糖心原创

Contact

• workRoom B216 South Laboratory
  Sutton Bonington Campus
  Sutton Bonington
  Leicestershire
  LE12 5RD
  UK
• work0115 951 6307
• gavin.white@nottingham.ac.uk
• /biosciences/people/gavin.white

Biography

Dr Gavin White is an Associate Professor in Animal Nutrition in the School of Biosciences, 糖心原创. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science from the University of Leeds, an MSc in Animal Production from the University of Aberdeen, and a PhD from the 糖心原创. Gavin carried out postdoctoral research at Nottingham in the Schools of Veterinary Medicine and Science, and Biosciences, and has previous experience working for DEFRA during the UK swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks.

Dr White is an experienced educator, with substantial experience in programme management, and higher education teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels - currently teaching both Bioscience and Veterinary students. This sustained expertise is professionally recognised by his award of Senior Fellow of Advance HE; he now mentors other colleagues in their teaching accreditation applications. In 2020, Gavin was awarded a 糖心原创 Lord Dearing Award for outstanding contribution to teaching and learning. He has a particular interest in supporting International students; his co-designed taught postgraduate support programme has been taken up at Faculty level. Dr White also plays a key role in quality assurance, chairing panels on academic integrity.

Dr White has a national and international research profile in the areas of companion, non-ruminant and zoo animal nutrition - including first author publications and book chapters (see publications list). He also has experience of researching across animal and human topics, for example pet obesity. He has examined a number of PhD and MRes theses, both internally at UoN (School of Biosciences and School of Veterinary Medicine and Science) and also externally. Gavin also has extensive experience in supporting students in publications, and in career development; as evidenced by an excellent track record of graduates securing professional positions in a range of global companies across the animal nutrition sector.

Teaching Summary

Gavin is Course Manager for the MSc degree in Animal Nutrition and is convenor / delivers teaching across a number of core taught postgraduate modules including companion and zoo animal nutrition,… read more

Research Summary

My main research interest is in captive animal nutrition (companion, non-ruminant livestock and zoo/exotics). Example areas include companion animal nutrition and health, particularly the changing… read more

Selected Publications

• C.D. HUGGETT, J.A. LOWE and G.A. WHITE, 2026. Domestic Animal Nutrition and Metabolism: Companion Animals (Cats and Dogs). In: J.M.BRAMELD, S.ATHANASIADOU, D.A.KENNY and S.A LANHAM-NEW, eds., Animal Nutrition Wiley. 217-235
• C.I. ELVIS CHIKWEM, B. BAHAR, K. DERECKA, G.A. WHITE, M. CASTELLANOS and C.J. O'SHEA, 2024. Identification of differences in digestive organ weight, bone mineral concentration, and ileal transcriptomic profiles of low and high weight broiler chicks Journal of Agricultural Science. 162, 394-403
• J. WAINWRIGHT, K.M. MILLAR and G.A. WHITE, 2022. Owners' views of canine nutrition, weight status and wellbeing and their implications for the veterinary consultation. Journal of Small Animal Practice.
• T. WEBB, H. DU PLESSIS, H. CHRISTIAN, E. RAFFAN, V. ROHLFF and G.A. WHITE, 2020. Preventive Veterinary Medicine.

• View all publications

Gavin currently sits on several committees at University and School level:

• School of Biosciences Academic Misconduct Officer - Chair (Postgraduate)
• School of Biosciences Learning and Teaching Development Group
• School of Biosciences Learning and Teaching Strategy Committee
• Postgraduate Taught Courses Committee
• Postgraduate Marketing and Recruitment Committee

Gavin is Course Manager for the MSc degree in Animal Nutrition and is convenor / delivers teaching across a number of core taught postgraduate modules including companion and zoo animal nutrition, non-ruminant nutrition, research techniques in animal nutrition, feed industry, business and case studies and the postgraduate research project.

At undergraduate level, he convenes modules / teaches in both the School of Biosciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. His teaching covers a range of topics including non-ruminant production and husbandry, feed recognition, companion animal science and comparative anatomy of animal digestive systems.

