Rate My Professor Diana Turpin

Diana Turpin is a Lecturer in Animal Production and Science in the School of Veterinary and Life Sciences at Murdoch University. She holds BSc, BVMS, and PhD degrees from Murdoch University. Her 2017 PhD thesis, titled 'The gradual weaning of piglets: The influence of intermittent suckling and co-mingling on performance, behaviour and gastrointestinal development,' was conducted under the supervision of John Pluske and Pieter Langendijk as part of Pork CRC Program 1. This work explored innovative strategies for sow-piglet separation during lactation to mitigate weaning stress, induce lactational oestrus, and enhance post-weaning outcomes.

Turpin's research specializations include piglet weaning regimes, intermittent suckling, co-mingling of non-littermate piglets, stress physiology such as cortisol responses, gastrointestinal tract development and carbohydrate absorption, and sow reproductive performance. Key publications encompass 'Gastrointestinal tract (gut) health in the young pig' (2018), 'Intermittent suckling with or without co-mingling of non-littermate piglets before weaning improves piglet performance in the immediate post-weaning period when compared with conventional weaning' (2017), 'Lactational oestrus and reproductive performance following a delayed limited nursing schedule in primiparous sows' (2017), 'Improving welfare and production in the peri-weaning period: Effects of co-mingling and intermittent suckling on the stress response, performance, behaviour, and gastrointestinal tract carbohydrate absorption in young pigs' (2017), 'Mannitol and galactose as markers of gastrointestinal tract morphology in pigs after gradual or conventional weaning' (2017), 'Intermittent Suckling Causes a Transient Increase in Cortisol That Does Not Appear to Compromise Selected Measures of Piglet Welfare and Stress' (2016), and 'Intermittent suckling influences the performance of pigs before and after weaning' (2013). Her research has earned 493 citations on ResearchGate. Awards include the Australian Pork Limited Award in the Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the 2013 Australasian Pig Science Association student presentation award. She supervises PhD students on topics such as next-generation robotics for livestock surveillance.