top of page

Oct 5 - 6, 2022
St. Augustine, FL

Screenshot 2022-12-24 090732
IMG_2266
IMG_2467
IMG_2449
IMG_2121
IMG_2436
IMG_2439
IMG_2441
IMG_2469
IMG_2474
RFFM7467
IMG_2437
IMG_2443
IMG_2478
BOBW7890
QRBZ8784
WRFG2958
IMG_2446
DTUE9711
GKFC2234
IBHJ4649
SFZM5052
IMG_2481
IMG_2483
Screenshot 2022-12-24 090713
  • Another successful UF Animal Sciences Graduate Symposium in a beautiful venue in St. Augustine FL, sharing science! Great presentations from our group:

  • Aakilah Hernandez had an oral presentation on "Genome Wide Association Studies for Sweat Gland Properties in a Multibreed Angus-Brahman Population" - pg 12 abstract book
  • Andrea Nunez won the 2nd place in the oral competition for her presentation "GWAS and Breed Composition Analysis on Epidermis Properties in a Multibreed Angus-Brahman Population" - pg 50 abstract book

  • Gabriel Zayas won the 1st place in the oral competition for his presentation "Identification and Functional Annotation of Signatures of Selection in a Brangus commercial herd" - pg 52 abstract book

  • Ashley Beard presented a poster on "Using Single Cell RNA Sequencing as an Approach to Understanding Thermotolerance in Beef Cattle" - pg 11 abstract book

  • Fahad Rafiq presented a poster "The Analysis of the Genetic and Phenotypic Relationships Between Thermotolerance, Feed Efficiency, and Reproductive Performance in Brangus Heifers" - pg 12 abstract book

S. Texas Brahman Association (STBA) Annual Meeting and Symposium

Oct 30 - Nov 1, 2022
Floresville, TX

IMG_7120
IMG_E2430
  • Dr. Mateescu was invited by the South Texas Brahman Association (STBA) to attend the Annual Meeting and Symposium and give a presentation on "How can Brahman beef contribute to a nutritious and healthy diet?". You can watch the presentation HERE.

Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP)

Sept 5 - 9, 2022
Porto, Portugal

EAAP2022
IMG_2294
IMG_2225
IMG_2224
IMG_2362
IMG_2339
IMG_2386
IMG_2316
  • Dr. Mateescu attended the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) in Porto, Portugal. The European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) Annual Meeting gives an opportunity for the application of new ideas in practice through many parallel sessions, a plenary meeting, poster presentations, and discussions about scientific achievements in livestock production all around the world.
  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Understanding the genetic architecture of the thermotolerance – production complex in beef cattle". See pdf for more info on the oral presentation. She also organized and co-chaired with Dr. Yuri Montanholi the section "Heat stress and other adaptations to implications of climate change"

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP)

July 3 - 8, 2022
Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Banner-WCGALP-1536x351-1
  • Dr. Mateescu attended the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This congress is the premier conference for researchers and professionals involved in genetic improvement of livestock. Delegates from around the world gather every four years to attend the scientific program and to network with colleagues.
  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Genetic analyses reveal the genetic architecture of the thermotolerance – production complex in beef cattle". See pdf for more info on the oral presentation. Dr. Fernanda Rezende also attended the congress and presented "Pleiotropic effects on carcass and meat quality traits in crossbred beef cattle" - see pdf for abstract.

American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Annual Meeting and Trade Show

June 26 - 30, 2022
Oklahoma City, OK

okc_2022_logo_1
2022-06-28 12.49.52
2022-06-28 10.51.12
2022-06-30 08.33.50-2
2022-06-29 14.29.15
2022-06-29 14.27.46
2022-06-29 14.29.52
2022-06-30 08.33.50-1
2022-06-28 17.29.29
2022-06-26 21.00.50
  • Aakilah Hernandez, Andrea Nunez, Gabriel Zayas, Eduardo Rodriguez and Dr. Mateescu attended the American Society for Animal Science (ASAS) Annual Meeting and Trade Show  in Oklahoma City, OK.
  • They had the opportunity to attend technical presentations, poster sessions, workshops, and mingle with other researchers.

  • Aakilah presented "Genome-Wide Association Study for Sweat Gland Area in Multi-Breed Brahman-Angus Population". See pdf for more info on the poster.

