NIFAB: Northern Ireland Farm Animal Biobank
Northern Ireland Farm Animal Biobank (NIFAB), NIFAB is pronounced as "N.I. FAB", is a strategic research and innovation project funded by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA). NIFAB launched in April 2022 and aims to establish the foundation for developing data-driven solutions for sustainable livestock production and ultimately to lead in building a sustainable future for Northern Ireland's livestock sector.
Northern Ireland is FAB!
Northern Ireland is absolutely fantastic! At NIFAB, we strive to contribute to the success of the region’s livestock sector and make it even more exceptional. We believe that by working together, we can help the industry reach new heights and become truly outstanding. Our goal is to foster a culture of excellence and drive progress in the sector, ultimately making Northern Ireland a leader in the global livestock industry. Join us in our efforts to make the Northern Ireland livestock sector FABulous!
NIFAB has developed a large livestock genome to phenome biobank, which encompasses a centralized database that includes livestock performance and health data, in combination with feed quality records, environmental measurements, biological samples, and results genomic and multi-omics analysis from farms at AFBI and CAFRE. These data, originally gathered for specific research projects, routine phenotyping or collected through precision recording systems, hold immense potential for future use in developing new breeding and livestock management tools for livestock production in Northern Ireland and beyond.
This startegic project is developed and led by Dr. Masoud Shirali, Head of AFBI Farm Animal Bioinformatics (FAB) unit.The NIFAB Steering Committee members are as follows:
- Chairperson: Professor Elizabeth Magowan
- DAERA representative: Dr Alister Carson
- CAFRE representative: Dr Paul McHenry
- AFBI representative: Professor Steven Morrison
- Sustainable Ruminant Genetics - SRG representative: John Moore
- Project Lead: Dr Masoud Shirali
In addition to the existing committee members, the NIFAB committee also includes to seven external members as follows:
- Professor Jack Dekkers (Iowa State University, USA)
- Professor Sharon Huws (Queen's University Belfast, UK)
- Professor David MacHugh (University College Dublin, Ireland)
- Professor Filippo Miglior (University of Guelph, Canada)
- Professor Roel Veerkamp (Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands)
- Dr James Koltes (Iowa State University, USA)
- Mark Young (UK Agri-Tech Centre, UK)
Research Team
AFBI FAB is the managing the collbarating research projects based on NIFAB to develop data-dariven, knowledge-driven and multi-omics based researches on Animal Emission Production, Efficiency, and Resilience to Diseases and Environmental Changes to develop Sustainable Animal Breeding for the Green Transition.
Contact
NIFAB, AFBI Hillsborough, Large Park, Hillsborough, BT26 6DR, Northern Ireland, UK. Masoud.Shirali@afbini.gov.uk