Gavin also has a keen interest in how to better support students in their transition from Undergraduate to Postgraduate Taught (PGT) study. Along with a small team of colleagues at Nottingham, he has developed a revised course experience survey and has launched a new PGT support programme that delivers a series of academic seminars, workshops, careers advice and wellbeing sessions throughout the year for Home and International students. This work has been published in Innovations in Education and Teaching International (see publications list)

Current Research

My main research interest is in captive animal nutrition (companion, non-ruminant livestock and zoo/exotics). Example areas include companion animal nutrition and health, particularly the changing nature of canine and feline diet types, marketing claims vs. scientific evidence, and wider challenges balancing owner views around feeding with growing pressures to address future protein sustainability. My other main research interest is the issue of pet obesity - as in humans, the underlying causes are multiple, social, and difficult to quantify. This is because companion animal obesity often relates to several aspects of the human-animal bond. I am looking to develop this research area further and have successfully co-supervised a number of undergraduate research projects on this topic with a particular focus on aspects of the human-animal bond, feeding and treat giving behaviour. Published research (Wainwright et al., 2022; White et al., 2016) builds upon previous study findings (White et al, 2011) about owner perception of canine obesity - see publications. I also have a keen interest in the nutrition of zoo/exotic animals - especially key challenges in terms of the nutritional management of captive species.

I have successfully supervised many student research projects (including ~ 50 at MSc level) across a range of companion, livestock and zoo species. Many of these have focused around animal nutrition - some example dissertation titles are listed below:

Companion species:

• The future of protein in pet diets: dog owners' perceptions of insect protein, cultured meat, animal vs. plant based diets and perceived environmental impact.
• Optimising the gut microbiome in dogs and cats through nutritional and biotic strategies.
• Examining dog owners' views of different diet types and nutrition - 'naturalness', raw feeding and plant-based diets.
• Evaluation of dietary allergens in dogs and cats.
• How has the Covid-19 pandemic changed pet ownership?
• Are veterinary professionals doing enough to address the problem of canine obesity?
• How effective are strategies to prevent periodontal disease in dogs and cats?
• The 21st century cat - how can owners provide a stimulating home environment to enhance animal behaviour and welfare?
• Sustainable protein in canine diets: availability, acceptability and amino acid profile/digestibility.
• Plant protein in canine and feline diets.
• The role of water in canine and feline nutrition

Livestock species:

• How effective are essential oils as a dietary supplement for weaner pigs?
• Growth performance and lipid digestibility in weaned piglets.
• Effect of bioavailable silicon on growth, performance and skeletal integrity in broilers.

Zoo/Exotic species:

• Beyond the bowl - how do we best provide stimulating feeding experiences for zoo animals?
• How well established are nutritional requirements for common granivorous pet parrots (Psittaciformes)?
• Protein within primate diets - which seeds offer the greatest nutritional benefit for captive guenons?
• Nutritional evaluation of forage and assessment of fibre digestibility in captive Asian elephants.
• Determination of glucose content of dietary fruits and vegetables for captive western lowland gorillas.
• Diet suitability in captive new world primates: non-invasive assessment of gut transit time, digestive anatomy and diet analysis.
• Assessment of mineral and starch content and palatability of semi-aquatic plants for captive western lowland gorillas.
• Nutritional evaluation of dietary calcium content of seafood for captive asian small-clawed otters (Amblonyx cinereus).
• Nutritional assessment and non-invasive evaluation of gut health in captive chimpanzees.
• Evaluation of dietary nitrogen and NDF content of browse species fed to captive western lowland gorillas and bornean orangutans.
• Vitamin D in captive great apes: meeting nutritional requirements.
• The challenge of R/R behaviour in captive great apes.

Past Research

Examples of previous research are detailed below:

Animal Nutrition

-Companion animal obesity

I have a keen interest in companion animal nutrition and welfare, including 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, examining factors that influence dog owner's perceptions and evaluation of their dog's weight and whether owner perception is in agreement with veterinary professional assessment. 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 been published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice. Further research has examined owner perception and motivation for treat feeding in dogs (published in Preventive Veterinary Medicine) and Owners' views of canine nutrition, body condition score status and implications for the veterinary consultation (Journal of Small Animal Practice). See publications section, for further details.

- Evaluation of Wheat Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (W-DDGS) in non-ruminant diets (ENBBIO project)

This research aimed to evaluate the environmental and nutritional benefits of using bioethanol co-products for UK livestock. This large research programme (involving over twenty academic and industry partners) assessed the nutritional value of UK sources of W-DDGS for a range of livestock species.

-The potential of using home-grown legumes as a protein source in UK pig diets (Green Pig project)

This DEFRA-funded LINK research project brought together pulse growers, feed manufacturers and pig producers to investigate the potential use of using homegrown legumes (pea and faba beans) as a replacement for soya bean meal in the diets of UK grower and finisher pigs, in order to reduce the environmental burdens associated with pig production. A key objective of this research involved performance, nitrogen balance and carcass evaluation trials in growing and finishing pigs.