  • Andrea presented "Effect of Breed Composition and Genome-Wide Association Study on Epidermis Thickness in a Multibreed Angus-Brahman Population". See pdf for more info on the oral presentation.

  • Gabriel presented "Incorporating Breed of Origin and Runs-of-Homozygosity Information in a Genome-Wide Association for Meat Traits in a Brangus Commercial Herd". See pdf for more info on the poster.

  • Eduardo presented "Genome-Wide Association and Gene Network Analysis of Fatty Acid Composition in Beef from Brangus Cattle". See pdf for more info on the poster.

  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Genetic Correlations Underlying the Thermotolerance: Production Complex in Beef Cattle". See pdf for more info on the oral presentation. She also organized and chaired the Special Symposium "Small Ruminant Symposium: Current Status of Genomics Research in Sheep"

Golden Helix Webinar

March 25, 2020

Kaitlyn SVS
  • Kaitlyn Sarlo Davila was awarded the third-place in the 2020 Abstract Competition held by Golden Helix (global bioinformatics firm developing genomic data analysis software).

  • She had the opportunity to host a WEBINAR and present her research “Leveraging SNP & Variation Suite to Identify putative functional mutations for Thermotolerance in Beef Cattle” in the Golden Helix’s Webcast Series.

Interview - Tampa Bay Times

March 4, 2020

TampaBayTimes
  • Claire McNeill of the Tampa Bay Times visited several UF departments back in October 2019, including the Dept. of Animal Sciences and the Beef Teaching Unit. She wrote a piece on our genomics of thermotolerance work in beef cattle.

  • The piece, “A very Florida problem: Our cows are too hot” was published in the Tampa Bay Times on March 4 and the got picked up by several other major Florida newspapers (Miami Herald, S. Florida Sun Sentinel).

Florida Cattlemen Association - Legislative Quarterly

Jan 22, 2020

Tallahassee, FL

Legislative2020
Legislative2020 5
Legislative2020 2
Legislative2020 3
Legislative2020 4
  • The Florida Cattlemen’s Association Legislative Quarterly meeting held in Tallahassee Florida is one of the association’s most important meetings of the year.

  • The goal of the meeting is for Florida’s cattlemen and cattlewomen to join together and discuss legislative issues important to the association to State Senators and Representatives. All who attend in support of the association break up into groups of 4-8 and each group is designated a select handful of Senators or Representatives.

  • Throughout the day each group meets with their designated Senators or Representatives or their staff to tell their story and the impact the legislative issues have on each diverse operation or segment of the Florida cattle industry.

  • This year Dr. Mateescu, Kaitlyn and Gabriel attended the meeting and had the opportunity to share how the legislative issues affect Florida’s cattle production research and education.

Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show

Feb 3-7, 2020

San Antonio, TX

NCBA 2019
  • Dr. Mateescu participated in the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, TX.

  • She was invited to have a session during the Annual Cattlemen’s College - "Cool genes for hot cattle". See the SLIDES from the presentation and watch the presentation.

Jan 17, 2020

Gainesville, FL

UF Prediction 2020_3
UF%20Prediction%202020_2_edited
UF Prediction 2020

Jan 11-15, 2020

San Diego, CA

IMG_9708(Edited)
IMG_9699(Edited)
IMG_9695_edited
IMG_2477
  • Kaitlyn Sarlo Davila and Dr. Mateescu attended the Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, CA - meeting designed to provide a forum on recent developments and future plans for plant & animal genome projects.

  • They had the opportunity to attend technical presentations, poster sessions, workshops, and mingle with other researchers.

  • Kaitlyn was awarded a travel grant from the NRSP8 Bovine Genome project.

  • Kaitlyn presented "GWAS for hair length in Brangus heifers". See slides for more info.

  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Genome-wide association and gene enrichment analysis of meat sensory traits in a crossbred Brahman-Angus population". See slides for more info.

Oct 30, 2019

NBCEC2019

Presentation for the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium (NBCEC) 2019 Brown Bagger Series which covers a variety of beef genetics topics for Extension and collegiate educators, breed associations and industry representatives.

Oct 3-4,

2019

ANS1
ANS2
ANS3
ANS4
ANS5
ANS6
ANS8
ANS7

Another successful UF Animal Sciences Graduate Symposium - 67 grad students, 23 faculty, 24 undergraduate research interns/ post docs/ visiting fellows: 32 oral presentations and 22 posters. A beautiful venue in St. Augustine FL, sharing science!

Great presentations from our group:

Sept 23-27,

2019

romania6
romania4
romania2
romania3
romania5
romania1
romania7

Had a great time visiting with Ioan Gociman from the AsociaÈ›ia Aberdeen Angus România. Learned a lot about their program and goals and had the opportunity to visit the biggest Angus farm in Romania. Quite impressive to see what they accomplished in 11 years starting from scratch. We also had the chance to taste their product in one of the restaurants in town! Very tasty!

Had the opportunity to participate in the 15th International Symposium of Animal Biology and Nutrition IBNA, Bucharest, Romania with a presentation on Integrated -omics approaches for meat quality improvement.

Sept 11 - 14,

2019

Senepol2019_8
Senepol2019_5
Senepol2019_2
Senepol2019_6
Senepol2019
Senepol2019_3
Senepol2019_4

Great trip to Huntsville, AL for the Senepol Cattle Breeders Association. Beautiful cattle, great people and great conversations. Thankful for the opportunity to present and discuss Beef Cattle Improvements in the Genomics Era.

May 18 - 21,

2019

BIF summary
BIF Thermo
  • Beef Improvement Federation’s 2019 Annual Convention was hosted by South Dakota State University In Brookings, SD. This year’s program focused on applying technology and using “big data.”
  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Improving Thermotolerance in Beef Cattle — A Genomic Approach" in the “Advancements in Efficiency and Adaptability” session. See Summary and PPT and Facebook Post
  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Using Genomics to Improve Meat Quality in Bos Indicus-influenced Cattle" in the “Advancements in End Product Improvement” session. See Summary and PPT

August 9,

2019

Grad2019
IMG_8171
Zaira Graduation
JoelGrad
IMG_8178 (1)
IMG_8176 (2)
IMG_8170

Time to say goodbye to two of our PhD students:

  • Zaira Estrada-Reyes, PhD program focused on "Genomic regions associated with resistance to Haemonchus contortus in sheep and goats"

  • Joel Leal Gutiérrez, PhD program focused on "Functional genomics and genetical genomics approaches reveal associated genes, gene networks and biological pathways affecting meat quality in beef".

Good luck to the 2 of them and we are looking forward to see the great things they'll do in their future!

May 8 - 10,

2019

Beef Short Course
IMG_E7832
IMG_E7838
IMG_E7839
IMG_E7836
IMG_E7835
IMG_E7834
IMG_E7833
IMG_E7841
IMG_E7831
  • 68th Florida Beef Short Course, Gainesville, FL "Connecting the dots, Calf to Carcass"
  • Dr. Mateescu presented an update on the meat quality and thermotolerance research.

April 26-27,

2019

QMDM2518
IMG_7789
IMG_7786
IMG_7788
IMG_7785

“Animal Genetics” Short-Course - Royal University of Ag., Cambodia

Nov. 25 - Dec.1, 2018

IMG_1601
IMG_1598
IMG_7255
IMG_7450
IMG_7540
IMG_7461
IMG_E7368
IMG_E1603
IMG_E7538
IMG_E7499
IMG_E7532
IMG_7263
  • Dr. Mateescu taught the “Animal Genetics” Short-Course to improve technical research and teaching capacity at the Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia.

  • The short course was part of a twinning initiative between the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems and the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia. This short-course was identified as priorities by RUA faculty.

  • The short course included examination of principles of livestock inheritance, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping strategies and functional genomic approaches used for genomic selection and improvement programs in livestock animals

International Symposium on Animal Functional Genomics

November 8-15, 2018

IMG_7185
IMG_7179
IMG_7190
IMG_7192
IMG_7184
IMG_7195
QHOK6368 (8)
TDCM7496 (1)
NIWN3802
  • Dr. Mateescu attended 7th International Symposium on Animal Functional Genomics in conjunction with a special Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes (FAANG) Workshop in Adelaide, Australia from Nov 12-15th, 2018.

  • Dr. Mateescu presented “Current insights into genomics of thermotolerance in beef cattle” See the presentation.

4th Animal Sciences Graduate Symposium

November 1-2, 2018

IMG_7164
IMG_7157
Dq9bL2dXgAMCG8j
IMG_7153
IMG_7154
IMG_7148
IMG_7147
IMG_7144
Dq9cW6CWsAALVYu
IMG_7162
IMG_7158
IMG_7160
IMG_7159
IMG_7151
IMG_7161
IMG_7163
    • The 4th Animal Sciences Symposium for UF Animal Sciences graduate students and faculty fwas held at the Courtyard by Marriott St. Augustine Beach, on November 1-2, 2018.

    • 59 grad students, 31 faculty, 25 undergraduate research interns/ post docs/ visiting fellows: 29 oral presentations and 15 posters.

    • Great two days of science and fun!

    • The symposium was funded by the IFAS Dean for Research Dr. Jackie Burns and by the ANS Chair Dr. Dahl.

    • Zaira presented "Signatures of Selection in lambs and kids bred for low fecal egg count during Haemonchus contortus exposure"- see page 37 of the Proceedings.

    • Sarah presented "Effect of Nutritional Information on Consumers’ Willingness-to-Pay for Beef" - see page 9 of the Proceedings. Sarah was awarded 2nd place in the Posters category - congratulations Sarah!

    • Kaitlyn presented "Genetic parameters for hair characteristics and vaginal temperature in a multibreed Brahman-Angus herd under hot humid conditions"- see page 43 of the Proceedings.

    • Joel presented "Identification of trait-associated genes related to meat quality using an RNA-seq analysis approach" - see page 31 of the Proceedings.

    • Alexa presented "Hair Phenotype Effect on Thermotolerance of Beef Cattle Evident on SNP in the Prolactin Gene"- see page 16 of the Proceedings.

International Brahman Performance Retreat

October 20-21, 2018

41354595_2270735796274007_69851209208430
IMG_7128
IMG_7127
IMG_7126
IMG_7120
  • Dr. Mateescu attended the 2018 International Brahman Performance Retreat, in Floresville, TX.

  • Dr. Mateescu was part of a round table discussion along Dr. J.R. Tait and John Genho: The American Brahman Outlook – Industry leaders examine the role of the hump and ear in feeding the global population.

  • Dr. Mateescu presented “The role of American Brahman cattle in global protein production”. See the presentation.

Select Sires's RAW Symposium

October 15-18, 2018

Dpt9VTEW4AAxDl3
IMG_7099
IMG_7102
IMG_7101
IMG_7095
IMG_7112
IMG_7105
IMG_7106
  • Dr. Mateescu attended the 23rd Annual Roy A. Wallace (RAW) Memorial Symposium on Bovine Reproduction the week of October 15th, in West Palm Beach, FL.

  • Dr. Mateescu presented “Beef cattle genetics for a hotter world – current research on thermotolerance and meat quality on B. Indicus influenced cattle.” See the presentation.

Interview for the Wall Street Journal

October 1, 2018

IMG_7067
IMG_7065
  • Interview with Jason Bellini from the Wall Street Journal about the "World's first Angus calf engineered to be heat tolerant could beef up meat production in warmer climates". (min 6 of the video clip).

69th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science

August 27-30, 2018

EAAP2018 pic
IMG_6812
IMG_6808
IDDO1309
IMG_6834
XBUH0570
  • Dr. Mateescu attended the 69th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 27th to 31st August 2018.

  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Beef cattle thermoregulation in response to naturally occurring heat stress on pasture". See the presentation.

  • Dr. Mateescu also co-chaired the "Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) in nutrition, genetics and physiology" section.

ASAS 2018 Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada

&

​71st Reciprocal Meat Conference, Kansas City, MO

July 8-12, 2018

&

June 22-27, 2018

Picture5
Picture8
Picture7
Picture6
Picture3
Picture1
Picture2
Picture4
Picture10
Picture11
Picture12
Picture13
  • Heather, Kaitlyn, Sarah, and Zaira presented their research during the American Society of Animal Science national meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

  • Sarah Flowers presented at the 2018 American Meat Science Association’s Reciprocal Meat Conference in Kansas City, Missouri

  • Heather Hamblen presented "Relationship of slice shear force and quality grade of strip loin steaks from Brangus steers". See the poster.

