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Mr. Whittington indicated the importance of this appointment “Recruiting talented people with knowledge of and a passion for the pig industry is the foundation for making progress at Prairie Swine Centre. Helen has the right combination of technical training, practical pork production and business experience that will allow her to bring value to our research clients.”
In her new capacity as Manager of Contract Research, Helen will be responsible for liaising with industry partners to assist in their confidential research needs. With qualifications in agriculture and animal science, experience in communication and international agriculture Helen brings a variety of skills to this position. Good research is invaluable but the industry has changed and our contract research portfolio is evolving. Helen will be responsible for growing the emerging areas of contract research including product development and licensing new products, biomedical applications and unique ways to evaluate new products for pork businesses that reduce the risk to producers who want to be early adopters of new technologies.
Since inception, Prairie Swine Centre has served the needs of private corporations worldwide that wished to have their products and services evaluated under commercial-like conditions with rigorous scientific oversight. This service plays a significant role in assisting manufacturers to assess product efficacy and safety, and because of the level of expertise developed at the Centre over the past 21 years clients can get the data they need to seek product registration in Canada, the US and European Union.
Helen will also be involved in technology transfer for specific research projects and developing the Centre’s social media. Helen’s previous roles with PIC UK and as a Knowledge Transfer Manager for BPEX (British Pig Executive) have given her a wealth of experience in communication and grasping the most important aspects of research conclusions relevant to farmers. Although Helen has worked in the UK pig industry she is not a stranger to pig production in other countries. After winning a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 2010 she travelled to Thailand, China, Brazil, America and Europe looking at different systems and the global exportation of pork meat and how it affected the UK. “One thing I took from the 18 month study was that anyone I asked never thought that their industry would end up looking like it did the day I talked to them. Either the rate that it had expanded or contracted, diversified, or how legislation had shifted. The pig industry moves so quickly those farmers do not have time to keep up with new innovations and that is where the Prairie Swine Centre adds so much value. We can do the research and then take the messages or innovation out to farm knowing it has the scientific background to deliver”.
June 19, 2013 Prairie