-Sustainable nutrition of the weaned piglet (NUTWEAN project)

This 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 banning AGP use at sub-therapeutic levels in animal feed meant the quality of dietary ingredients used assumed a much more fundamental role. This research required assessment of the physicochemical properties of processed dietary cereals (employing in vitro techniques from the field of human food science) and relating this rheological data to biological responses when the same cereals were fed in diets to newly-weaned piglets. This work was part of a larger national research consortium involving collaborations between industry, government and academic partners.

• C.D. HUGGETT, J.A. LOWE and G.A. WHITE, 2026. Domestic Animal Nutrition and Metabolism: Companion Animals (Cats and Dogs). In: J.M.BRAMELD, S.ATHANASIADOU, D.A.KENNY and S.A LANHAM-NEW, eds., Animal Nutrition Wiley. 217-235
• C.I. ELVIS-CHIKWEM, G. A. WHITE, E. BURTON and C.J. O'SHEA, 2024. Animal Production Science. 64,
• C.I. ELVIS CHIKWEM, B. BAHAR, K. DERECKA, G.A. WHITE, M. CASTELLANOS and C.J. O'SHEA, 2024. Identification of differences in digestive organ weight, bone mineral concentration, and ileal transcriptomic profiles of low and high weight broiler chicks Journal of Agricultural Science. 162, 394-403
• J. WAINWRIGHT, K.M. MILLAR and G.A. WHITE, 2022. Owners' views of canine nutrition, weight status and wellbeing and their implications for the veterinary consultation. Journal of Small Animal Practice.
• C.L. ELVIS-CHINWEM, G.A. WHITE, E. BURTON, K. DERECKA, S.V. REINA, J. HANKINS and C.J. O'SHEA, 2021. Evaluation of the tibial bone ash and mineral concentration of Ross 308 broilers with divergent bodyweights on Day 7. In: Proceedings of British Society of Animal Science 2021. 150.
• T. WEBB, H. DU PLESSIS, H. CHRISTIAN, E. RAFFAN, V. ROHLFF and G.A. WHITE, 2020. Preventive Veterinary Medicine.
• S. AFRIN, J.S. LEWIS, J.A. LOWE, V. STREET, S. JOHNSON and G.A. WHITE, 2020. Evaluation of extrusion processing in canine diets, as influenced by dietary protein source In: Companion Animal Nutrition Conference 2020 (University of Northampton and Pet Food Manufacturers Association) 13 February 2020.
• S. HORMOZI, G.A. WHITE and J.A. LOWE, 2020. Evaluation of amino acid digestibility in extruded canine diets, differing in protein and starch source, using a broiler model In: Companion Animal Nutrition Conference 2020 (University of Northampton and Pet Food Manufacturers Association) 13 February 2020.
• G.A. WHITE, E. BERRY, N. WALLIS, R.F. SMITH and K.M. MILLAR, 2020. Canine nutrition: attitudes and purchasing decisions, as influenced by owner age In: Companion Animal Nutrition Conference 2020 (University of Northampton and Pet Food Manufacturers Association) 13 February 2020.
• M. TIERNEY, H. ELLIOTT, V. DANGPRASERT, V. STREET, S. JOHNSON, J. LOWE and G.A. WHITE, 2020. Cereal vs. vegetable starch: evaluation of nutrient digestibility and performance in extruded canine diets In: Proceedings of British Society of Animal Science 2020. 168.
• M. KOOT, M. LIPTOVSZKY, F. PATEL and G.A. WHITE, 2020. Mineral and starch content in semi-aquatic plants: a potential dietary addition for captive Western Lowland Gorillas In: Proceedings of British Society of Animal Science 2020.
• K. VANGELIS, H. BOWE, G.A. WHITE, N. SAUNDERS, J. HANKIN and C.J. O'SHEA, 2020. Nutritional evaluation and composition of eight commercial adult and senior dog diets in the UK In: Proceedings of British Society of Animal Science 2020.
• C.L. ELVIS-CHINWEM, E. BURTON, G.A. WHITE, K. DERECKA and C.J. O'SHEA, 2020. Evaluating the causes of variation in performance of broiler chicks at first week of life. In: Proceedings of British Society of Animal Science 2020.
• L.J. CONEYWORTH, R. JESSOP, P. MADEN and G. WHITE, 2019. Innovations in Education and Teaching International.
• D.C. FIACCO, J.A. LOWE, J. WISEMAN and G.A. WHITE, 2017. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition.
