Expertise relevant to Cluster 6
The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) combines a Veterinary Academy and a Medical Academy in one university. This makes it a natural One Health partner covering the whole chain from farm to fork to human health. Our core Cluster 6 expertise includes:
– livestock health, welfare and performance: dairy and beef cattle health, animal welfare indicators, housing and management, precision livestock farming;
– feed additives and feed technologies for GHG mitigation and feed efficiency, including enteric methane measurement and fermented feeds;
– livestock, food and environmental microbiomes, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR): whole-genome sequencing, shotgun metagenomics, resistome analysis;
– food safety and quality of dairy, meat, fish and plant-based products;
– functional foods, fermentation and bioconversion, alternative proteins, and valorisation of agricultural and food-processing by-products;
– consumer food choice, sensory acceptance and market uptake of innovative foods;
– wildlife health and the links between farming, biodiversity and human health.
Experience in Cluster 6-related projects
– H2020 HoloRuminant (2021–2026): ruminant microbiomes and their effects on health, welfare and production efficiency
– JPIAMR project ENVIRE (2022–2025): interventions to control AMR in poultry farms and their environment, with partners in Germany, France, Poland and Tunisia
– FP7-KBBE, ERA-NET SUSFOOD2, ERA-NET CORE Organic and Interreg Baltic Sea Region projects on sustainable food processing, organic dairy cattle health and manure management
– COST Actions on sourdough biotechnology (LSMU as Vice-Chair), acrylamide reduction, veterinary antimicrobial treatment and positive animal welfare
– EUREKA projects, several EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, and national projects funded by the Research Council of Lithuania and the Ministry of Agriculture
– European patent applications for fermented feed, probiotic feed additives and a non-invasive ruminant monitoring system
Research infrastructure and pilot facilities
– A network of commercial and partner farms across Lithuania covering all major livestock and poultry species and aquaculture. It includes organic and conventional farms, short food supply chains and slaughterhouses, with approx. 1,500–2,000 lactating cows available for dairy trials
– Sensors and automatic milking systems (smaXtec, RumiWatch, Lely, DeLaval, Brolis HerdLine), plus laser-based enteric methane detection
– Food microbiology, dairy technology and molecular laboratories; in-house bioinformatics for Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing data
– Open Access Centre with UHPLC–high-resolution MS and GC–MS for bioactive compounds, aroma and food composition
– Large and Small Animal Clinics, Institute of Animal Science, Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Institute for Digestive Research
Our role in collaborative projects
LSMU joins consortia as a work package or task leader, or as a partner. We run on-farm validation and intervention trials (up to TRL 7), coordinate longitudinal sampling, and provide well-characterised animal cohorts, samples and data. We develop and validate methods for welfare, microbiome, AMR and food safety assessment, and we develop and test food prototypes, including sensory and consumer studies. We also lead training and knowledge transfer to farmers and the food industry.
Why partner with LSMU
– Access to real commercial farms, food producers and real-world data, not only experimental settings
– One institution covering animal, food and human health. The Hospital of LSMU Kauno klinikos, the largest healthcare institution in the Baltic states, enables links between food-chain and human clinical data
– Established industry partners and collaborators across Europe and beyond
– Coverage of the Baltic region, strengthening geographical balance in consortia
– A dedicated Projects Office supporting proposal preparation and project management
