Gavin White

Contact

• workRoom B227 South Laboratory
  Sutton Bonington Campus
  Sutton Bonington
  Leicestershire
  LE12 5RD
  UK
• work0115 951 6068
• gavin.white@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Gavin graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science from the University of Leeds in 1998 before completing an MSc in Animal Production from the University of Aberdeen. From there, Gavin worked for DEFRA (previously known as MAFF), where his duties included extensive on-farm blood sampling of livestock around England, Scotland and Wales during the swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks of 2000/1. He obtained his PhD in 2007 from the University of Nottingham where his thesis examined the influence of cereal processing on starch digestibility and gastrointestinal morphology in the weaned piglet. His first postdoctoral position (2008-2011) was in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (University of Nottingham) before he joined the Division of Animal Sciences in 2011 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow.

Research Summary

To date, much of my research has been focused around the area of farm animal nutrition. Current research encompasses two DEFRA funded LINK projects:

1) The potential use of home grown protein sources (legumes) as a replacement for soybean meal in the diets of grower and finisher pigs in the UK ('Green Pig Project')

2) Environmental and nutritional benefits of using bioethanol co-products (ENBBIO). This research project aims to quantify the nutritional value of UK sources of wheat DDGS and other co-products in both ruminant and non-ruminant species.

Aside from farm animal species, I have also developed a keen interest in companion animal nutrition, particularly the issue of pet obesity, and am currently looking to develop this research area further.

Animal infection and disease, specifically host-pathogen interaction is also an area of interest. My curiosity for this research topic stems partly from previous experience working for DEFRA during the UK swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks.

Selected Publications

• WHITE, G.A, HOBSON-WEST, P., COBB, K., CRAIGON, J., HAMMOND, R. and MILLAR, K.M., 2011. Canine obesity: Is there a difference between veterinarian and owner perception? Journal of Small Animal Practice. 52(12), 622-626
• DOUCET, FREDERIC J, WHITE, GAVIN A, WULFERT, FLORIAN, HILL, SANDRA E and WISEMAN, JULIAN, 2010. Predicting in vivo starch digestibility coefficients in newly weaned piglets from in vitro assessment of diets using multivariate analysis. British Journal of Nutrition. 103, 1309-1318
• WHITE, G.A., DOUCET, F.J., HILL, S.E. and WISEMAN, J., 2008. Physicochemical properties and nutritional quality of raw cereals for newly weaned piglets ANIMAL -CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS-. VOL 2(NUMB 6), 867-878
• KUCHIPUDI, S.V, DUNHAM, S.P, NELLI, R, WHITE, G.A, COWARD, V.J, SLOMKA, M.J, BROWN, I.H. and CHANG, K.C., 2012. Rapid cell death of duck cells infected with influenza: a potential mechanism for host resistance to H5N1 Immunology and Cell Biology. 90(1), 116-123

• View all publications

Past Research

Examples of previous research are detailed below:

Animal Nutrition

-Sustainable nutrition of the weaned piglet

My doctoral research examined nutritional strategies for the post-weaned piglet in the absence of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs). To overcome the 'post-weaning growth check' commonly seen at weaning, the incorporation of AGPs to the diets had historically been a useful management tool. However, legislation within the European Union to ban the use of AGPs at sub-therapeutic levels in animal feed means that the quality of dietary ingredients used in weaned diets has now assumed a much more fundamental role. This research required assessment of the physiocochemical properties of precisely processed dietary cereals (employing in vitro techniques commonly used in the field of human food science) and relating this rheological data to biological responses (e.g. starch digestibility, intestinal morphology) when the same cereals were fed in diets to newly-weaned piglets. With the application of computer modelling, it was possible to demonstrate a correlation between in-vitro starch parameters and in-vivo starch digestion in the small intestine of the young piglet. This work was part of a larger national research consortium (NUTWEAN) involving collaborations between industry, government and academic partners.

