calves, focusing on early life management's impact on gut health and immunity.

Dr. Nilu presented her research on the microbiome of neonatal calves, focusing on how early-life management practices, especially during the first two weeks after birth, are crucial for establishing a healthy gut microbiome and priming the immune system. She emphasized the positive impact of timely colostrum feeding on microbial colonization and immune development. Her findings suggest that microbiome insights can be used to design improved early-life programs for raising healthier cattle.

She also discussed the technical challenges of working with low microbial biomass samples, highlighting the importance of including proper controls to detect and eliminate contamination. Through a study involving rumen tissue samples from C-section delivered calves, she demonstrated how quality filtering and careful experimental design enhance the reliability of microbiome analysis.

The session included a discussion on immune priming, where Dr. Nilu clarified its use in human research and recommended defining it clearly in related studies. She also offered guidance on sequencing data analysis, suggesting host genome alignment to exclude cattle DNA, improved quality filtering, and de novo assembly for more accurate taxonomic identification. Overall, the presentation stressed the potential of early microbial interventions and the need for robust scientific methods in microbiome research.

You can watch the lecture below: