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Dan Shike

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Professor and Interim Head

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Shike identifies management and nutritional strategies that not only improve the reproduction and longevity of beef cows, but also optimize growth, efficiency, and carcass traits of the cow\'s offspring. Collectively this work leads to the efficient, sustainable production of an affordable, abundant food supply.

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Crystal A. Allen

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Lecturer

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Allen teaches students across campus about the importance of animals and biotechnology in their daily lives. She also leads students on Study Abroad trips to Tanzania and Zimbabwe to assist with research as well as experience global issues. She emphasizes global thinking and encourages students to explore the world of animals.

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Adrienne Antonson

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Antonson investigates the prenatal origins of neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders. She uses animal models of pathogen or environmental insults during pregnancy to identify detrimental immune communication pathways between maternal and fetal systems, which can be targeted for therapeutic intervention.

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Courtney Archer

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Assistant Professor

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Camila U. Braz

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Braz seeks to understand the interaction between the genome and environmental factors, and how it affects animal physiology leading to adaptation. She explores a variety of genetic information (genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics) and computational biology techniques to identify biomarkers affecting particular physiological functions of animals raised in different environmental conditions. Such information can be used to better understand environmental adaptation; improve animal production, reproduction, and health; and reduce the environmental impact of livestock production.

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Tiago Bresolin

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Bresolin\'s research focuses on applying statistical and computational biology methods in genetic-genomic studies and to analyze large farm datasets; exploring sensing technologies and machine learning techniques to generate novel and difficult-to-measure individual\'s observable traits; and implementing machine learning approaches to integrate animal omics datasets. His research will help to improve animal production, health, and welfare, and mitigate the environmental footprint.

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Nate Brookshire

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VST LIVESTOCK SPEC

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Elli Burris

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Instructor, Meats Judging Coach

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Isaac Cann

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Cann examines genes and corresponding enzymes that catalyze efficient conversion of plant biomass to sugars in order to help develop sustainable, renewable energy for the world. He is advancing knowledge in plant cell wall hydrolysis in ruminants, fiber digestion in the human gut, DNA replication in methane producing microorganisms, and microbial peptide-induced cell apoptosis in fibrotic diseases.

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Phil Cardoso

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Professor, Extension Faculty Specialist

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Cardoso addresses the most important challenges faced by the dairy industry through his research in nutrition and reproduction. He engages dairy producers to implement data-driven best management practices into their operation. He studies the mechanisms of metabolic adaptation from gestation to lactation and the impact of nutrition on metabolism, reproduction, and health.

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Maria Cattai de Godoy

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Associate Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Godoy is improving the quality of life and wellness of companion animals through research focusing on ingredient evaluation and foodomics, pet food technology, and therapeutic nutrition.

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Isabella Condotta

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Condotta reduces animal stress, improves animal well-being and environmental sustainability, and helps farmers make better and more efficient management decisions by developing precision management systems for animals. Her interdisciplinary research applies advanced technologies, such as image and audio processing and machine learning algorithms, to acquire and analyze individual animals’ electronic data, allowing continuous and automatic monitoring of their behavior, health, and well-being.

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Terence Crofts

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Assistant Professor

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Matthew J. Dean

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Dean works to increase reproductive efficiency in humans and animals by increasing our understanding of the ovary, oviduct, and uterus. Projects in his lab include understanding how the uterus stores nutrients to support early pregnancy, how endocrine disruption chemicals (EDCs) affect the function of the oviduct, and the early events in the development of ovarian cancer.

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Anna Dilger

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Professor, Associate Head and Director of Undergraduate Studies

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Dilger is advancing the use of performance-enhancing technologies in livestock production to provide high-quality meat products to consumers. Her research examines the molecular mechanisms related to increased animal growth, efficiency, and the effects on meat quality.

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Ryan N. Dilger

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Dilger conducts interdisciplinary research involving nutrition, immunology, and neuroscience. Working with pig and chicken models, his research solves practical nutrition issues faced by modern animal agriculture, and use of a translational pig model to study early-life effects of nutrition on the microbiome, immune system, and brain to improve both human and animal health and well-being.