-Companion animal obesity

I have a keen interest in companion animal nutrition and welfare, more specifically the issue of pet obesity. This research topic is of significant professional interest due to the alarming increase in the prevalence of overweight and obese pets. The situation is considered serious enough for some professionals to believe that obesity is the most common nutritional disease in dogs and the single biggest health issue facing domestic animals in Europe. Previous research has involved investigating the relationship between dog and owner. More specifically, it examined what factors may influence dog owner's perceptions and evaluation of their dog's weight (explored in two cohorts of dog owners with either overweight or non-overweight dogs) and whether owner perception was in agreement with assessment by a veterinary professional. This research was part of a collaborative project between the Centre for Applied Bioethics, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the Institute for Science and Society. This study has recently been published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice - see publications White et al 2011.

Animal Infection and Disease

- Host Innate immune response to influenza viruses.

Influenza A viruses pose a major threat to animal health as well as a zoonotic threat to humans. The mortality rate from human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection is around 60%. In contrast, pigs typically show either mild or no clinical signs of disease during HPAI H5N1 infection, despite being susceptible to the virus. This research focussed on differences in host innate immune response at the transcriptional and protein level using primary cultures of human and pig tracheal epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages. Further research examined the innate immune response to pandemic influenza (pH1N1) in key porcine respiratory target tissues during the early phase infection. This research was part of the Combating Swine Influenza (COSI) initiative; a Wellcome Trust/BBSRC/MRC/DEFRA-funded UK consortium, funded in response to the emergence of the pandemic H1N1 outbreak in early 2009. This work included analysis of the expression of key genes (e.g. cytokines, chemokines and signalling pathways) at the RNA and protein level using a range of techniques including qPCR, Western Blotting and antibody microarray.

