Abstract submission deadline: January 23, 2026
Early bird discount before: April 1, 2026
Welcome to the 4th EAAP Regional Meeting – Mediterranean Region
The EAAP regional meeting aims to highlight key animal science discoveries and novel approaches, related to specific regional topics, which could be directly or potentially applied to management and practice. The meeting will be held on May 20th – 22nd, 2026, at the University of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy). The meeting will have interesting animal science sessions including one plenary session.
Mediterranean Livestock Systems: Pathways towards sustainability
The Plenary session addresses the pathways to achieve sustainability under Mediterranean livestock farming systems. Integration of heritage, tradition, and innovation will be explored, along with policy and social aspects, with the overall aim being the Med livestock system transformation.
Parallel sessions open to abstract submission:
The following sessions are preliminary and will be confirmed based on the number and topics of the abstracts received.
(co-organised with ERFP, EAAP Med WG, EAAP AnGR WG, Chairs: D. Bojkovski, G. Hadjipavlou, Ch. Ligda)
The session focuses on the characterization, conservation, and sustainable use of local and transboundary breeds as key components of resilient livestock production. Contributions are invited on studies addressing genetic diversity, adaptive traits, and production-environment interactions, as well as the use of genomic and phenotypic tools to evaluate breed performance under climatic and management variability. Case studies linking breed diversity with ecosystem services, circular farming, and socio-economic sustainability are particularly encouraged. The session also seeks to discuss regional collaboration and policy frameworks that support the long-term management of animal genetic resources.
(Chairs: M. Odintsov, M. Karatzia)
The session explores Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) and Precision Agriculture (PA) solutions tailored to improve animal, farm, and landscape-level management in Mediterranean contexts. Contributions may include (but are not limited to): IoT-based monitoring, satellite imagery, wearable technologies, agricultural drones, image analysis, data management, AI integration, and the socio-technical dimensions of stakeholder acceptance and adoption of digital tools. Given the vast variability of the Mediterranean farming system landscape, PLF and PA research outcomes from all systems, including low-input and extensive production systems, would be welcome.
(Chair: I. Poulopoulou)
The session aims to identify the environmental, economic, and social challenges of the Mediterranean livestock farming systems related to climate change, resource availability, and limited infrastructure development. This session welcomes abstracts that analyse pathways to enhance productive, technical, environmental, economic, and social resilience through sustainable transitions based on biodiversity, agroecology, and adaptive management. Contributions focusing on carbon strategies, climate mitigation and adaptation measures, and innovations that combine productivity while achieving sustainable ecosystem conservation are encouraged. The session promotes interdisciplinary discussions and practical solutions tailored to local contexts.
(Chair: M.O. Nozieres-Petit)
This session aims to question how and why (agro)-pastoral systems change to face global challenges and preserve their multifunctionality. The contributions are invited to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and the “key operating functioning rules” present in these systems. These strengths and rules could also be useful for increasing the sustainability and addressing challenges in other forms of livestock farming, as they pursue agroecological transition and adaptation and mitigation to climate change.
(Chair: M. Spehar)
As the livestock sector strives to meet ambitious climate targets, producers face the challenge of balancing environmental goals with animal productivity, health and climate resilience. Novel genomic selection tools and phenotyping strategies are needed to optimize mitigation, adaptation, health and profitability traits. Contributions are welcome for phenotyping and genomic evaluation strategies for novel and standard traits aiming at enhancing balanced animal resilience in changing and/or harsh environmental conditions.
(Chairs: G. Foggi, A. Cannas)
The session addresses the nutritional challenges and opportunities related to feed and forage resources for both ruminant and monogastric production systems in Mediterranean environments. Topics may include the characterisation and utilisation of local forage and feed resources, including alternative and agro-industrial by-products, and their effects on animal performance, metabolism, and nutritional requirements. Moreover, the session may include contributions addressing challenges of forage production and low-impact preservation techniques for feed under Mediterranean conditions.
