The 4th International Online Conference on Animals
The 4th International Online Conference on Animals
Part of the International Online Conference on Animals series
Event's Timezone: Central European Time
27 November 2025
30 December 2025
13 March 2026
Aquatic Animals, Wildlife, Zoo Animals, One Health, Sustainable, Environment
Abstract Submission Deadline is Closed
Thank you for submitting your abstract to the IOCAN2026.
The abstract acceptance notification will be sent by 30 December 2025.
Registration remains open. Secure your spot and join us for a stimulating conference. Register for free HERE.
For any inquiries, please contact us at: iocan2026@mdpi.com.
Welcome from 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.
Event Chairs
Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Kent St., Bentley, Australia
Clive Phillips was Australia’s first Professor of Animal Welfare, at the University of Queensland, and foundation director of the Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics. His PhD focused on dairy cow nutrition and behaviour. He was previously a lecturer at the Universities of Cambridge and Wales. He has authored about 400 scientific journal articles on the welfare of farm, zoo and companion animals, animal nutrition, transport and production. His books include Principles of Cattle Production, The Animal Trade and The Welfare of Animals - the Silent Majority. He recently co-edited the Routledge Handbook in Animal Welfare. Clive chairs the Queensland and Western Australian Governments’ Animal Welfare Boards, is editor-in-chief of the journal Animals and Springer’s Animal Welfare book series. His interview series, ‘Conversations with Clive’ can be found at https://tinybeamfund.org/Conversations-With-Clive
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA
Colin Scanes was educated in the UK - B.Sc (1st class honours), D.Sc. (University of Hull), Ph.D. (University of Wales). He has published 21 books, 108 reviews/chapters, & 304 refereed papers. He has held faculty/administrative positions at the University of Leeds (UK), Rutgers University (professor/department chair), Iowa State University (professor/executive associate dean), Mississippi State University (professor/Vice president research) and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (professor/vice chancellor research). He is presently president (Scanes Technology & Research llc. consulting for industry, NGOs and governments). He has received awards for teaching, research and contributions to agriculture (e.g. Honorary doctorate, University for Agriculture, Krakow).
Department for Farm Animals, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Michael Hässig was a professor at Vetsuisse Faculty, the University of Zurich. His main scientific interests are the etiology of bovine abortion, especially infectious etiology, basics on immunology related to abortion and the perinatal time, epidemiological studies and herd problems. Personal additional scientific projects include influence of NIR on bovine health; adverse effects after vaccination; GIS in clinical epidemiology. He is an Expert to the federal commission of the parliament for animal protection, is the Section Editor-in-Chief of "Animal Physiology" in Animals. He has authored about 268 publications and published 54 scientific journal articles as the first author.
Session Chairs
Prof. Dr. Colin G. Scanes
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA
Colin Scanes was educated in the UK - B.Sc (1st class honours), D.Sc. (University of Hull), Ph.D. (University of Wales). He has published 21 books, 108 reviews/chapters, & 304 refereed papers. He has held faculty/administrative positions at the University of Leeds (UK), Rutgers University (professor/department chair), Iowa State University (professor/executive associate dean), Mississippi State University (professor/Vice president research) and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (professor/vice chancellor research). He is presently president (Scanes Technology & Research llc. consulting for industry, NGOs and governments). He has received awards for teaching, research and contributions to agriculture (e.g. Honorary doctorate, University for Agriculture, Krakow).
Prof. Dr. Levon Abrahamyan
Laboratory of Animal Molecular Virology; Swine and Poultry Infectious Diseases Research Center (CRIPA) and Research Group on Infectious Diseases in Animal Production (GREMIP); Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada
Dr. Levon Abrahamyan is a Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal since January 2015, where he directs the Laboratory for Molecular Virology. He holds a PhD in genetics from the Institute of General Genetics and Yerevan State University (Russia and Armenia; 1990) and he has reach postdoctoral experience. Dr Abrahamyan has conducted research in internationally renowned laboratories across the USA, Canada, Russia, and Colombia, and previously held academic positions at the Nebraska Center for Virology (UNL, NE, USA) and at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. His research focuses on the molecular biology of viruses affecting animals and humans, investigating host-pathogen interactions and viral pathogenesis in species such as swine, mink, and honeybees. Dr. Abrahamyan's work explores how viral and host genetic variations influence disease progression and includes development of veterinary vaccines and antiviral agents. Dr. Abrahamyan has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and serves as Associate Editor for multiple journals including Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Frontiers in Microbiology, BMC Microbiology and Viruses. His laboratory employs molecular virology, omics and advanced microscopy techniques to decode virus-host interactions.
