On May 23rd, the 13th Alltech Young Scientist held by Alltech Company concluded at the headquarter in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Liu Yanli, postgraduate student of 2017 in animal nutrition and feed science from College of Animal Science and Technology, as the project's champion of the postgraduate group in the Asia-Pacific region, together with other regional champions, joined the company’s "ONE Concept” Conference (ONE18) stage and competed for the global championship.

The title of Liu Yanli’s paper for this competition is "Study on Effects of Folic Acid on Lipid Metabolism in Primary Hepatocyte of Chicken Based on Protein and Metabolomics Technology”. According to Liu Yanli, abdominal fat deposition caused by abnormal lipid metabolism is a serious problem in the poultry breeding process. Unlike mammals, lipid metabolism in poultry occurs mainly in the liver. Several studies have shown that folic acid has an important relationship with the regulation of lipid metabolism. This study used the chicken primary hepatocyte culture model to explore the molecular mechanism of folic acid regulating lipid metabolism in poultry, and to provide basis for the reasonable adjustment of folic acid in poultry diet to prevent abdominal fat deposition.

It is reported that the Alltech Young Scientist is a global academic competition organized by Alltech, which aims to cultivate and encourage students to carry out innovative research on agricultural and food production issues in the future world, having a high influence in the industry. Up to now, doctoral student Liu Yanli is the only student from NWAFU to be a finalist in the project's global competition. Liu Yanli said that participating in this competition in the United States is a good opportunity for learning, and it is very helpful for developing international perspectives and enhancing innovative thinking, which is also a self-challenging experience. In the process of competing with the other three champions from other regions for the first place in the global championship, she has learned a lot of experience and realized her own weakness. In the future, she will use this competition as the driving force to constantly challenge herself, improve herself, and surpass herself.

Translated by: Ruan Shuling
Proofread by: Zhang Xiaorong