Please vote by following this link: https://asab.wildapricot.org/Sys/Poll/64706

Ordinary Member (1 position)

Dr Ankit Kumar - Scientist

Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, India

Myself Dr. Ankit Kumar, Scientist at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, LUVAS, Hisar, Haryana, India, dedicated to animal welfare through the treatment of over 13,000 clinical cases annually. My career goal is to work diligently for animal health, care, and wellbeing. I recently completed my PhD, focusing on developing Animal Welfare Indicators, including behavioral parameters—first of its kind in India. This research provides a scientific basis for assessing animal welfare in Indian livestock and can aid organizations like AWBI, NIAW, WVA, and OIE in future policy planning. I have published over 50 research articles and 60 abstracts, participated in 12+ national and international conferences, and received several awards. I serve as a reviewer and editorial board member for three reputed journals and presented a keynote at the 13th International Veterinary Congress in London. I humbly seek your consideration for this position to further strengthen my contributions to animal welfare.

Dr Richard Mott – Higher Scientific Officer (Farm Animal Welfare)

Argi-Food and Biosciences Institute, Northern Ireland

I was first introduced to ASAB as a PhD student, and since then I’ve attended several meetings, including giving oral presentations at Easter 2022 and Summer 2023. I have found the society to be incredibly welcoming and supportive, and I’ve always left the meetings with a renewed enthusiasm for science! My development as a scientist is due in no small part to my membership of ASAB and the connections I’ve made by attending these meetings, and I’m now at a stage of my career where I feel able to give something back to the society. My bachelor’s degree is in Equine Studies from Coventry University, I have an MSc in Equine Science from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in shelter dog welfare from the University of Glasgow. I undertook a research fellowship in pig welfare at the University of Leeds and I have also been a lecturer in Equine Science at Warwickshire College University Centre, where I obtained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.I am currently a farm animal welfare scientist working within a government research facility, and this gives me insight into the workings of both the civil service and government policymaking, and this makes me ideally placed to offer a different perspective to the ASAB council.

Dr Leanne Proops - Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare

University of Portsmouth, UK 

I’m an Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Portsmouth, specialising in social cognition, communication, and welfare, particularly in domestic equids. I’ve been an ASAB member since my PhD, and have benefitted from the society’s work in many ways including through conference participation, grant funding, and publishing in Animal Behaviour. I currently organise the ASAB undergraduate award at Portsmouth and serve as a consulting editor for Animal Behaviour. I’m also looking forward to helping host the 2027 ASAB Spring conference at Portsmouth.

ASAB plays a vital role in shaping our field and supporting our researchers, and I’d welcome the chance to contribute further as a council member. I’m passionate about supporting early-career researchers and promoting equitable access to research, especially for scholars in the Global South. I would bring experience in research leadership, and a commitment to multidisciplinary collaboration, diversity, and public engagement. Thanks for reading!

Dr Manon Schweinfurth - Senior Lecturer

University of St Andrew, UK 

I am based at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where my team and I study cooperative behaviour across different animal species. I admire ASAB’s work and have a longstanding connection through my role as Associate Editor for Animal Behaviour, regular participation in ASAB conferences, and involvement in the ASAB networking scheme during the pandemic. I am particularly interested in supporting initiatives that promote community building and advance animal welfare. For nearly a decade, I have served on the council of one of ASAB’s sister societies, the Ethological Society, in roles including ECR representative, communications officer, and manager (similar to ASAB’s secretary), where we collaboratively organised online conferences, enhanced the society’s digital presence and contributed to its overall development. Additionally, I serve on both my School’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the University’s Animal Welfare Committee.

Dr Svenja Tidau - Lecturer in Wildlife Ecology

Bangor University, UK 

I am an experimental global change biologist with a strong focus on behavioural ecology. Like many of us, I joined ASAB during my PhD (2016–2019) and have remained a member since. Now a lecturer in Wildlife Ecology / Marine Biology at Bangor University, I feel this is the right time to get more actively involved. I bring a range of relevant experience to the role of ordinary council member.

Grants: I review for national and international funders, including FONDECYT Chile, the British Council, the BES Review College.

Meetings: I have attended several ASAB conferences and co-organised among others the 2018 Easter meeting in Plymouth.

Ethics: I work with marine invertebrates, especially decapods and have engaged closely with the 2021 review on cephalopod and decapod sentience, which informed the UK Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act.

I would look forward to helping promote our society further, and especially its welcoming, collegial spirit, as a council member.

Prof Alastair Wilson - Professor of Evolutionary Biology
University of Exeter (Penryn Campus), UK

I am an evolutionary biologist with broad research interests across ecology, genetics and behaviour. Since joining ASAB I’ve found the society to be supportive, welcoming, and perhaps unique in actively bringing together behavioural biologists from different research disciplines - something I believe is vital to our field. I would now welcome the opportunity to contribute more by serving on council. I am a long-term supporter of multiple learned societies (e.g., ESEB, ISBE) with prior experience of committee service (e.g. Genetics Society), mentoring and supporting ECRs (e.g. BBSRC fellowship mentoring scheme), administering funding (e.g. NERC panels), and organising meetings (e.g. ISBE, Genetics Society). I also have a particular interest in ASAB’s work promoting ethical use of animals in research (e.g. >10 years on Exeter’s AWERB committee). If elected, I would work hard to foster our research community, promote ASAB externally, and provide broad, responsive support wherever useful across the Society’s activities.

Secretary of Grants Committee

Prof Christos Ioannou - Professor of Behavioural Ecology

University of Bristol, UK

Although I have been a member of ASAB since my PhD, my real involvement began when I led the organisation of the Spring 2021 meeting. This prompted me to join ASAB council in 2022, and I was on the grants committee in 2022 and 2023. After the former grants secretary ended their term early, I agreed to cover the role from January 2025. I have organised the conference grants for the Spring and Summer 2025 meetings, streamlining the process by switching applications to an online form, allowing for much faster decision making. I am modifying the selection criteria for ASAB’s Research Grants to maximise the positive impact on our community by allowing EDIA factors, and prior contributions to the work of ASAB, to be taken into account in our decision making. Next, I plan to explore a new grant scheme for ASAB to provide part-funding for PhD studentships, to increase the proportion of funded PhDs in animal behaviour. If elected as Grants Secretary, I will continue to find innovative ways to improve efficiency and the positive impact ASAB has.

Please vote by following this link: https://asab.wildapricot.org/Sys/Poll/64706