Dr. Elisabete Matos
CiiEM - Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Egas Moniz School of Health and Science, Almada, Portugal
With a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Lisbon, I’ve started my career as a production manager for a semi-intensive aquaculture unit for European seabass and gilthead seabream in the Algarve. I moved to Faro in 2008 to proceed with my PhD studies (in Aquaculture – Nutrition) at the University of Algarve, doing research on the modulation of fish quality through a nutritional approach. In 2012 I joined the aquaculture department of Sorgal S.A. as part of the technical team, before being invited to develop the Soja de Portugal group's Innovation Department in 2014. In 2020 I joined B2E, building the CoLAB for its first three years of successful activity. In 2023 I joined Egas Moniz School of Health & Science as Assistant Professor and coordinator of the new Masters in Sustainable Aquaculture.
Prof. Dr. Mike Davis
Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Michael Davis was born in Huntsville, Ohio, in 1952 and was raised on a grain and livestock farm. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. Degree in Animal Science from The Ohio State University in 1974. He obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees in Animal Breeding & Genetics from Colorado State University in 1977 and 1980, respectively. From 1980 to 1982, Dr. Davis was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin, where he conducted research on the life-cycle efficiency of beef production. In 1982, Dr. Davis joined the faculty of the Department of Animal Sciences at The Ohio State University as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1987 and to Professor in 1998. His teaching responsibilities included undergraduate courses in animal genetics and statistics. He was director of the Department of Animal Sciences’ Animal Genetics Lab, which performed blood typing and DNA typing for purposes of parentage verification for several beef cattle breed associations until its closure in 2004. He was also in charge of beef cattle genetic research at Ohio State’s Eastern Agricultural Research Station. From 1989 through 2005, Dr. Davis conducted a divergent selection experiment for blood serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) concentration in Angus beef cattle. Research was also directed toward identifying polymorphisms in candidate genes in the IGF-I/growth hormone axis that influence traits of economic importance in beef cattle, as well as studying the relationship between IGF-I and feed efficiency in cattle. For the 2009 through 2017 breeding seasons, the selection criterion in the two lines was changed from serum IGF-I concentration to high vs. low maintenance energy expected progeny differences (ME EPD). He is a co-author of 34 unique gene sequences in the NCBI GenBank database, representing DNA sequences from genes studied in the Animal Genetics Lab. Dr. Davis has published 97 peer-reviewed papers in 14 different journals, 50 papers in research circulars, and 75 abstracts. Dr. Davis is a member of the American
Prof. Dr. Claude Schelling
Universität Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
PD Dr. med. vet. Claude Schelling studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He got a DVM at the Department of Biochemistry (1988) and was working and teaching two years at the Laboratory Animal Science Department of the University of Zurich. After a stay as a Postdoctoral fellow at the Texas A+M (Department of Veterinary Pathobiology - 1992-1995) he returned to the University of Zurich and served as Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Genetics and Animal breeding. His habilitation focused on the emerging field of genetic markers in canids. His main interest was the genetic analysis of canine traits like ectopic ureters, cryptorchidism, puppy birth weight, litter size, cesarian section, goniodysplasia, glaucoma. He has vast experience in Veterinary Medicine, with emphasis on Animal Genetics and Breeding. Another important field of his research was the analysis of chromosomes of domestic animals and their role in health and disease with a strong focus on fertility in mares.
Professor Andrea Pezzuolo
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Legnaro, PD, Italy
Andrea Pezzuolo, is a Associate Professor at the University of Padova with wide expertise in Biosystems Engineering, Advanced Livestock Systems and Precision Livestock Farming technologies. He's a member of the editorial board of 10 scientific journals. In the last 10 years, coordinated/participated in several projects financed both from EU and from national funding. He supervised and is still supervising several PhD, MSc, and BSc students in these research areas.
