Objective 1 

To coordinate an international training network, consisting of 12 beneficiaries, 8 partner organisations and 14 promising Early Stage Reasearchers (ESRs).  ESRs will be trained in academic and transferable skills, and in effective science communication to other scientists, industry, government regulators, and the general public. This will enhance their employability in animal science and the farm animal industry, and their ability to influence decision makers.  

Objective 2 

To train the ESRs in a creative, interdisciplinary and integrative approach that provides an understanding of the genetic, neurobiological, and environmental factors that influence poultry stress responses. This will be done in a suite of 4 scientific Work Packages, designed with 4 interrelated foci:

• To understand the development, anatomy, and adult function of the network of brain areas that regulates the stress response in poultry. 
• To investigate the role of genetics and gene expression in stress responsivity. 
• To establish the effects of different early-life experiences on stress responsivity. 
• To study the responses of hens to different rearing and housing conditions.