• L. J. TENNANT, G.A. WHITE, R. ANNAND-IVELL and P. C. GARNSWORTHY, 2017. Relationship between feed efficiency, milk yield, rumination rate and faecal glucocorticoids in dairy cows. In: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science 2017.
• M.M. KASPRZAK, J.G.M. HOUDIJK, S. KIGHTLEY, O.A. OLUKOSI, G.A. WHITE, P. CARRE and J. WISEMAN, 2016. Animal Feed Science and Technology. 213, 90-98
• M.M. KASPRZAK, J.G.M. HOUDIJK, S. LIDDELL, K. DAVIS, O.A. OLUKOSI, S. KIGHTLEY, G.A. WHITE and J. WISEMAN, 2016. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition.
• L. J. TENNANT, G.A. WHITE, R. ANNAND-IVELL and P. C. GARNSWORTHY, 2016. Non-invasive indicators of rumen function and stress in dairy cows. In: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. 115
• G.A. WHITE, L. WARD, C. PINK, J. CRAIGON and K.M. MILLAR, 2016. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 132, 14-19
• G.A. WHITE, J. CRAIGON and K.M. MILLAR, 2016. Dog owner perceptions and motivations for treat feeding In: Companion Animal Nutrition Conference (Moulton College / Pet Food Manufacturers' Association, 3 June 2016).
• WHITE, G. A., SMITH, L., HOUDIJK, J.G.M, HOMER, D., KYRIAZAKIS, I. and WISEMAN, J., 2015. Animal Feed Science and Technology. 209, 202-210
• WHITE, G. A., RICHARDS, P.J., WU, S., MELLITS, K.H. and WISEMAN, J., 2015. British Poultry Science. 56(4), 494-502
• KASPRZAK, M., WHITE, G.A., KIGHTLEY, S., HOUDIJK, J., OLUKOSI, O. and WISEMAN, J., 2015. In: British Poultry Abstracts. 11. 1-2
• MASEY O'NEILL, H.V., WHITE G.A., LI, D., BEDFORD, M.R., HTOO, J.K. and WISEMAN, J., 2014. Poultry Science. 93(5), 1178-1185
• WHITE, G. A. and WISEMAN, J., 2013. Assessment of egg quality and gut environment of layer hens fed diets formulated with varying levels of Wheat Distillers Dark Grains with Solubles (W-DDGS) British Poultry Abstracts. 9(1), 35-36
• HOUDIJK, J., SMITH, L., TARSITANO, D., TOLKAMP, B, TOPP, C., MASEY-O'NEILL, H., WHITE G., WISEMAN, J., KIGHTLEY, S. and KYRIAZAKIS, I., 2013. Peas and faba beans as home grown alternatives to soya bean meal in growing and finishing pig diets. In: P C GARNSWORTHY and J WISEMAN, eds., Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition 45. 145-175
• 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. Immunology & 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: Advances in Animal Bioscience. 3. 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: Advances in Animal Bioscience. 3. 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: Advances in Animal Bioscience. 3. 62
• NELLI, R.K., DUNHAM, S.P., KUCHIPUDI, S.V., WHITE, G.A., BAQUERO-PEREZ, B., CHANG, P., GHAEMMAGHAMI, A., BROOKES, S.M., BROWN, I.H. and CHANG, K.-C., 2012. Journal of Virology. 86(17), 9201-9210
• KUCHIPUDI, S.V., TELLABATI, M., NELLI, R.K., WHITE, G.A., BAQUERO-PEREZ, B., SEBASTIAN, S., SLOMKA, M.A., BROOKES, S.M., BROWN, I.H., DUNHAM, S.P. and CHANG, K.C., 2012. Virol.J.. 9,
• 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: Advances in Animal Bioscience. 2. 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: Advances in Animal Bioscience. 2. 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: Advances in Animal Bioscience. 2. 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. Journal of Small Animal Practice. 52(12), 622-626
• 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
• 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
• NELLI, R.K., KUCHIPUDI, S.V., WHITE, G.A., PEREZ, B.B., DUNHAM, S.P. and CHANG, K.-C., 2010. BMC Veterinary Research. 6(1), 4
• DOUCET, F.J., WHITE, G., WULFERTT, F., HILL, S.E. and WISEMAN, J., 2010. British Journal of Nutrition. 103(9), 1309-1318
• 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. Animal. 2(6), 867-878
• WHITE, G.A., DOUCET, F.J., HILL, S.E. and WISEMAN, J., 2008. 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: HGCA, EBLEX and BPEX. 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. 40, 313-330