The 4th International Online Conference on Animals
Conference Closed and Winner Announcement
On behalf of the conference organizing committee, we would like to express our appreciation to all the participants for their contributions. From all accounts, the meeting was a success.
The Best Oral Presentation Awards and Best Poster Awards of IOCAN 2026 have been evaluated.
Please refer to the Winner Announcement.
the chairs
We are delighted to announce the 4th International Online Conference on Animals (IOCAN2026), organized by MDPI's open access journal Animals (ISSN: 2076-2615; Impact Factor: 2.7). This year's conference will be held online from 17 to 19 March 2026.
On behalf of the Conference Chairs of IOCAN 2026, we invite you to participate in this significant event. This conference offers a unique opportunity for animal scientists globally to share their latest research, foster communication, and collaboratively address the pressing challenges animals face, such as declining genetic diversity, climate change, pollution, and intensive production systems. As an online event, you can conveniently participate from anywhere, eliminating the need for travel.
S2. One health: Improve Disease Manifestation and Management in Animals, Humans, and the Environment;
S3. Sustainable Animal Nutrition;
S4. Animal Genetics and Genomics;
S5. Environmental Challenges to Animals and Precision Livestock Farming;
S6. Animal Physiology, Reproduction, and Sustainable Animal Production;
S7. Aquatic Animals.
We encourage you to join the global discussion on how we can better care for animals. This is an event you will not want to miss!
Kind regards,
Conference Chairs
Prof. Dr. Clive J. C. Phillips, Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Australia;
Prof. Dr. Colin G. Scanes, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, USA;
Prof. Dr. Michael Hässig, University of Zürich, Switzerland.
Meet the Event Chairs
Important Dates
- Abstract submission deadlineNov 27, 2025
- Abstract acceptance notificationDec 30, 2025
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Steven P. McCulloch
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK;
Dr Steven McCulloch is Research Fellow in Veterinary Policy at the London School of Economics, where he works within the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience and the Global School of Sustainability. His research examines the policies of national veterinary associations on farmed animal welfare, sustainability, and meat consumption. He also serves as Section Editor for Public Policy, Politics and Law for the journal Animals. A European Veterinary Specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law, Steven is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and completed his PhD on UK government policymaking and the interests of sentient species. He is Head of Research at the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation in the UK. His work spans animal welfare, ethics, law, and public policy, with a longstanding commitment to improving the lives of farmed animals. Steven is Founder and Chair of Pigs Protection, a new UK-based organization dedicated to protecting pigs worldwide through evidence-based advocacy, veterinary leadership, and public engagement.
Dr. Guoming Li
Department of Poultry Science and Institute for Artificial Intelligence, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA;
Dr. Li is an agricultural engineer and leads the Intelligent Systems for Poultry laboratory. He is the assistant professor at the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia State. He is also the affiliated professor at the School of Computing, Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture. His lab mission is to conduct cutting-edge research on integrated precision management/applications of digital technologies, sensors, data analytics, automation, or models to modern poultry production systems and beyond. Dr. Li has received competitive funding (over$2.5M) from federal, institutional, and industry agencies for addressing different critical problems in poultry. He has been an invited speaker and organizing committees/chairs for numerous national and international conferences and university seminars. He serves as academic and award committees and Associate Editor for American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE); and the panel reviewers of federal and international funding agencies. He is the awardee of two ASABE Superior Paper Awards (2021 and 2023), two ASABE Outstanding Reviewer Awards (2022 and 2024), ASABE Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Paper Competition Award, Student Paper Competition Award, Graduate Scholarly Achievement Award, Outstanding Graduate Student Paper and Presentation Award in International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare, Most Downloaded Paper in Poultry Science in 2024, and Editor’s Choice Article from Sensors. He has authored or co-authored 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, 18 conference papers, 40 conference abstracts, and 5 technical reports.
Dr. Salvadore Calvet
Institute of Animal Science and Technology, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain;
Salvador Calvet is full professor in animal production technology at Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). His background combines the understanding and reduction of environmental impacts of livestock production, and particularly, gas emissions. He published more than 60 research articles about this topic and supervised seven PhD Thesis. He leads a research group focused on implementing sensor technologies and artificial intelligence to improve animal production. He is the current academic director of the Master in Precision Livestock Farming.
