Dr Reza Barekatain

Biography

Dr Reza Barekatain leads the Pigs and Poultry Sub-Program at the South Australian Research and Development Institute. Reza has a strong background in nutrition, digestive physiology, and intestinal health of monogastric animals with the main specialisation in poultry. Since completion of his PhD program, Dr Barekatain has more than 11 years’ experience in leading research on poultry nutrition and gut health where he has been working closely with multiple national and international companies and funding organisations to address key industry priorities.

He is particularly passionate about interactions of nutrition and gut health to develop resilience to enteric disorders and stress faced by monogastric animals under intensive farming systems. The main focus of his recent projects has been on the use of reduced protein diets, intestinal health biomarkers, intestinal inflammation and permeability in broilers.

As part of various poultry research projects, Dr Barekatain has used different methods to study and quantify intestinal permeability, expression of tight junction proteins, inflammation, and immune function genes as well as intestinal microbiota.

Research interests

• Poultry nutrition and metabolism
• Intestinal health and barrier function
• Intestinal integrity and permeability
• Evaluation of ingredients and feed additives
• Gene expression

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy, Poultry nutrition and gut health, University of New England, 2013

Professional affiliations

• Committee member, PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee, Category B, Scientist
• Associate Editor for Animal Nutrition, Poultry Science and Animal Production Science
• Australian Poultry Science Symposium 2025, Handling Editor