AN SRUC Graduate from Ayrshire has won acclaim from a world leading scientific organisation. 

Jenna Morison, 21, who studied at SRUC’s Ayr Campus, graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Applied Animal Science with Second Class Honours at the recent graduation ceremony held at Bute Hall, University of Glasgow. 

As she graduated Jenna was basking in the glory of praise from the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) for the research carried out during a summer holiday scholarship and subsequent presentation at a leading academic and industry conference. 

For her fourth year dissertation Jenna got involved in a project solving a problem for a local poultry breeder, who was getting unwelcome white birds when he bred his Cream Legbar chickens. This was undesirable as the white birds could not be shown or bred from. 

Her research work – involving blood sampling and DNA extraction – identified the recessive gene carriers in the breeder’s entire population of chickens, allowing for removal of those birds and therefore no longer getting a white chick again. 

Jenna was awarded a summer project grant from the WPSA allowing the Monogastric Science Research Centre (MSRC) at SRUC Ayr, to support her laboratory work. 

She then had to submit an abstract based on her work at the WPSA-UK conference in April at Chester University – a presentation which was widely commended. 

Speaking after her graduation, Jenna said: “Studying Applied Animal Science at SRUC has been a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable university experience for me. 

“The course covers a broad spectrum of interesting topics which has provided me with an extensive knowledge and understanding of animal science. 

“The opportunity to learn in classes with a small number of students has been extremely advantageous to my studies - along with field trips to a variety of industries. 

“I particularly enjoyed the opportunity of working with the WPSA for my Honours project - enabling me to further study animal breeding and genetics which I am extremely enthusiastic about.” 

Jenna is currently working as a Research Technician for SRUC at the MSRC in Ayr, learning various aspects of research and data handling, while she considers her career options. 

Congratulating Jenna, Dr Vicky Sandilands from the MSRC, said: “Jenna was a delight to work with – dedicated and conscientious. No wonder we hired her for some work over the summer.

“She had to give her presentation in front of dozens of poultry scientists and industry representatives at the highly-pressured environment of the WPSA-UK conference. And despite the fear factor, she did a great job.

“I hope it has given her a positive view of being a research scientist. 

“I wish Jenna every success in her future career and know her learning journey is just really beginning.”