Research Scientist - Nutrition
P.O. Box 21057,
2105 8th Street East,
Saskatoon, CANADA S7H 5N9
Phone (306) 667-7445
Fax (306) 955-2510

E-mail: click here

Dr Leterme joined the Prairie Swine Centre as Research Scientist – Nutrition in 2005. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Animal & Poultry Science of the University of Saskatchewan where he is involved in teaching and graduate student training. He leads the Centre’s Nutrition program, with a particular focus on ingredient evaluation and on the study of the functional properties of ingredient components, such as fermentable carbohydrates or essential fatty acids.

Prior to joining the Prairie Swine Centre, Dr Leterme was employed at the Gembloux Agricultural University in Belgium, where he conducted studies on digestive physiology in pigs, especially on the endogenous protein losses. He then worked for 5 years as a Professor of Animal Nutrition at the National University of Colombia (campus of Palmira), where he established a new research laboratory in animal nutrition. He also developed sustainable pork production systems based on local feed ingredients and conducted studies on the biochemistry of digestion of bean proteins. Afterwards, he joined the National Veterinary School of Lyon, France, where he taught Animal Production Systems.

Education

• BSc and MSc: Agricultural University of Gembloux (Belgium), 1985
• PhD: Agricultural University of Gembloux (Belgium), 1995
• HDR, University Lyon I, France

Awards and Recognition

• Recipient of a post-doctoral fellowship of the A. von Humboldt Foundation (Berlin, Germany), 1996
• Honorary Professor of the National University of Colombia, “in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the academic development of the University”. 2007

Current Research Program

• Feed ingredient evaluation
• Nutritional value of peas and flaxseed meal in growing pigs and sows
• Net energy content of canola meals and full-fat canola seeds in swine
• Functional properties of ingredient components
• Effect of the fermentable carbohydrates of barleys on gut health
• Effect of the omega-3 fatty acids of flaxseed on the reproduction performances of the sow

Committees/Professional Association Memberships

• Elected member of the Scientific Committee of the European Association for Grain Legume Research, 1992
• Scientific Committee of the European Association for Grain Legume Research, 1992-2007

Graduate Students

• Rajesh Jha (Ph.D. Candidate)
• Laura Eastwood (Ph.D. Candidate)

Selected Invited Presentations

• Western Nutrition Conference, Saskatoon, 2007 
• National Congress of Animal Production, Cali, Colombia Protein Quality in Swine Nutrition, 2002
• National Exhibition in Animal Production, Brussels, Belgium Real protein digestibility and endogenous losses in swine: interests for the industry, 1998
• Research Days on Swine Production in France, Paris Real protein digestibility in swine: interests for the industry, 1995

Selected Publications

• Pieper R., Jha R., Rossnagel B., Van Kessel A., Souffrant W., Leterme P. (2009) Effect of barley and oat cultivars with different carbohydrate compositions on the intestinal bacterial communities in weaned piglets.  FEMS Microbiology Ecology (in press)
• Montoya C., Lalles J.P.,  Beebe S., Souffrant W.B., Molle D., Leterme P. (2009) Susceptibility of phaseolin (Phaseolus vulgaris) subunits to trypsinolysis and influence of dietary level of raw phaseolin on protein digestion in the small intestine of rats. British Journal of Nutrition  (in press)
• Bindelle J., Buldgen A., Wavreille J., Agneessens R., Destain J.P., Leterme P. (2009) Influence of source and levels of dietary fiber on in vivo nitrogen excretion pathways in pigs and in vitro fermentation and protein synthesis by fecal bacteria.  Journal of Animal Science (in press)
• Leterme P., Londoño A., Muñoz J.E., Suarez J., Bedoya C., , Souffrant W., Buldgen A. (2009) Nutritive value of aquatic ferns (Azolla filiculoides Mitchell. and Salvinia molesta Lam.) in pigs. Animal Feed Science and Technology (in press)
• Montoya C., Leterme P., Victoria N., Toro O., Souffrant W.B., Beebe S.,  Lalles J.P. (2008) The susceptibility of phaseolin to in vitro proteolysis is highly variable across common bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris).  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56, 2183-2191
• Montoya C., Gomez S., Lalles J.P., Souffrant W.B., Beebe S.,  Leterme P.  (2008) In vitro and in vivo protein hydrolysis of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) genetically modified to express different phaseolin types. Food Chemistry 106, 1225-1233
• Montoya C., Leterme P.,  Beebe S., Souffrant W.B., Molle D., Lalles J.P. (2008) Phaseolin type and heat treatment influence the biochemistry of protein digestion in the rat intestine. British Journal of Nutrition  99, 531-539
• Bindelle J., Buldgen A., Wavreille J., Agneessens R., Destain J.P., Wathelet B., Leterme P.  (2007) The source of fermentable carbohydrates influences the in vitro protein synthesis of colonic bacteria in pigs. Animal 1, 1126-1133