(Chair: N. M’Hamdi)
This session will explore the critical links between animal health, welfare, and the overall sustainability of livestock farming. It will examine how prioritising animal welfare not only enhances the productivity and resilience of livestock systems but also contributes to the long-term viability of the sector, particularly in the Mediterranean context. The session will highlight the economic, environmental, and social benefits of improved animal health and welfare, emphasising how these factors influence farmer well-being, farm profitability, and public perception. Additionally, it will address strategies to ensure animal welfare while maintaining sustainable and economically viable farming practices.
(Chairs: I. Casasus, G. Foggi)
This session explores various strategies to valorise animal products and enhance their quality. Contributions may focus on the valorisation of products; the role of local breeds and production systems in adding value to animal-derived products; dietary or breeding strategies aiming at improving product quality; and the development of tools for the determination of product quality and traceability.
Private research consultant, Scotland
Challenges for animal production in the changing world
Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Germany
Current and future directions in livestock genetic improvement: advancing resilience and sustainability through genotype-to-phenotype research
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
Nutrigenomics – chances and challenges in animal production
Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Center, Israel
Applications of data science, digital tools and precision farming in changing-world’s animal production
Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Animal welfare – does it pay off?
Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Public perception of livestock production
International Scientific Board
Gianni Battacone – University of Sassari – Italy
Danijela Bojkovski – University of Ljubljana – Slovenia
Isabel Casasús Pueyo – CITA Aragón – Spain
Antonello Cannas – University of Sassari – Italy
Xabier Diaz de Otalora Aguirre – Universitat Politècnica de València – Spain
Giulia Foggi – ETH Zürich – Switzerland
Georgia Hadjipavlou – Agricultural Research Institute – Cyprus
Maria-Anastasia Karatzia – ELGO-DIMITRA – Greece
Nicolò Pietro Paolo Macciotta – University of Sassari – Italy
Maria do Rosário Fernandes Marques – INIAV – Portugal
Filippo Miglior – University of Guelph – Canada
Naceur M’hamdi – Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie – Tunisia
Marie-Odile Nozières-Petit – INRAE – France
Mikhail Odintsov-Vaintrub – Regrowth – Italy
Ioanna Poulopoulou – Agricultural University of Athens – Greece
Andrea Rosati – European Federation for Animal Science (EAAP) – Italy
Marija Špehar – Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food – Croatia
Organizing Committee
Nicolò Pietro Paolo Macciotta – University of Sassari – Italy
Gianni Battacone – University of Sassari – Italy
Antonello Cannas – University of Sassari – Italy
Andrea Rosati – European Federation for Animal Science (EAAP) – Italy
Federico Liguori – European Federation for Animal Science (EAAP) – Italy
Companies interested in exploring sponsorship opportunities for the event are kindly invited to direct their inquiries to Triumph at the following email address:
Triumph Italy Srl Benefit Corporation
HQ, Via Lucilio 60 – 00136 Rome, Italy
Branch office Florence: Viale Belfiore, 9 – 50144 Florence
Email: sponsoreaap@thetriumph.com
The easiest way to reach Sassari by plane is to fly to Alghero-Fertilia Airport (AHO), located about 30 km from the city. The airport is connected to several European cities with regular and seasonal flights, especially in spring and summer. From the airport, you can reach Sassari by bus, train, or taxi in about 30–40 minutes.
If you prefer to travel by sea, you can reach Sardinia by ferry. The nearest ports to Sassari are Porto Torres (about 20 minutes away by car) and Olbia (around 1 hour and 30 minutes away). Ferries to these ports operate regularly from several Italian cities such as Genoa, Livorno, and Civitavecchia, as well as from some French ports. From Porto Torres or Olbia, you can easily continue to Sassari by car, bus, or train.
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Professor in Animal Science.
Head of the Department of Animal Nutrition and Biotechnology, and Fisheries, Faculty of Animal Science, The University of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland.
Head of Doctoral School of The University of Agriculture in Krakow.
Author of over 800 publications, including 122 original papers in peer-reviewed indexed periodicals (Journal of Dairy Science, Journal of Animal Science, Livestock Production Science, Animal Feed Science and Technology). Author of many advisory publications for milk producers, cow and calf nutrition advisers and veterinarians.