Dr. Chris W. Rogers
School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Professor Chris Rogers, MAgrSc, PhD, holds the NZ Equine Trust Chair in Equine Health, Welfare, and Performance at Massey University’s School of Veterinary Science, where he teaches and supervises doctoral students. With a PhD in Equine Biomechanics from Massey and postdoctoral experience at Utrecht University, his research spans veterinary science, equine and sport science, and agricultural systems. His work focuses on how environmental and training factors influence tissue development and career longevity in racehorses and sport horses.
Dr. Mohammed Gagaoua
INRAE, PEGASE, Saint-Gilles, Brittany, France
Dr. Gagaoua is a meat/animal scientist. His primary research activities are on the evaluation and integration of the multiple intrinsic and extrinsic qualities of meat in the frame of pork sustainability and circular economy. Dr. Gagaoua's research program in the frame of sustainable production and consumption aims to develop a One Quality approach (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2025.109834) of pork/meat within several farming and production systems, along of identifying and studying the synergies and Trade-offs.
Professor Jorge Galindo-Villegas
Department of Genomics, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Bodø, Norway
Dr. Galindo-villegas is a Principal Investigator at Nord University, Bodø, Norway, who heads the Immune-reproduction Group. His research focuses on the innate and adaptive immune response and its evolution in teleost fish. His laboratory has diverse research interests, and currently has active projects in wolfish, lumpfish, sea bream, zebrafish, mice, and humans.
Event Committee
Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, State Scientific Research Institute Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, Vilnius, Lithuania
hoofed; semi-aquatic; carnivore and small mammal ecology; threatened and invasive mammal species; large carnivores; spatial distribution; population management and computer modeling; biodiversity and ecological diversity
Animal Welfare Program, Institute for Food and Agriculture Research and Technology (IRTA), Monells, Girona, Spain
pig welfare; damaging behaviour (tail, ear biting); sustainable pig production; precision farming and welfare
Farm Animal Clinic, Division for Ruminants and Camelids, Unit for Internal Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Curriculum vitae Prof. Dr. Kerstin E. Mueller 1978-1984 Study of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover; 1984 – 1991 Assistant at the Clinic for Cattle University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover; 1986 Doctoral Thesis on Neonatal Calf Diarrhea; 1989 Approval as Specialist for Cattle; 1991 – 2000 Senior Docent Researcher Clinic for Internal Diseases of Large Farm Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University The Netherlands; 1996 – PhD Thesis on Bovine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency; 2000 – 2003 Senior Docent Researcher Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; 2003 – 2024 Professor of Internal Medicine and Surgery in Ruminants, Unit for Internal Medicine and Surgery, Farm Animal Clinic, Division for Ruminants and Camelids, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany".
ruminants; veterinary；large and small ruminants; cattle health
Gut Microbiota; Infectious Diseases; Drug development
Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
MDR bacteria, Vector Borne diseases, Equine Piroplasmosis, West Nile Virus
Department of Animal Science, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
Prof. Alireza Seidavi is a famous scientist who is actively engaged in poultry farming and other animal industries. He started scientific and research career in 1999 and now is in charge of Director of Research and Technology, Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch, Rasht, Iran. He graduated 53 Msc and 16 PhD students as supervisor, and also 33 Msc and 12 PhD students as advisor. Prof. Seidavi is reviewed 146 MSc and 45 PhD thesis as reviewer. He is chief editor of "Iranian Journal of Applied Animal Science", a famous journal indexed in Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI, Web of Science, Q4), Scopus (Q3) etc. Dr Seidavi is one of World Top 1% of Scientists in 2023 and 2024. Moreover, Prof. Alireza Seidavi is ranked in Stanford University study of the world's top 2% of scientists in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. He is winner of awards of Iran Year Book from President of Islamic Republic of Iran for "Bioavailability of Nutrients for Animals: Amino Acids, Minerals and Vitamins", 2005, Iran Elected Researcher from President of Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008 and 2012, Excellent Paper Award from the Japanese Society of Animal Science and Wiley Inc., for the article published in Animal Science Journal in 2019, Top Reviewer in Publons' global Peer Review Awards, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019, Publons, Clarivate Analytics, Elected Researcher of Islamic Azad University, 2019, Guilan Province Elected Researcher from Governor of Guilan Province in 2004, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022; Elected Author/Translator of University of Tehran etc. He published 649 papers (including 326 Scopus indexed papers), and 29 books/book chapters. Prof. Seidavi is best known for his work in Poultry Science, especially for Poultry Nutrition and click here (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=23768458600#top) and (https://publons.com/researcher/1493213/alireaza-seidavi/) for the full CV.
