Animal Welfare and Wellbeing

Kelly Heath is director and attending veterinarian of the Institutional Animal Care Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. A native of Custer County, Nebraska, and a first-generation college graduate, Heath holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from UNL. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University. During 16 years of clinical practice, he became skilled at surgery, pathology, therapeutics and preventive medicine, and became knowledgeable about mulitple species and population medicine skills. Heath worked in the biopharmaceutical industry for eight years, where he gained knowledge about government regulations, good laboratory practices, good clinical practice and quality compliance programs. During this time in industry, he served as attending veterinarian and clinical practices manager for a clinical research facility and acted as animal welfare officer for the Americas, with responsibility to manage research projects with respect to scientific rigor and excellence, animal care, animal welfare, budgets, technology and infrastructure development. As animal welfare officer, he audited both internal and external animal research facilities to ensure compliance with the highest animal welfare standards. (Updated October 2023.)

Tami Brown-Brandl, who holds the William E. and Eleanor L Splinter chair in biological systems engineering, takes an engineering approach to improving animal wellbeing and production efficiency. By collecting and using electronic data on individual animals housed in typical industry-sized pens, precision animal management can be used as a means to reduce animal stress and improve animal wellbeing. She also investigates the susceptibility of cattle and swine to heat stress. She developed a web-based cattle heat stress forecast to assist feedlot operators. In 2023, she was honored with the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Henry Giese Award for "distinguished service in advancing the knowledge and science of agricultural structures and environment." (Updated November 2024.)