The main fields of research activity include:
feeding of high-yielding cows,
monitoring and prevention of metabolic diseases in dairy cows, especially ketosis
protein, amino acids, and fats in dairy cow diets,
protein, and energy evaluation systems for ruminants,
systems of dairy calf rearing,
additives to promote the growth and development of dairy calves.
Co-author of a national monitoring system for subclinical ketosis of dairy cows based on the determination of ketone bodies in milk using the FTIR technique.
A very well-known in Poland speaker of numerous courses, lectures, and seminars for students, farmers, extension workers, feed distributors, and veterinarians. Supervisor of several PhD students, and coordinator of numerous scientific projects conducted on ruminants, mainly dairy cows and calves. Expert in practical dairy cow and dairy calf feeding.
Eleni Tsiplakou is a Full Professor at the Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology and Feeding in the Department of Animal Sciences and Aquaculture of the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA). She is teaching Ruminants Nutrition to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. In 2022, she also received the Italian Full Professor License by the Italian Higher Education System (ASN Universities). She is the Dean of the School of Animal Biosciences of the AUA. She is also the Director of the Inter-Departmental Postgraduate Program entitled “Integrated Management of Milk Production and Dairy Products,” co-organized by the Department of Animal Science and the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (2025-present). Eleni Tsiplakou received her BSc. (2005) and MSc. (2006) in Animal Sciences, followed by a Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition (2008) from the AUA. She conducted Post-Doctoral Research at Reading University (2009) and AUA (2010-2011) with a Fellowship from the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece (I.K.Y) which also supported her postgraduate studies (MSc and PhD) through two additional scholarships. Dr. Tsiplakou has received three scholarships from the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) to present papers at its Annual Conferences. Eleni Tsiplakou was the Vice-President of the Nutrition Commission of EAAP (2016-2019) while from 2010 to 2016 was Secretariat in the above Commission. Currently, she is also member of the Scientific Council of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (ETHEAS, 2023- onwards).
She is also a member of the Committee for the Initiative to create a structure aiming to provide advisory support to Livestock farmers for obtaining associated animal production at low cost from ETHEAS- Livestock Cooperatives and Universities (2025-onwards). She served as President of the Organizing Committee for the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) workshop on “Insect Genetic Improvement, Implementation, Impact” at AUA in 2025, and of the seminar on “Meeting of Experts in Wielding Thematic Fields of Animal Science” with contributions from the Industry Sector and Suppliers of nutritional additives, at AUA in 2024. She was also a member of the National Organizing Committee for the 61st Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) in Crete (2010) and the 7th Hellenic Conference on Technology in Animal Production in Thessaloniki (2019). She was Chairperson in 10 International and 2 National Conferences and Invited Speaker in 1 International Scientific Conference of EAAP (2020). She is currently an Associate Editor in the Italian Journal of Animal Science, having previously served as a Section Editor (20/3/2017-05/02/2021). Additionally, she has acted as Guest Editor for Special Issues of Scientific Journals such as: Foods, Animals and Frontiers in Animal Science. Eleni Tsiplakou is also Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Dairy Research, SciTz Nutrition and Food Science Journals.
To date, she has published over 140 Research Papers in peer-reviewed Scientific Journals, 6 Book Chapters, and over 165 Abstracts at National and International Scientific Conferences. Her current h-index is 31, according to the Scopus database (as of November 2025). She has coordinated 13 Research Projects and contributed to others 24, 6 of which funded by the EU. She has been External Evaluator in 17 International Research Projects and 19 for the Hellenic Foundation of Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.). She is an alternate member of the Appeals Committee for the evaluation of Research Proposals submitted within the framework of the 6th Action Announcement “Science and Society” entitled “Modern Nutritional Awareness” of the H.F.R.I., 2024. Additionally, she is Member of the Certified Experts Evaluators of the Hellenic Foundation of Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I) (2020- ).