poultry nutrition; animal science; silkworm
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Dr. Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry holds a PhD from Cambridge University and works as a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Chaudhry has completed numerous research, outreach & training projects of great significance. He has supervised the successful completion of many PhD and Post-doctoral researchers from 16 countries of most continents. He has focused on teaching & research in Animal Nutrition, Food Quality, Gut Health & the Environment. Dr. Chaudhry leads or co-coordinates International funded projects in the fields of Farm Animal Production, Water Quality & Aquatic Life by involving novel techniques. He has published over 300 articles in scientific journals, conference proceedings and co-edited books. He has achieved 3575 citations, 33 h-index and 72 i10-index on Google Scholar and around 86000 reads on ResearchGate. Dr. Chaudhry regularly delivers invited or plenary talks and keynotes and Chairs scientific sessions at many national and international conferences. Dr. Chaudhry connects with public dissemination events through electronic & print media about his research and outreach. He is a Certified Animal Scientist (RSB), Fellow Cambridge Philosophical Society, Fellow Higher Education Academy, Fellow Cambridge Commonwealth Society, Professional Standards Advisor, PSF and Academic Advisor, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. Also, he has served as an elected Council of the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) and Chair BSAS-Academia Association. He is an editor of some reputable Journals while he reviews research articles, grant proposals & teaching programmes for different agencies. Dr. Chaudhry has served as a Senior Tutor, Chair Board of Examiners & Chair PEC Committee. He has examined many PhD, MSc & UG programmes at multiple universities in the UK & abroad.
sustainable feeds & food quality; non invasive methods; climate change; ruminants, poultry & fish; water pollution & aquatic life; global collaboration & training
Sant Carles de la Ràpita Centre (IRTA-SCR), Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Spain
Dr Gisbert is a senior researcher and head of the Aquaculture Program of the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) owned by the Government of Catalonia assigned to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food. The mission of the Aquaculture Program is to contribute to modernising, improving, boosting competitiveness, and fostering sustainable development in the sector of aquaculture, while also contributing to food safety and safe processing of foodstuffs and in general enhancing the health and well-being of the population. Dr Gisbert has a Ph in Biological Sciences by the University of Barcelona, and a master’s in science in Aquaculture by the same Spanish University. After completing his PhD on Siberian sturgeon larviculture, he moved to the United States where he did first postdoctoral research at the University of California (Davis) with a Fulbright Grant, and then, he came back in 2002 to Europe for a second postdoctoral stage at the Ifremer in Brest thanks to a Marie Sklodoswka-Curie fellowship. In 2004, he was hired by IRTA where he has pursued his scientific career. Since then, he has been working on the interface between the academia and the industry focused his research on fish larval nutrition, functional feeds for on-growing fish stages, and recently he approached with his team the use of sustainable farming systems like aquaponics or inland IMTA models. From a scientific point of view, Dr Gisbert has published more than 270 scientific manuscripts (h-index = 45), supervised several PhD thesis and lead several national research projects and participated in other EU ones. With the support of the GFCM - FAO and Catalan Government, E. Gisbert is the responsible for the Mediterranean Restorative Aquaculture Demostrative Centre, a hub on innovation, transfer and training on restorative aquaculture.
fish; nutrition; digestive physiology; functional feeds
Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences—One Health Unit, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
epidemiology; mastitis epidemiology and control; mammary gland immunity; antimicrobial resistance; One Health approach; public health
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Nutrition and Feed Science of Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Xiangfei Li, Ph. D., professor in the Department of Aquaculture in Nanjing Agricultural University in China, research interest: aquaculture nutrition and feed science. Currently, has presided over several projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in China, etc. Has published more than 60 research articles in international journals as the first and/or corresponding author, and is the reviewer of several academic journals, like Aquaculture, British Journal of Nutrition, Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, Aquaculture Nutrition, etc.
aquaculture nutrition; feed science; intermediary metabolism; mitochondria; molecular biology
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
amphibian; reptiles; evolution; cytogenetics; morphology; phylogenetics; biogeography
Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
evolutionary genomics; evolutionary response to environmental change; introgressive hybridisation; canid genetics
1. Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland;
2. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia
Professor Thomas Banhazi is an expert in precision livestock farming and animal environment. With a PhD and a 17-year background as a Research Scientist, he has held professorships in Australia, Europe and Taiwan. His career includes supervising 35+ post-grad students, extensive publication (26 Book chapters, 64 journal articles and 163 conference papers, 8 patents), and leading/participating in 40+ research projects. He is actively commercializing his patented technologies through companies in Europe and Australia.