- 1. Sustainable Animal Welfare, Ethics and Human–Animal Interactions
- 2. One health: Improve Disease Manifestation and Management in Animals, Humans, and the Environment
- 3. Sustainable Animal Nutrition
- 4. Animal Genetics and Genomics
- 5. Environmental Challenges to Animals and Precision Livestock Farming
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
Media partner
On behalf of the chairs of IOCAN 2026, we are pleased to announce the winners of the Best Oral Presentation Awards and Best Poster Awards.
The Best Oral Presentation Awards have been awarded to:
| ID | Title | Authors |
|
sciforum-156667 |
Replacing Antibiotics with Organic Acids: A Sustainable Strategy for Productivity and Disease Management in White Leg Shrimp |
Christina Gruber, Mathias Spiegelhofer, Silvia Wein |
| sciforum-160855 | In Silico Prediction of DNA-RNA Triplex Formation Sites Reveals Novel Regulatory Links Between Key Fertility Genes and lncRNAs in Retinta Beef Cattle | María Ángeles Vargas-Pérez, Chiraz Ziadi, Rosa María Morales, Sebastián Demyda-Peyrás, Gabriel Anaya Calvo-Rubio, Juan Pablo Sánchez, María Yuzhi Arjona-Delgado, Antonio Molina |
| Sciforum-160815 | Impact of Pasture-Based Feeding on Terpene Profiles in Goat Milk | Laura Birrento, Daniel Alegre, Arantxa Rizo, Amparo Tárrega, David Miguel Ribeiro, Margarida Palma, Filipe Rollo, Giovanni Dal Mas, Paco Conde, Gonçalo Amorim, Enrique Sentandreu |
The Best Poster Awards have been awarded to:
| ID | Title | Authors |
|
sciforum-157634 |
The Gut–Systemic Axis in Companion Animals: Systemic Review of the Microbiome's Role in Metabolic and Behavioral Disease |
Ali Amini Harandi, Amin Ahmadi, Alireza Ansari Mahabadi |
| sciforum-157758 | From Science to Farm: How Environmental Enrichment for Pigs Is Communicated to Technicians, Professionals and Producers in Multimedia Resources | Vitória Agatha Alves, Letícia Bicudo Nogueira, Maria José Hötzel |
| Sciforum-160084 | Adaptive Genomics and Conservation Objectives: Balancing Hybrid Vigor and Climate Resilience in Pakistan’s Yak Population | Muhammad Tariq, Tanvir Hussain |
Q1. Is it still possible to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation at this time?
No. The abstract submission period closed on 27 November 2025.
Q2. I have been selected for an oral/poster presentation. When will it take place, and how can I join?
Please check your exact schedule on the conference program available on the official website. Within one week before the conference, you will receive multiple reminders with the login link and session details. Please make sure to check your emails regularly (spam and junk mails).
Q3. My abstract was accepted as a poster presentation. How should the Poster Presentation be?
Poster presentations will be conducted online in the “Flash Poster Session” format, which includes a 4-minute live presentation to share your screen and quickly present your poster, without a Q&A session.
Poster template and requirements to assist in your preparation can be found here.
Q4. I cannot find the option or link to upload my poster. When and how can I upload it?
Only the submitting author has access to the “upload” function on Sciforum. If you cannot upload your file, please email us along with your Sciforum ID to iocan2026@mdpi.com.
Please upload your file to the Sciforum platform by 6 March 2026.
Q5. Will I receive a Certificate of Participation? How and when will the certificates be issued?
Yes. All participants at the event and attendees to the live session are entitled to a certificate after the conference. Certificates will be available for download in the My Certificates section on Sciforum after conference closing, and you will be notified by email once they are ready.
Q6. My abstract has been accepted, but I did not receive a notification for an oral or poster presentation. Can I still present my work?
Due to limited time slots, not all accepted abstracts can be included as oral or poster presentations, which are selected by the scientific committee. However, all accepted abstracts are eligible to upload a poster via your author dashboard. All uploaded posters in PDF file format will be displayed in the Poster Gallery section on the conference website from the start of the event, where participants can view and comment during the conference.