She served as a Visiting Professor, for two months, at the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Parma. She has also acted as an External Evaluator and/or a Member of the Examination Committee for 16 Ph.D. theses from International Universities. Additionally, she has supervised 26 Bachelor’s, 5 M.Sc. and 5 Ph.D. theses, and 1 Post-Doctoral Researcher. So far, she has also acted as Member of the Evaluation Committee for the election of Academic Staff Members-Universities- (5) and Member of the Electorate Committee for the election of Academic Staff members-Universities- (6), and Researchers- Research Institute- (2). In 2017, she was honored with the Best Young Scientist Award by the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP). In 2019, she received an award from Friesland Campina Hellas in the “Idea Challenge” competition. Additionally, she has been ranked in the top 2% of Scientists Worldwide by Stanford University (Ioannidis list) for four consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
Marie-Odile Nozières-Petit is research engineer at INRAE, department ACT (Actions, Transitions and Territories), and holder of a PhD in Animal Production Science. She works within the UMR SELMET in Montpellier of which she is deputy director. This research unit is an international group focused on livestock production in Mediterranean and tropical areas with approximately 100 permanent and contractual staff around the world. The research of Marie-Odile Nozières-Petit focuses on changes in livestock farming systems, considering the marketing of livestock products, at the interface between production systems and sectors, as part of the agroecological transition of livestock farming systems, territories and value chains. She analyzes the management of livestock farming systems, the diversity of those, and the organization of related sectors and territories. Her research therefore falls within the disciplinary field of animal production systems science, which aims to analyze how livestock farming systems function, understand how their multi-performance is constructed on several temporal and spatial scales, and design innovative livestock farming systems that address the multiple challenges facing this agricultural sector.
Since the beginning of her career, Marie-Odile Nozières-Petit has been working in areas characterized by harsh environments, namely mountainous regions, and for more than 15 years in the southern France. The cases study she mobilizes are located in the French pastoral and agro-pastoral area, around the Mediterranean, south of the Massif Central, Massifs of the Pyrenees and the Alps, mainly in meat and dairy productions, from ovine and bovine sectors.She investigates a variety of situations involving the marketing of products from livestock farms in these areas, whether they are sold through long or short supply chains and, in several cases, under quality and origin certification schemes (PDO, PGI, Label Rouge, and organic farming).
Issues relating to fields’ observations gradually led Marie-Odile Nozières-Petit to broaden the scope of her research, while retaining marketing as the backbone of her analyses. She thus became interested in other factors determining changes in livestock farming systems, such as the impact of climate change or predation and implementation of protection measures in livestock farming systems (in this capacity, she is a member of the Coadapht research network). She has also focused on the transformations at specific moments in the life cycle of livestock farming systems, such as the settlement of new entrants. Finally, she has broadened this angle of analysis by adding to the functions of food production an understanding of the development of “other expected contributions,” particularly in the context of livestock farming systems that use small numbers of local breeds.
For ten years, she co-led the Mixt technology unit “Resources and transformations of pastoral livestock farming in Mediterranean territories,” a partnership between the Livestock Institute (Idele, INRAE, and the Agro-Montpellier Institute) (Nozières-Petit et al., 2021). For the last two years and currently, she co-leads a working group around thirty people from different disciplines within INRAE’s Joint Research Units (Animal scientists, Geneticists, Economists, Agronomists, Environmental scientists, Sociologists, Geographers) which is structuring a reflection on the contribution of research to the preservation, adaptation and development of pastoralism (Dedieu et al., 2025).
Giuseppe Pulina is Full Professor of Ethics and Sustainability of Livestock Systems at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, where he currently serves as Vice-Rector for Research. He is also President of the UNITEL-Sardegna consortium for online higher education.
Former Director of the Department of Agricultural Sciences and of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Sassari, he has held several national academic leadership roles, including President of the National Conference of Agricultural Faculties, Vice-President of AISSA, and President (now Emeritus) of the Italian Association for Animal Science and Production (ASPA).
Prof. Pulina is a Fellow of the Accademia dei Georgofili and the National Academy of Agriculture, and has been Visiting Professor at the Universities of Leeds (UK), Cornell (USA), and Perth (Australia). He currently chairs the non-profit association Carni Sostenibili, coordinates the Mignini & Petrini Academy Advisory Board, and serves on the Scientific Committee of Edagricole.
Author of over 420 scientific and technical publications, several books, and educational films, his research focuses on sustainable animal production, ethics of research, and science communication. He has been included among the top 2% most cited scientists worldwide (PLOS Biology, 2024) and ranks within the top 1,100 global animal and veterinary scientists (Research.com).