Sensor developments, machine vision, data analysis/modelling, artificial intelligence, environment/climate management, environmental sustainability, emission reduction from livestock farms, ventilation control, manure/odour management, general livestock m
Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation - Botany, Postgraduate College, Montecillo Campus, Texcoco, Mexico
Luis M. Carrillo-López is currently a researcher for Mexico at the Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation (SECIHTI). His current host institution is the Colegio de Postgraduados campus Montecillo, Mexico. From 2015 to 2024 he worked at the Faculty of Animal Science and Ecology at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Agroindustrial Engineering from the Autonomous University of Chapingo in Texcoco, Mexico, in 2006. He obtained the master's and doctoral degrees in science in Plant Physiology in 2010 and 2015, respectively, from the Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agrícolas, Mexico. He is the author of 52 scientific articles in JCR journals and has directed graduate theses (2 master's and one doctorate) and bachelor's (10) theses. He is a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico (Level 2, SECIHTI). His research interests include emerging food technologies, meat and milk quality, agricultural nanotechnology and plant physiology.
meat science, milk and dairy products, animal nutrition, food quality, emerging technologies, nanotechnology
Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, USA
Nucharin Songsasen is the Center Head of the Center for Species Survival. She joined the Smithsonian in 2002 when offered the opportunity to study the reproductive biology of domestic and wild carnivores. Over the years, she built the Global Canid Conservation Program and expanded this conservation and research initiative from a laboratory setting to field conservation in range countries, including Brazil and Thailand. Nucharin is a leading expert in the field of canid reproductive biology. Research conducted in her laboratory focuses on developing innovative technologies to rescuing valuable genetics from wild canids and felids, while improving human reproductive health. In addition to reproductive research, she has collaborated with SCBI scientists and developed partnerships with national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations to address many threats to the sustainability of wild canids, including the maned wolf, dhole, red wolf and African painted dog, living in zoos or the wild. She also led the collaboration with USGS’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in studying the reproductive biology and endocrinology of the whooping crane and identifying the causes of poor reproduction in this endangered species. Nucharin has adjunct appointments at the Cornell University and George Mason University. She is also a member of the IUCN’s Canid Specialist Group (CSG), the coordinator of CSG’s Dhole Working Group and the Maned wolf Species Survival Plan (MWSSP) as well as Reproductive Advisor to the Canid Taxon Advisory Group. Nucharin received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Kasetsart University in Thailand, and Master of Science and doctoral degrees from the University of Guelph in Canada.
assisted reproductive technology; ovarian follicle development; reproductive endocrinology; wildlife conservation; cryopreservation
Faculty of Animal Science and Ecology, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico
Dr. Alma D. Alarcon-Rogo's research spans the field of food science and technology, with expertise ranging from food components to the evaluation of emerging processing technologies. Over the past decade, her work has focused on investigating the impact of high-intensity ultrasound on the quality of fresh and processed meats from various animal species. Her current research explores the use of ultrasound as a tool to enhance the functional properties of meat and its products
meat production; fresh and processed meat quality; preservation; shelf life; sensory
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
porcine viruses; coronaviruses; influenza virus; vaccines; PEDV; PRRSC; mink viruses; antivirals; zoonotic viruses
University of Algarve, Center for Marine Sciences, Campus de Gambelas, Building 7, Portugal
Cláudia Aragão holds a degree in Marine Biology and a PhD in Aquaculture from the University of Algarve. She is currently a researcher at the Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve (CCMAR/CIMAR-LA), Portugal. Cláudia has extensive expertise in fish nutrition, with a particular focus on amino acid metabolism. Her research addresses the development of sustainable nutritional strategies that promote circularity and reduce dependence on marine-derived ingredients, aiming at enhancing fish robustness and resilience to stress. With a strong commitment to applied science, she collaborates closely with industry partners to deliver practical, research-driven solutions that support sustainability, animal welfare, and efficiency in aquaculture systems.
