Noirin McHugh
Research Officer - Beef and Sheep GeneticistResearch Interests
- Beef and sheep systems
- Phenotyping strategies
- Breeding Objectives
- Genetic and genomic evaluations
- Breeding programme design
- Decision support tools
Current Projects
SustainHill: Development of a breeding strategy for the Irish hill sheep sector using genetic and genomic tools (2026-2030; Funded through DAFM Stimulus Award)
CleanBreeding: Global optimization of breeding for reduced methane emissions in small ruminants (2025-2029; Funded through Global Methane Hub)
OviSeq: from genome to phenome, advancing genetic gain in sheep through genomics (2022-202; Funded through Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme)
OviFEC: Developing genetic parameters for resistance to gastrointestinal nematode infections in lambs and their incorporation into the Irish national breeding programme (2022-2026; Funded through DAFM Stimulus Award)
SustainSheep: Sustainable ruminant breeding programs for low environmental footprint (2024-2027; Funded through Green ERA-Hub)
TermVal: Validation of the terminal breeding objective across contrasting production systems (2026-2030; Funded through Teagasc Core budget)
INZAC: Irish-New Zealand across country comparison of sheep genetic indexes (2016-2025; Funded through Teagasc Core budget)
Education
- BAgrSc Agricultural Science (Animal Science) University College Dublin 2008
- PhD Genetics of animal price and live-weight University College Dublin 2011
Career
Upon completion of my PhD in 2011, I joined Teagasc as a Research Officer. I am an Irish sheep and beef genetics researcher who devotes a considerable amount of time to developing new phenotypes. I lead a number of internal and external projects focused on improving the national cattle and sheep breeding objectives. I designed and established the ongoing divergent research experiments in sheep and beef and currently manage the sheep trial. I work closely with Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and Sheep Ireland, the national bodies responsible for genetic evaluations in cattle and sheep.