• KUCHIPUDI, S.V, DUNHAM, S.P, NELLI, R, WHITE, G.A, COWARD, V.J, SLOMKA, M.J, BROWN, I.H. and CHANG, K.C., 2012. Rapid cell death of duck cells infected with influenza: a potential mechanism for host resistance to H5N1 Immunology and Cell Biology. 90(1), 116-123
• G. WHITE, J. WISEMAN, L.A. SMITH, J.G.M. HOUDIJK and I. KYRIAZAKIS, 2012. Nutritional value of diets for growing/finishing pigs containing high levels of home grown legumes compared with one based on soyabean meal. 1: Growth performance In: Healthy Food from Healthy Animals: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work. 52
• G. WHITE, L. SMITH, D. HOMER, J. WISEMAN, J.G.M. HOUDIJK and I. KYRIAZAKIS, 2012. Nutritional value of diets for growing/finishing pigs containing high levels of home grown legumes compared with one based on soyabean meal. 2: Carcass quality In: Healthy Food from Healthy Animals: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work. 24
• G. WHITE and J. WISEMAN, 2012. Using home grown peas and beans to replace soyabean meal diets does not impair nitrogen balance in pigs In: Healthy Food from Healthy Animals: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work. 62
• R.K. NELLI, S.V. KUCHIPUDI, G.A. WHITE, S.P. DUNHAM, I.H. BROWN AND K.C. CHANG, 2011. Defective viral replication and lack of pro-inflammatory cytokine response contribute to innate host resistance in H5N1 influenza virus infected primary pig cells In: Food Security - Challenges and Opportunities for Animal Science. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work.. 225
• G.A. WHITE, S.P. DUNHAM, R.K. NELLI, I.H. BROWN, S.V. KUCHIPUDI AND K.C. CHANG, 2011. Comparative chemokine response to influenza infection between key primary human and pig cells In: Food security - Challenges and Opportunities for Animal Science. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work. 223
• G.A. WHITE, S.P. DUNHAM, S.M. BROOKES, A. GERMUNDSSON, F. GARCON, A. NUNEZ, K.C. CHANG AND I.H. BROWN., 2011. Pigs and the H1N1 pandemic: Innate immune responses in experimentally infected pigs In: Food Security - Challenges and Opportunites for Animal Science. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work. 45
• NELLI, R.K, KUCHIPUDI, S.V, DUNHAM, S.P, GHAEMMAGHAMI, A, WHITE, G.A, BROWN, I.H. and CHANG, K.C., 2011. Impaired viral replication (antiviral) and reduced pro-inflammatory response contribute to innate host resistance in H5N1 influenza virus infected primary pig cells. In: Pathogenesis of Influenza: Virus-Host Interactions, Kowloon, Hong Kong.. 58
• WHITE, G.A, HOBSON-WEST, P., COBB, K., CRAIGON, J., HAMMOND, R. and MILLAR, K.M., 2011. Canine obesity: Is there a difference between veterinarian and owner perception? Journal of Small Animal Practice. 52(12), 622-626
• S.V. KUCHIPUDI, S.P. DUNHAM, R.K. NELLI, G.A. WHITE, V. COWARD, M. SLOMKA, I.H. BROWN and K.C. CHANG, 2011. Host pro-inflammatory cytokine response as a fundamental key to host survival or death in ducks and chickens infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus British Poultry Abstracts. 7(1), 43-44
• DOUCET, FREDERIC J, WHITE, GAVIN A, WULFERT, FLORIAN, HILL, SANDRA E and WISEMAN, JULIAN, 2010. Predicting in vivo starch digestibility coefficients in newly weaned piglets from in vitro assessment of diets using multivariate analysis. British Journal of Nutrition. 103, 1309-1318
• NELLI, RAHUL K, KUCHIPUDI, SURESH V, WHITE, GAVIN A, PEREZ, BELINDA BAQUERO, DUNHAM, STEPHEN P and CHANG, KIN-CHOW, 2010. Comparative distribution of human and avian type sialic acid influenza receptors in the pig. BMC Veterinary Research. 6(1), 4
• KUCHIPUDI, S.V., NELLI, R., WHITE G., BAIN, M., CHANG, K.C. and DUNHAM, S., 2009. Differences in influenza virus receptor in chickens and ducks: implications for interspecies transmission. J. Mol.Genetic Med.. 3, 143-151
• WHITE, G.A., DOUCET, F.J., HILL, S.E. and WISEMAN, J., 2008. Physicochemical properties and nutritional quality of raw cereals for newly weaned piglets ANIMAL -CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS-. VOL 2(NUMB 6), 867-878
• WHITE, GA, DOUCET, F.J, HILL, S.E. and WISEMAN, J., 2008. Physicochemical changes to starch granules during micronisation and extrusion processing of wheat, and their implications for starch digestibility in the newly-weaned piglet Animal. 2(9), 1312-1323.
• DOUCET, F.J, WHITE, G.A, WISEMAN, J. and HILL, S.E., 2007. Changes to starch structure during processing - Implications for digestibility in newly-weaned piglets. FEED COMPOUNDER. 27(3), 28-29
• COTTRILL, B, SMITH, C, BERRY, P, WEIGHTMAN, R, WISEMAN, J, WHITE, G. and TEMPLE, M, 2007. Opportunities and implications of using the co-products from biofuel production as feeds for livestock: Report prepared for: Home-Grown Cereals Authority, English Beef and Lamb Executive and British Pig Executive. Research Review No. 66
• WHITE, G, WISEMAN, J, DOUCET, F.J. and HILL, S.E., 2007. Effect of raw cereal type on digestibility of starch in the weaned piglet In: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. 76
• WHITE, G, DOUCET, F, HILL, S. and WISEMAN, J, 2006. The effect of wheat endosperm texture on nutritional value for weaned piglets In: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. 29
• WHITE, G, DOUCET, F, HILL, S. and WISEMAN, J., 2006. Influence of wheat endosperm texture and degree of cook on digestibility of starch in the small intestine of the weaned piglet. In: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. 117
• DOUCET, F. J., WHITE, G., WISEMAN, J. and HILL, S. E., 2006. PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHANGES TO STARCH STRUCTURE DURING PROCESSING OF RAW MATERIALS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR STARCH DIGESTIBILITY IN NEWLY-WEANED PIGLETS RECENT ADVANCES IN ANIMAL NUTRITION. CONF 40, 313-330