Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 6/8/22

For North Carolina State University alumna Débora Holanda, her interest in pig health and welfare began when she was a young girl while visiting her grandfather’s pig farm in Brazil. 

“I used to go there every weekend and spend time with my grandfather and learn about pig health and welfare,” says Holanda. After earning a veterinary degree from a university in Brazil, she began working on her grandfather’s farm.

“I noticed that nutrition was a very important piece of pig production. It accounts for the majority of the cost. If you don’t have nutrition, you don’t have growth and then don’t have reproduction. Or pigs get sick,” says Holanda. Nutrition, per Holanda, is a key component to have a successful pig production operation. 

But after spending time on the farm, Holanda started to miss the university environment and being connected with the research community. She went on to earn a master’s degree in pig nutrition and decided to go abroad for her doctoral studies. Her advisor at the time had previously been a visiting scholar at NC State and had connections with faculty at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

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