About:
The Institute of Biology and Animal Nutrition (IBNA – Balotesti) is Romania’s leading research institution in the field of animal science and the country’s only national institute dedicated to this area. IBNA conducts multidisciplinary research and development covering the biology and nutrition of all major species and categories of farm animals, from fundamental research through to applied research, innovation, and knowledge transfer. IBNA’s scientific research focuses on animal biology and nutrition, including nutrition – immunology relationships and the identification of biomarkers in response to feed, as well as on the interrelations between the environment, animals and humans (e.g., reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock). IBNA also works on the implementation of genomic information and new traits in breeding programs for local breeds and the investigation on animal physiology and nutrition to valorize local feeding resources and new feeds, to increase farm animal competitiveness on the market and the quality of animal products.
These activities are supported by three specialised research laboratories: Physiology of Nutrition, Animal Biology, and Animal Nutrition & Biotechnology.
In addition, IBNA has a dedicated feed mill serving all major species and categories of farm animals, enabling the production of compound feeds, protein – vitamin – mineral concentrates, vitamin – mineral mixtures and medicated premixes.
The institute has well-equipped facilities for extension and training activities, as well as for the organisation of professional events, including a multimedia amphitheatre, meeting rooms, modern IT equipment, and permanent internet access.
IBNA also maintains a strong national network of beneficiaries (SMEs) built through its long-standing expertise in animal nutrition. The research activity of the institute is conducted mostly within the National Plan of Research – Development and Innovation through various funding programs (20-30 projects running). The institute has also been involved in international projects (FAO, Word Bank, EU-FP6-FP7, Horizon 2020, Life, COST networks, regional & bilateral projects).
Activities in the project:
In the RUMINATE project, IBNA will lead the design and implementation of the small-scale in vivo feeding trials. The IBNA’s focus will be on assessing the impact of nutritional strategies on animal performance, welfare, environmental footprint, and immune responses. Also, IBNA will be involved in other tasks, like assessment of the current landscape of livestock farming systems and nutritional schemes, sampling for the characterization of animal genetic background, provision of data on animal health for the development of guidelines and formulation of heat-resilient nutritional protocols, sheep phenotypic data provision, scientific support to demonstrate the developed genomic and nutritional solutions along with the DST in real-world settings, evaluation of real-world system response and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of implemented innovations, supporting the policy activities, and participation in Future Farming Design Studios.