As a first-year veterinary student at the University ofLiverpool, I was fortunate enough to receive funding from the AVTRW Acorn Award to study the effect of a probiotic supplement on the incidence and severity of Cryptosporidia in pre-weaned dairy calves. The aim was to establish if the pro-active supplementation of a probiotic reduced both the incidence and severity of Cryptosporidia, which is the leading cause of diarrhoea and neonatal mortality in calves.

The project found that the probiotic supplement had no significant effect on the incidence or severity of Cryptosporidia and whilst there was a difference in the incidence of scour between the two test pens, there was no way to attribute this solely to the presence of Cryptosporidia as the calves also tested positive for rotavirus during the study period.

Whilst the probiotic was found to have no effect, our study revealed several alternative husbandry measures that could be avenues forfuture research to assess their potential impact on reducing the spread of Cryptosporidia and mitigating its effects on calves.

The funding from the AVTRW Acorn Award allowed me to develop numerous new husbandry and handling skills, as well as learn new skills in a laboratory setting. These skills are already aiding me as I progress in my course, and I am excited to put them to further use in future research projects. As an Acorn Award recipient, I was also fortunate to attend and present at the AVTRW annual conference at the University of Lancashire. This is the first conference I have attended, and the experience allowed me to become amore confident presenter; the atmosphere made it a truly enjoyable experience.I also learnt a lot about other areas within the veterinary field and research that is currently being carried out. I cannot recommend the AVTRW award andconference enough to future applicants.