Kristy Digiacomo

Associate Professor Kristy DiGiacomo serves as Senior Lecturer in Production Animals in the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, Faculty of Science, at the University of Melbourne. Her primary research interest is Production Animal Nutrition. She graduated with a Bachelor of Animal Science and Management (honours) from the University of Melbourne and later obtained her PhD from the same university, examining topics in animal production. DiGiacomo's career at the University of Melbourne has progressed from lecturer to her current associate professor role, where she contributes to teaching subjects such as Comparative Nutrition and Digestion and Nutrition and Feed Science.

DiGiacomo's research focuses on nutritional strategies to enhance livestock resilience to environmental challenges like heat stress, rumen fermentation characteristics, protein protection in feeds, and sustainable protein sources including insect meals and novel feed additives. Key publications include 'A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Dietary Betaine on Milk Production, Growth Performance, and Carcass Traits of Ruminants' (2024), 'In vitro rumen fermentation and protein protection of canola and soybean meals using tannin extract from Bauhinia hookeri' (2025), 'Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as a sustainable source of nutritive and bioactive compounds, and their consumption challenges' (2023), 'In vitro protein protection of protein meals using Bioprotect and tannin extract from red grape marc' (2024), 'Review: Insect meal: a future source of protein feed for pigs?', 'Effects of Raw and Pasteurized Camel Milk on Metabolic Responses in Pigs Fed a High-Fat Diet', and 'Factors influencing small ruminant colostrum quality - a comprehensive review from 2020 to present'. Her scholarly work has accumulated over 1,300 citations. As a Veski Sustainable Agriculture Fellow, she advances sustainable practices in animal agriculture. DiGiacomo is an Associate Editor for Ruminant and Herbivore Nutrition in the journal Animal Nutrition and serves on the organising committee for the Australasian Dairy Science Symposium 2026. She participated in the Homeward Bound program, traveling to Antarctica as part of a women in STEMM leadership initiative.

Professional Email: kristyd@unimelb.edu.au