Shear delight for Alex after Woolmen scholarship

_{"Alex Morris receives her award from Master Woolman Mark Johnson"}

A PhD student at Scotland’s Rural College has been awarded a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Woolmen.

Alex Morris, who is researching whether behaviour change in livestock can be used as an indicator of parasite infection, was named the most promising student undertaking a PhD associated with sheep and wool in 2019.

The Worshipful Company of Woolmen grew out of the ancient Guild which regulated the wool trade and is one of the oldest livery companies of the City of London, tracing its roots to 1180.

Its charitable trust supports a wide range of wool-related research, including providing bursaries for students of wool, textile, design, wool marketing and retailing, and awarding prizes for sheep shearing at major agricultural shows.

Alex was invited to the livery company’s annual dinner in London where she received her award from Master Woolman Mark Johnson.

Alex, who also won the poster prize at a two-day conference showcasing SRUC’s research earlier this year, said: “I feel lucky to have received the award. I think the Worshipful Company of Woolmen is doing really great work giving sponsorships to support young researchers early in their career.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the opportunity to discuss my work with people within the company. The award will also give me more opportunities for the rest of my PhD.”

In advance of the dinner, Mark visited SRUC’s Edinburgh campus with Court Assistants The Right Reverend Peter Hullah and Kim Franklin to learn more about the ongoing research and development work in sheep at SRUC.

Dr Joanne Conington, Head of the Department of Agriculture, Horticulture and Engineering Sciences at SRUC’s Central Faculty, said: “It was an honour for us to have hosted the Worshipful Company of Woolmen here at SRUC and to showcase some of our excellent R&D associated with sheep.

“Their annual award to one lucky student each year is testament to their commitment to furthering knowledge and innovation for our sheep industry and we look forward to continue working with them in the future.”

Posted by SRUC on 25/10/2019