• They are Carlos Garbisu, specialist in environmental microbiology and NEIKER´s Scientific Director; Inma Estévez, renowned scientist in applied ethology and animal welfare, and Ramón Juste, expert in animal health
• All three are among the top 1.5% worldwide in their respective fields of knowledge and are once again included in the Stanford ranking

 

Stanford University has recently updated its list of the world’s top researchers based on citations of their scientific publications on the Scopus portal. Once again, the prestigious American university has included Dr Carlos Garbisu, Scientific Director of NEIKER, Dr Inma Estévez, researcher in the Animal Production Department at NEIKER, and Dr Ramón Juste, researcher in the Animal Health Department, on this list.

The world’s most cited researchers are included in this list, which is a huge recognition for those who make it. In fact, this ranking is currently considered the most prestigious international scientific reference document for assessing the impact of the work carried out by scientists.

This recognition also reflects the scientific excellence of NEIKER as a whole, which is particularly commendable given the small number of researchers at the centre compared to many other centres also included in the Stanford ranking, as well as the fact that it combines research, technological services and transfer to the Basque primary sector, providing added value and improving its competitiveness, especially in the areas of Animal Production and Veterinary Sciences, in which it is the only reference in the Basque Country.

Remarkable professional career

Dr Inma Estévez, researcher in the Animal Production Department at NEIKER, included in the list for the fourth consecutive time, has a degree in Zoology and a PhD in Ethology (animal behaviour) from the University of Córdoba. Throughout her long professional career, she has worked as a researcher at Agriculture Canada, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, INRA (France) and the University of Maryland (USA), where she obtained the rank of Full Professor. In 2008, she joined NEIKER as a Senior IKERBASQUE Researcher. Highlights of her career include the Junior Faculty Award (University of Maryland), the Hy-Line International Research Award and the Poultry Science Association’s Production Bird Welfare Research Award.

She has led numerous competitive research projects in both the USA and Europe, always focusing on aspects of the behaviour and welfare of production birds. Her research work has always been carried out from a basic perspective of behavioural ecology, with particular emphasis on her work in social dynamics, although she easily combines its applications in the field of production.

Currently, her research focuses, on the one hand, on furthering our understanding of the biological and social aspects that determine pecking behaviour in laying hen production. On the other hand, it studies the testing and implementation of sensors, technology, applications and working methodologies that contribute to improving the welfare and productivity of the sector. In this way, it seeks to focus her research on finding solutions to some of the main problems facing the poultry sector.

For his part, Dr Ramón Juste, researcher at NEIKER’s Animal Health Department, included in the aforementioned Stanford ranking since its inception for the seventh consecutive time, has focused his scientific activity on animal health. He has worked at the Tierärztliche Hochschule in Germany, the University of Nebraska and Texas A&M University in the United States, has been Scientific Director of Agricultural Innovation at NEIKER and Managing Director of SERIDA in Asturias, and has received the ‘Isabel Mínguez Tudela’ award from Vet+i, the ‘Isabel Zendal’ award from the Zendal group and the Animal’s Health Research award. In addition, he has supervised 13 doctoral theses and published more than 250 scientific articles. His main scientific contributions focus on the study of mycobacteriosis, having developed the first mathematical model of epidemiological and economic efficacy for the control of paratuberculosis, contributed to the detection of the first case of H5N1 avian influenza in Spain, and demonstrated specific and non-specific protection based on trained immunity.

“We currently have a trial of protection against tuberculosis in Cape buffalo in South Africa with the University of Pretoria and another in calves with the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of the Republic of Uruguay pending publication, which have yielded very good results with our product. All this in a highly productive collaboration with the Institute for Game and Wildlife Research (IREC) in Castilla-La Mancha and the Veterinary Health Surveillance Centre (VISAVET) at the Complutense University of Madrid”, explains Juste.

Finally, Dr Carlos Garbisu, current scientific director of NEIKER, has also been included in the Stanford ranking for the seventh consecutive time, i.e. since the first year of publication of the aforementioned ranking. In addition to NEIKER and the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, he has worked as a researcher at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), Imperial College London (United Kingdom), King’s College London (United Kingdom), where he completed his PhD, and the University of California – Berkeley, where he carried out postdoctoral studies. In 2018, he was recognised by the Basque Government for his research work and scientific and technological achievements throughout his professional career. He is accredited by UNIBASQ as a Research Professor and included as an expert in the United Nations Harmony with Nature Network.

Dr Garbisu is noted for his contributions to the knowledge of microorganisms that inhabit soils, with a special emphasis on agricultural soils and contaminated soils. He is currently focused on the theoretical and practical conception of more sustainable agriculture, as well as the links between soil health and human health.

“Agriculture should be characterised by its multifunctionality. On the one hand, its main task is to provide quality food to a growing population through sustainable and ethical practices, and on the other, it must contribute to the provision of other ecosystem services, while protecting biodiversity, promoting profitability and rural development, and fostering better living conditions and pride of belonging for rural populations”, says Dr Garbisu. “Currently, my research is focused on the transition to more sustainable agriculture, through respect for the structural and functional integrity of agricultural soil, and the promotion of biodiversity and resilience of agroecosystems in the face of climate change”, adds the current Scientific Director of NEIKER.