aquaculture; nutrition; amino acids; taurine; alternative ingredients; feed additives; fish welfare
Department of Sciences and Technologies, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy
Marina Paolucci is Full Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Cytology at the Department of Science and Technology of University of Sannio. She is Editor-in-Chief of "Nutrition and Feeding" Section of FISHES (SSN 2410-3888, edited by MDPI). Her scientific interests are aimed at studying the biological mechanisms that underlie the reproduction, growth and feeding behavior of aquatic animal species; sustainable resources for animal feedings and food; employment of bioactive molecules to ameliorate degenerative diseases in animal models.
animal nutrition; feed manufacturing; animal product shelf-life; bioactive molecules; biopolymers
Aquatic One Health Research Center (ARCUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Isabel Bandín is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC, Spain), where she has built her academic career specializing in fish pathology. Following her doctoral research—carried out at the USC and the Marine Laboratory in Scotland—she undertook postdoctoral studies at Wageningen University (Netherlands). In recent years, her work has primarily focused on the Nervous Necrosis Virus (NNV, genus Betanodavirus), addressing its epidemiology, identifying viral virulence factors, and assessing its adaptability to climate change. She is recognized as one of the leading experts on this virus, and as of this year, she is a member of the Nodavirdae Study Group within the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Additionally, she has contributed to vaccine development and currently coordinates Work Package 3: “PREVENTION through innovative VACCINES for EU aquaculture,” within the Europe Horizon consortium “Curing EU aquaculture by co-creating health and welfare innovtions” (Cure4Aqua). She is the author of more than 100 scientific publications in high-impact journals, has participated in 16 research projects, and led 6 of them. She serves on the Editorial Board of Animals and has been a member of the Advisory Board of Archives of Virology. She also co-edited a special issue in Viruses dedicated to fish viruses and another in Pathogens on NNV, alongside Dr. Toffan. For over a decade—until 2022—she was the academic coordinator at USC of the Galician interuniversity Master’s program in Aquaculture, and since 2022, she has been its General Coordinator.
fish virology; virulence mechanisms; phylogenetics; diagnostic techniques
Invited Speakers
Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, State University of Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Overview of malignant catarrhal fever in Brazil
Dr. Selwyn Arlington Headley obtained his DVM (1996) and MSc in Veterinary Medicine (Major, Veterinary Pathology, 1999) from the Federal University of Santa Maria, and a PhD in Animal Health Science from the State University of Londrina (2006). Dr Headley was a Postdoctoral fellow at UEL (2011-2013) and University of Minnesota, UMN, USA (2020-2021). Dr. Headley served as Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Pathology at The University of Helsinki, Finland, and as Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology at St. Matthews School of Veterinary Medicine, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. He is currently Professor of animal pathology at the State University of Londrina (UEL), Permanent Professor and the current Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Animal Health Science at UEL. Dr. Headley also participates as a Permanent Professor in the Graduate Programs in Animal Health and Production at the North University of Paraná (UNOPAR) and Animal Bioscience at the University of Cuiabá (UNIC). He has vast experience in Veterinary Medicine, with emphasis on Animal Pathology, working mainly on the following topics: infectious diseases, malignant catarrhal fever, bovine respiratory disease, Neorickettsia helminthoeca, canine distemper, diagnosis by immunohistochemistry, comparative pathology, molecular epidemiology, pathogenesis, and identification of infectious agents in domestic animals.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Epidemiological Dynamics of Leptospirosis in Tropical Regions: A One Health Perspective
Isabel Di Azevedo is a biomedical scientist, Ph.D in Microbiology, with extensive experience in Microbiology and Health Sciences, specializing in the molecular epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens, particularly Leptospira spp. in tropical scenarios. Her research integrates genomic and bioinformatic approaches with ecological and One Health perspectives to investigate the evolution, diversity, and environmental adaptation of pathogenic microorganisms. She works with phylogenetic and comparative genomics analyses, ecological niche modeling, molecular surveillance, and studies of genetic diversity across hosts and ecosystems. Her scientific activities include leading and collaborating on national and international research initiatives aimed at understanding the ecological and evolutionary determinants of leptospirosis and other bacterial zoonoses. She is also actively engaged in teaching and scientific outreach, with emphasis on public communication of science, health education, and the training of interdisciplinary researchers working at the human–animal–environment interface.