Director, Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN)
Professor, Animal Breeding and Farm Animal Husbandry, University of Rostock
Prof. Dr. Klaus Wimmers is an expert in the physiological, genetic, and epigenetic foundations underlying trait expression and differentiation, particularly in relation to animal welfare and resource efficiency. As Director of FBN and Professor at the University of Rostock, he leads a team focused on these themes and actively participates in FAANG (Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes) initiatives, contributing to genome annotation efforts in pigs and chickens.
Susanne Kreuzer-Redmer’s research focuses on the interaction between genetics, nutrition, and immunity in farm animals. A key area of her work is investigating the role of microRNAs as post-transcriptional gene regulators, as well as their potential as biomarkers—specifically circulating microRNAs in blood—to identify and monitor pathological conditions in animals.
In addition, she develops cell culture models for various species, including chickens, pigs, cattle, and horses, to explore the immunomodulatory effects of dietary components such as probiotics and functional feed additives. Dr. Kreuzer-Redmer also contributes to animal nutrition research at the European level, serving as Vice President of the Commission on Animal Nutrition of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP).
Ilan Halachmi is Senior Research Scientist, Head of the Lab For Precision livestock farming (PLF) at Volcani Institute.
Ilan grew up on a happy four-generation family farm, cultivating livestock and varied seasonal arable farming. The farm is still active in the family. Ilan had a mechanical engineering BSc study at the Technion Haifa, an MSc in BGU, and PhD in Wageningen, Netherlands.
Selected International EU research projects: 2020 EU Horizon – ‘TechCare’; ‘Sm@RT’, EU-FACCE- ‘FreeWalk’; ‘OptiBarn’ Optimized animal-specific barn climatization facing temperature rise and increased climate variability. EU-FP7: ‘EU-PLF- Bright Farm by Precision Livestock Farming. ‘Bio-business.. EU-FP6. Optiscore – creation of animal condition scoring protocols using new electronic sensors.
Christina Ligda works as a Research Director in the Veterinary Research Institute in Thessaloniki (Hellenic Agricultural Organization – DIMITRA). She holds a Phd in Agriculture, in Animal Genetics and Breeding, from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her research interests and expertise refer to animal breeding with focus on dairy sheep and goats, genetic diversity of farm animal genetic resources, conservation schemes for small populations, sustainable production systems and breeding schemes. She is the Chair of the EAAP Mediterranean WG; National Coordinator for the management of AnGR at FAO and ERFP. of the ERFP SC (European Regional Focal Point for AnGR); Member of the Editorial Board of the Genetic Resources Journal; Member of the Editorial Advisory Group of Small Ruminant Research; Vice-Chair of the Hellenic Association of Animal Science. She participated in (or coordinated) several international, national and bilateral projects on genetic evaluation of dairy sheep and cattle, genetic diversity, conservation of AnGR and sustainable breeding schemes. Selected projects: Εuropean Network for interactive and innovative knowledge exchange on animal health and nutrition between the sheep industry actors and stakeholders – EUROSHEEP (HORIZON 2020); HORIZON 2020 MSCA – RISE HIGHLANDS.2; HORIZON 2020-SFS-2017-1, Coordination and support action FARMERS’ PRIDE www.farmerspride.eu; Breeding and management practices towards resilient and productive sheep and goat systems based on locally adapted breeds – PerFORM / www.arim-perform.net (funded in the frame of the ARIMNet ERANET project); Mediterranean biodiversity as a tool for the sustainable development of the small ruminant sector: from traditional knowledge to innovation – DoMEsTIc / www.arim-domestic.net (funded in the frame of the ARIMNet ERANET project) (Coordinator of the Consortium); Genetic Adaptation of bovine LIvestock and production systems in the MEDiterranean region – GALIMED (funding INRA); Heritage Sheep (EC 870/04); Sustainable conservation of animal genetic resources in marginal rural areas: integrating molecular genetics, socio-economics and geostatistical approaches (ECONOGENE – QLRT-2000-02461); PASTOMED (Interreg IIIC)
