Elham Assadi Soumeh

Dr Elham (Ellie) Assadi Soumeh is an Associate Professor in Animal Science and Production at the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland. She holds a BSc in Animal Science, an MSc in Animal Nutrition, and a PhD in Animal Nutrition and Physiology, with a focus on monogastric species, particularly poultry and swine. Dr Soumeh completed her PhD at Aarhus University in Denmark, where her research focused on the requirements and metabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in weaned pigs and the metabolic profiling of high-performing pigs fed optimal BCAA levels. Following her PhD, she worked as a Senior Scientist at Cargill BV in the Netherlands, leading customer-focused research in monogastric nutrition. Her work there spanned nutrient metabolism, gut health, and nutritional strategies aimed at improving production efficiency. Her current research explores the role of nutrition in modulating gut microbiota composition and function, and how these microbial shifts influence host metabolism, health, and productivity. She is particularly interested in the interplay between dietary components, gut microbial ecology, and the physiological responses of monogastric animals. Dr Soumeh's work addresses practical and emerging challenges in animal nutrition, with an emphasis on sustainable feeding practices and precision nutrition. Her research findings have been widely published in high-impact scientific journals and presented at leading international conferences and symposiums. Nutrition-Microbiota-Host Axis: Investigating the role of diet in shaping gut microbiota composition and function, and its subsequent impact on host metabolism, immunity, and overall health. Sustainable and Functional Feed Ingredients: Evaluation of alternative and novel feed ingredients (e.g. insect-based proteins) to improve sustainability and maintain or enhance nutrient digestibility and animal performance. Gut Health and Nutritional Physiology: Nutritional strategies to support gastrointestinal integrity, nutrient absorption, and systemic metabolic responses in monogastric animals. Amino Acids requirements, metabolism, and nutrition: Amino acids requirements, metabolism, and precision feeding strategies for poultry and swine to optimize growth, health, and production efficiency.

[2025] Integrated faecal microbiota and blood metabolic changes following different dietary zinc oxide levels in weaned piglets. Soumeh, Elham Assadi, Nielsen, Tina Skau, Hedemann, Mette Skou and Curtasu, Mihai Victor (2025). Integrated faecal microbiota and blood metabolic changes following different dietary zinc oxide levels in weaned piglets. Scientific Reports, 15 (1) 18346, 1-15. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03103-7 [2026] The nutritional quality of broiler meat through dietary inclusion of food-waste–derived full-fat black soldier fly larvae. Alafif, Mohammad S., Hoffman, Louwrens C., Almutiri, Faris F., Cozzolino, Daniel, Roura, Eugeni, Abdollahi, M. Reza and A. Soumeh, Elham (2026). The nutritional quality of broiler meat through dietary inclusion of food-waste–derived full-fat black so