The Davies Livestock Research Centre, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Adelaide University, Adelaide, Australia
Use of cattle signs/signals in assessment of the quality of nutrition in cattle
Veterinarian, originally from North Macedonia, with P PhD in veterinary medicine from Massey University in New Zealand. Affiliated with the current institution for over 14 years and interest in ruminant health and productivity. Consultancy in herd health and production and health problem solving in >10 countries
Department of Sciences and Technologies - University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy
Sustainable Valorization of Agri-Food By-products: Functional Feed Additives for Enhanced Fish Health
Roberta Imperatore is an Associate Professor of Comparative Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Developmental Biology at the University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy, with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. Her research activity is focused on the effect of natural biomolecules extracted from sustainable and renewable sources on animals’ health. She uses a comparative approach (teleosts vs. mammals) to study how these bioactive molecules can counteract or alleviate pathologies like obesity, systemic inflammation, and degenerative diseases. Her research methodology spans morphological, functional, immunohistochemical, and biomolecular studies, identifying neuropeptides, cytokines, and oxidative stress enzymes. A significant application of her work involves using natural bioactive molecules as feed additives to enhance nutrition, growth, and general health in animal models, contributing to both sustainable aquaculture and biomedicine. She also employs computational, bioinformatics, and statistical methods in her research. She has authored over 50 peer-reviewed international papers and collaborates with numerous national and international research groups
Climate change as the driver for animal infectious disease onset and/or progression
Professor Tilocca’s professional and research activities are primarily focused on the application of molecular and proteomic methodologies to the study of microorganisms of veterinary relevance. Specifically, he has developed and implemented molecular and metaproteomic techniques for the taxonomic and functional profiling of bacterial communities across different intestinal sections of livestock animals (such as poultry and swine). This includes the development and optimization of a dedicated metaproteomic analytical pipeline, bioinformatic analysis of omics data, and the integration of metaproteomic findings with DNA-based results, aimed at evaluating structural and functional variations of the gut microbiota under diverse environmental conditions, including the presence of pathogenic agents. His use of bioinformatics also extends to the characterization of zoonotic pathogens and the formulation and validation of innovative scientific hypotheses in the field of infectious diseases. Furthermore, he has acquired and applied advanced molecular techniques to various types of animal-derived samples, with the goal of diagnostic screening for zoonotic viral agents and the development of novel strategies for identifying etiological agents of significant importance in both veterinary and human health. The results of these research activities have been disseminated through participation in national and international scientific conferences and/or publication in peer-reviewed international journals.
Department of Poultry Science and Institute for Artificial Intelligence, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Animal-based environmental monitoring and control
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.
precision livestock farming; animal welfare and behavior; smart sensing; applied artificial intelligence; poultry robotics
Institute of Animal Science and Technology, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Sensor and artificial intelligence technologies to address the environmental challenges of livestock production
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.
Sessions
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
6. Animal Physiology, Reproduction, and Sustainable Animal Production
7. Aquatic Animals
Registration
The registration for IOCAN 2026 will be free of charge! The registration includes attendance to all conference sessions.
If you are registering several people under the same registration, please do not use the same email address for each person, but their individual university email addresses. Thank you for your understanding.
Please note that the submission and registration are two separate parts. Only scholars who registered can receive a link to access the conference live streaming. The deadline for registration is 13 March 2026.
Instructions for Authors
IOCAN 2026 will accept abstracts only. The accepted abstracts will be available online on Sciforum.net during and after the conference.
1. Deadline for abstract submission: 6 November 2025 27 November 2025.
2. Abstract acceptance notification: 4 December 2025 30 December 2025.
You will be notified of the acceptance of an oral/poster presentation in a separate email.
Abstract submissions should be completed online by registering with www.sciforum.net and using the "Submit Abstract" function once logged into the system. No physical template is necessary.
1. The abstract structure should include the introduction, methods, results, and conclusions sections of about 200–300 words in length.