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Jason L. Emmert

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Emmert seeks nutritional strategies to improve efficiency of nutrient utilization in broiler chicken diets, with the goal of reducing production costs and nutrient excretion. He actively contributes to the department’s teaching program and uses his interactions with animal sciences students to help them understand the depth and breadth of opportunities in the field.

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Amy Fischer

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Teaching Professor, Extension Faculty Specialist

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Fischer teaches courses pertaining to companion animal science, policy, and animal shelter management. Her teaching program includes coordination of experiential learning opportunities with a variety of animal service agencies. Her extension program focuses on animal shelter practices, pet retention, and humane population management of cats and dogs, including nonsurgical contraceptive methods.

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Jodi A. Flaws

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Adjunct Professor

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Megan Glowacz

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Instructor

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Bailey N. Harsh

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Harsh is improving the efficiency of lean meat production and the quality of fresh and processed meat products by developing technologies, applied production strategies, and evaluating consumer preferences. Her research focuses on providing answers to questions from industry partners and increasing consumer demand for meat products.

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Rodney Johnson

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Johnson is finding ways to promote, protect, and maintain brain health by studying communication pathways between the immune system and the brain. He investigates how infection, nutrition, and birth weight affect brain and cognitive development. He also studies how aging causes deterioration in brain health.

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Robert V. Knox

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Professor, Extension Faculty Specialist

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Knox helps swine producers around the world provide high quality pork to consumers. A national and international leader in applied swine reproductive management, his research focuses on swine fertility, stress, reproductive diagnostics, hormonal control of reproduction, and fertility of cryopreserved swine sperm.

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Anna V. Kukekova

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Associate Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Kukekova studies genetics of social behaviors. She works with unconventional animal models that hold a significant potential for understanding genetic regulation of affiliation, aggression, anxiety, and fear, social behaviors that are consistently associated with human neurological disorders. The identification of genes and gene networks involved in regulation of these behaviors can also be a subject of interest for animal breeding programs focused on selection for behavioral traits.

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Brett R. Loman

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Loman\'s interdisciplinary research improves animal and human gastrointestinal and mental health. By understanding how environmental factors such as nutrition and stress alter communication between the resident microbiota, intestine, and brain, his work strives to formulate dietary interventions that reduce gastrointestinal symptoms during functional gastrointestinal disorders, psychological stress, and cancer.
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Juan J. Loor

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Loor is an international leader in his field, advancing knowledge to better understand cattle development while helping feed a growing world population. He studies nutritional and physiological genomics during the neonatal, lactation, and rapid growth periods in both beef and dairy cattle.

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Roderick I. Mackie

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Mackie is advancing animal health, biofuel production, and food safety through his research in microbiology. His work focuses on anaerobic microbiology and fermentations, molecular microbial ecology in gut ecosystems, degradation of plant cell wall polymers and biomass, nitrogen metabolism, anaerobic waste digestion, and antibiotic resistance genes.

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Nohra E. Mateus-Pinilla

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Clinical Assistant Professor

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Josh McCann

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Associate Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. McCann studies the influence of nutrition on metabolism and growth of feedlot cattle by characterizing ruminal fermentation and the gut microbiome. His work contributes to the sustainability and profitability of feedlot cattle operations that provide high-quality beef to consumers. '); document.write('

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Robert H. McCusker

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Research Assistant Professor

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David J. Miller

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Miller is advancing knowledge in mammalian fertilization and early development. His work has led to novel ways of storing sperm outside of the reproductive tract and greater accuracy in estimating male fertility, allowing livestock producers to improve and control farm animal fertility. His research also helps human medical professionals provide better services to their patients.

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Erik Nelson

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Keith W. and Sara M. Kelley Endowed Professorship of Immunophysiology

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Derek T. Nolan

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Teaching Assistant Professor, Extension Faculty Specialist

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Nolan helps dairy producers reach their goals by providing tools to make informed management decisions and improve milk quality. He focuses on providing hands-on experiences that help youth better understand the dairy cow and dairy production system.

