Saranika Talukder

Dr Saranika Talukder is a veterinary scientist and animal nutritionist with over 16 years of academic and research experience across Australia and Bangladesh. Her career reflects a strong commitment to improving sustainable livestock systems, with a focus on ruminant nutrition, methane mitigation, animal health, climate resilience, and biosecurity.

Dr Talukder holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Chittagong and a Master’s in Animal Nutrition from Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Bangladesh). She began her academic career in 2008 as a Lecturer in Animal Nutrition at Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, where she was later promoted to Assistant Professor. In pursuit of advanced research training, she completed a PhD in Animal Science at the University of Sydney under a prestigious International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and FutureDairy funding. Following her PhD, she held an Endeavour Research Fellowship (Australian Govt.) at Charles Sturt University and later taught at Box Hill Institute in Victoria. From 2017 to 2023, she served as a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, contributing to teaching and multidisciplinary projects on animal production, nutrition and climate adaptation in dairy and beef cattle systems.

In 2023, Dr Talukder joined James Cook University as a Lecturer in Animal Nutrition. She coordinates the fifth-year intensive clinical rotations in the Bachelor of Veterinary Science program and teaches animal nutrition into second- and third-year veterinary science subjects. Dr Talukder has led or co-led several competitive research projects funded by AgriFutures Australia, Dairy Australia, Murray Dairy, and North Queensland producers. Her recent work includes evaluating tropical legumes and by-products for methane mitigation, assessing heat stress in sheep using sensor technology, exploring feed solutions for heat stressed animal and developing banana-based feed supplements in collaboration with Qld graziers and industry partners.

She has authored over 45 peer-reviewed publications and three books, with research featured in journals such as Animal Production Science, Virology, Theriogenology, and Animal Reproduction Science. Her research has been presented at national and international conferences (USA, Thailand, and China). With a strong commitment to regional collaboration and industry engagement, Dr Talukder’s work builds critical connections between academic research and practical solutions for the livestock sector in Northern Australia and beyond.

Grants

Collaboration with farmers, industry consultants, and service providers has been a cornerstone of her work. This involvement has led her to serve as an investigator or co-investigator in several industry projects and supervising higher degree research students.  She has secured following competitive research grants.

• Sensors to detect body temperature in heat-stressed sheep (James Cook University, Primary Investigator, 2025)
• An evaluation of the chemical composition and invitro methane production of novel legumes and a plant by-product (James Cook University, Primary Investigator, 2024) 
• Nutritional and in vitro gas fermentation study of a banana-based supplement block for beef cattle in Northern Australia (Commercial company, Primary Investigator, 2025)
• Exploring the impact of reproduction rates on carbon footprint in southeast Australian dairy herds (The University of Melbourne and Murray Dairy, Primary investigator, 2022)
• Use of oaten hay to support sustainable development of dairy production (AgriFutures Australia, Co-chief investigator, 2021-2025)
• Analysis of dairy greenhouse gas emission cost and mitigation strategies (Dairy Australia, Co-investigator, 2022)
• Methane Emissions Project (Murray Dairy, Co-investigator, 2021)
• How do interactions during grazing influence dairy herd performance (The University of Melbourne, Co-investigator, 2018)
• Effects of fish oil supplementation on broiler and mice (PRTC, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Primary investigator, 2011)

Awards/ Scholarships/Fellowships/Travel grants 

·         JCU AgTac travel support, James Cook University, 2025

·         Faculty publication grant, The University of Melbourne, 2023

·         Faculty Travel grant, The University of Melbourne, 2022

·         Winner of Science Communication Workshop organized by ARC CPTT, The University of Melbourne (2019)

·         Runner Up to Australian Dairy Conference (2014)

·         Finalist of emerging young scientist, Dairy Research Foundation, The University of Sydney (2014)

·         James Ramage Wright Research Scholarship, The University of Sydney (2013)

·         Eric Horatio Maclean Scholarship, The University of Sydney (2013)

·     Stock and Meat Industries Scholarship, The University of Sydney (2012)

·      International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, The University of Sydney (2011)

·         Australian Postgraduate Award, The University of Sydney (2011)

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Alpaca Industry Research Network Steering Group
• Member, Australian Association of Animal Science
• Member, Australian Association of Ruminant Nutrition

Current PhD students

o    S. K. Nath (2025), Primary supervision

o    G. Gigi (2025), Co-supervision

 Completed PhD student

·         Z. Li, Co-supervision, University of Melbourne, Thesis title: Investigate the effect of oaten hay use in Chinese dairy production

Media

• https://issuu.com/ruralnewsgroup/docs/dna48_june/20