Veerle Fievez (PhD in Applied Biological Sciences, Ghent University, 2002) is Professor of Animal Nutrition at Ghent University's Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology. Although her current main expertise is on ruminant nutrition and microbial digestion and its importance in livestock production, her MSc degree was not in Animal Science, but she graduated as a Bioscience Engineer, option environmental technology. This background resulted in a specific approach of her research group, where new developments are explored from an engineer’s perspective for potential applications. Furthermore, environmental challenges within livestock production always have been a major focus of the group.

An international scope is another ‘red line’ throughout her scientific career, enriched by two post-doctoral research periods at Aberystwyth University (Wales, UK) and McGill University (Montreal, Canada), but particularly through numerous participations to international research projects. The latter are not only within a European context, but also in collaboration with ‘the South’, in particular Vietnam, Cuba and Ethiopia. The exposure to various cultures, circumstances and research approaches not only helps to put research questions in a broader context, but also to tackle them in an innovative way. This international orientation is also reflected in Fievez’ research group which is a mix of international and Belgian PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and technicians.

Her work is published in leading academic journals, she supervises and has supervised numerous PhD students and is editor of Animal: an international journal of animal bioscience. She currently serves as a faculty’s representative in the Ghent University Research Council and is involved in various (scientific) consortia among which Food2Know.

As a lecturer, she’s involved in several Bachelor and Master programmes and in the Master program in Nutrition and Rural Development and is director of a 10-weeks international training program on Dairy Nutrition.

Her main drive is  to conduct research that generates the highest level of scientific impact and to prepare students for a bright future working in animal nutrition areas.