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Romana A. Nowak

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Nowak�s research focuses on female reproductive biology, particularly on uterine biology. Her laboratory studies early embryo development, embryo implantation, placentation, and reproductive diseases in women using several different animal models. Dr. Nowak�s research provides insight into important aspects of reproductive biology, including how environmental factors impact reproductive diseases and infertility in women.

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Patricia Massae Oba

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Clinical Assistant Professor

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Carl M. Parsons

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Parsons is developing high quality feeds to enhance the growth and health of humans and animals. Although his primary focus is on poultry nutrition, he also studies nutrition of humans, ruminants, companion animals, fish, and zoo animals with an emphasis on feed ingredient and foodstuffs evaluation.

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Kent D. Rausch

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PROF

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Mission Statement

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Modern grain processes produce a high-valued primary product with an assortment of low-valued coproducts. Dr. Rausch improves nutrient separation in processing streams so the resulting coproducts are better suited to the end user and more valuable to the producer. Improved separation increases efficiency, reduces the environmental footprint, and increases sustainability of grain processing.

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Sarah D. Richardson

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Senior Instructor

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Mission Statement

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Sarah Richardson teaches courses pertaining to companion animals, the human-animal bond, and our interactions and relationships with many other animals. She also coordinates a variety of experiential learning opportunities with state and local animal organizations and businesses, along with the annual companion animal spring break trip that gives undergraduate students the chance to explore companion animal career opportunities available around the country.

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Jason M. Ridlon

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Associate Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Ridlon is helping find treatment strategies to improve human health and animal well-being. He studies gut microbiology, specifically the biochemistry and molecular biology of steroid and bile acid biotransformations by the gut microbiota. He is trying to understand how microbial metabolites promote gastrointestinal tract diseases such as liver and colorectal cancers, as well as essential hypertension.

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Michael Robben

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Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Robben is an early adopter of emerging multi-omic sequencing methods that will be key to understanding complex biological systems involving immune interactions in both human and animal models. Dr. Robben develops molecular, genomic, and machine learning tools for the combined analysis of sequencing and imaging data and uses them to find the underlying cause of immune cell dysfunction in both cancer and autoimmune disease.

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Alfred L. Roca

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Roca conducts genetic studies on wildlife and domesticated animals. He uses DNA from elephants to determine conservation priorities for the species and to establish the geographic origins of confiscated ivory. He also studies �endogenous� retroviruses, which are retroviral copies that have become permanent components of the DNA of humans and animals, and can impact their health.

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Sandra L. Rodriguez-Zas

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Professor, Associate Head and Director of Graduate Studies

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Alicia M. Schneider

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Instructor

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Bruce R. Southey

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Research Assistant Professor

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Andrew J. Steelman

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Steelman investigates the impact of environmental factors such as infection, nutrition, and environmental and psychological stress on the intercellular communication pathways between cells of the brain and the immune system.

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Hans H. Stein

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Professor, Extension Faculty Specialist

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Stein evaluates energy and nutrient digestibility and metabolism in monogastric animals, including humans. He makes discoveries in the area of energy, mineral, carbohydrate, and amino acid absorption and utilization with applications for pig, as well as for humans.

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Kelly S. Swanson

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Professor; Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences

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Mission Statement

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The Swanson lab studies the effects of nutritional intervention on health outcomes, identifying how nutrients impact host physiology and gut microbiota, with primary emphasis on gastrointestinal health and obesity. His research is contributing to the development of diets to help prevent obesity and other health-related issues in humans and animals.

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Matthew Taves

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Assistant Professor

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Matthew B. Wheeler

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Wheeler is a tireless advocate for using embryo technologies to improve genetics of livestock and reduce food insecurity throughout the world. He is advancing technology in both livestock production and human medicine through his research on embryo/developmental biology, stem cells, cloning, transgenic livestock, reproduction, genomics, and regenerative biology.

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