2. All abstracts should be submitted and presented in clear, publication-ready English with accurate grammar and spelling.
3. You may submit multiple abstracts. However, only one abstract will be selected for oral presentation.
4. The abstracts submitted to this conference must be original and novel, without prior publication in any journals or it will not be accepted to this conference.
Detailed Requirements:
1. The submitting author must ensure that all co-authors are aware of the contents of the abstract.
2. Please select only one presenter for each submission. If you would like to change the presenter after submission, please email us accordingly.
Note: We only accept live presentations.
The slot for the oral presentation is 15 mins. We advise that your presentation lasts for a maximum of 12 mins, leaving at least 3 mins for the Q&A session.
Authors are encouraged to prepare a presentation in PowerPoint or similar software, to be displayed online along with the abstract. Slides, if available, will be displayed directly on the website using the proprietary slide viewer at Sciforum.net. Slides can be prepared in exactly the same way as for any traditional conference where research results are presented. Slides should be converted to PDF format prior to submission so that they can be converted for online display.
- Size in pixel: 1080 width x 1536 height–portrait orientation.
- Size in cm: 38,1 width x 54,2 height–portrait orientation.
- Font size: ≥16.
- Examples of successful submissions can be viewed here at the following links: (1), (2), (3).
- You can use our free template to create your poster.
It is the author's responsibility to identify and declare any personal circumstances or interests that may be perceived as inappropriately influencing the representation or interpretation of clinical research. If there is no conflict, please state "The authors declare no conflicts of interest." This should be conveyed in a separate "Conflict of Interest" statement preceding the "Acknowledgments" and "References" sections at the end of the manuscript. Any financial support for the study must be fully disclosed in the "Acknowledgments" section.
MDPI, the publisher of the Sciforum.net platform, is an open access publisher. We believe authors should retain the copyright to their scholarly works. Hence, by submitting an abstract to this conference, you retain the copyright to the work, but you grant MDPI the non-exclusive right to publish this abstract online on the Sciforum.net platform. This means you can easily submit your full paper (with the abstract) to any scientific journal at a later stage and transfer the copyright to its publisher if required.
Publication Opportunities
1. Animals Journal Publication
Participants in this conference are cordially invited to contribute a full manuscript to the conference's Special Issue (to be updated), published in Animals (ISSN: 2076-2615, Impact Factor 2.7), with a 10% discount on the publication fee. Please note, if you have IOAP/association discounts, conference discounts will be combined with IOAP/association discounts. Conference discounts cannot be combined with reviewer vouchers. All submitted papers will undergo MDPI’s standard peer-review procedure. The abstracts should be cited and noted on the first page of the paper.
2. Proceeding Paper Publication
All accepted abstracts will be published in the conference report of the 4th International Online Conference on Animals in the Biology and Life Sciences Forum (ISSN: 2673-9976); if you wish to publish an extended proceeding paper (4-8 pages), please submit it to the same journal after the conference.
Authors are asked to disclose that it is a proceeding paper of the IOCAN 2026 conference paper in their cover letter. Carefully read the rules outlined in the 'Instructions for Authors' on the journal’s website and ensure that your submission adheres to these guidelines.
Proceedings submission deadline: 5 May 2026
Manuscripts for the proceedings issue must be formatted as follows:
Title;
Full author names;
Affiliations (including full postal address) and authors' e-mail addresses;
Abstract;
Keywords;
Introduction;
Methods;
Results and Discussion;
Conclusions;
Acknowledgements;
References.
Please click HERE to submit your proceeding paper to the Biology and Life Sciences Forum.
BLSF proceedings template.docx
Event Awards
To acknowledge the support of the conference's esteemed authors and recognize their outstanding scientific accomplishments, we are pleased to announce that the conference will provide six awards including Best Oral Presentation Awards and Best Poster Awards.
The Awards
Number of Awards Available: 6
The Best Oral Presentation Awards are given to the submission judged to make the most significant oral contribution to the conference.
The Best Poster Awards are given to the submission judged to make the most significant and interesting poster for the conference.
There will be six winners selected for these awards. The winner will receive a certificate and 200 CHF each.
Sponsors and Partners
For information regarding sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please click here.
Organizers
Media Partners