  • Kaitlyn Sarlo presented "Effect of hair characteristics on vaginal temperature under hot and humid conditions in an Angus-Brahman multibreed herd". See the poster.

  • Zaira Estrada presented "Targeted sequencing approach identifies immune loci associated to resistance to Haemonchus contortus in sheep and goats". See the presentation.

  • Sarah Flowers presented "Understanding beef nutritional attributes contributes to consumers’ willingness-to-pay for a healthier product". See the poster.

Interview with WCJB20

September 2018

Cool Calm Cows 2

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production

February 11-16, 2018

WCGALP
IMG_6113
Leal WCGALP GWAS meat quality
IMG_E6152
IMG_6129
IMG_6123
Mateescu WCGALP thermotolerance
IMG_6126
IMG_6125
IMG_6179
IMG_6120
IMG_6114
  • Dr. Mateescu attended the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production held in Auckland, New Zealand (a total of 1423 delegates attended the meetings from 70 countries).

  • Dr. Mateescu presented "Genetic parameters for body temperature under hot and humid conditions in an Angus–Brahman multibreed population". Read the paper published in the Proceedings and see the presentation.

  • Joel Leal presented "Genome-wide association and gene enrichment analyses of meat tenderness in an Angus-Brahman cattle population". Read the paper published in the Proceedings and see the presentation.

Feb 28 - March1

2018 Houston, TX

International Livestock Congress

IMG_6403
  • Sarah Flowers attended the 2018 International Livestock Congress in Houston, Texas.

  • This year’s ILC topic was “Science-based Strategies for Meat in the Diet and New Perspectives on Global Trade.”

  • Industry leaders including Dr. David M. Klurfeld of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Hawley Poinsett of the Texas Beef Council, and Jamie Greenheck of FleishmanHillard, discussed the role of red meat in the diet as a wholesome, nutritious protein source.

  • Trade experts Dan Halstrom and Joel Haggard (U.S. Meat Export Federation) discussed U.S. beef trade globally.

  • Later, Dr. Keith Belk of Colorado State University and Dr. Molly McAdams of OM3 discussed technology advancements and the potential opportunities or challenges modern technology contributes to animal protein production and exports.

  • The conference concluded Thursday afternoon with presentations from Hannah Thompson-Weeman of the Animal Agriculture Alliance and Lisa Keefe of Meatingplace, both discussing the meat industry’s future in terms of meat alternatives and activist threats.

UF Graduate Student Research Day

April 2018

IMG_6269
IMG_6272
IMG_6273
IMG_6270
IMG_6271
IMG_6275
  • Heather, Sarah, Zaira and Joel presented their research during the UF Graduate Student Research day

  • Heather Hamblen presented "Impact of hair coat on thermoregulation of Brangus heifers". See the poster.

  • Sarah Flowers presented "Beef nutritional content…how important is it for consumers to have the correct information?". See the poster.

  • Zaira Estrada presented "Targeted sequencing approach identifies immune loci associated to resistance to Haemonchus contortus in sheep and goats". See the poster.

  • Joel Leal presented "Structural equation analyses and genome-wide association for growth, carcass quality, and meat quality in beef." See the poster.

Jan 30- Feb 3, 2018

Phoenix, AZ

Cattle Industry Convention and

NCBA Trade Show

FullSizeRender (007)
IMG_6052
  • In early February Heather Hamblen and Sarah Flowers attended the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix, Arizona.

  • Heather and Sarah attended the 25th Annual Cattlemen’s College and heard from industry leaders including Dr. Matt Spangler of University of Nebraska, Mr. Shawn Tiffany of Tiffany Cattle Co., Inc., and the Chief Marketing Officer of Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., Mr. Jim Taylor.

  • Later in the convention, Heather and Sarah attended the Region 2 meeting, the Cattle Fax seminar, the Emerging Leaders Luncheon, and networked with various industry representatives at the Trade Show.

Jan 13-17, 2018

San Diego, CA

PAG - Plant and Animal Genome Meeting

Resized_20180115_145502
Resized_20180115_104237
Capture3
Capture
Capture2
  • Heather Hamblen and Joel Leal attended the Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, CA - meeting designed to provide a forum on recent developments and future plans for plant & animal genome projects.

  • They had the opportunity to attend technical presentations, poster sessions, workshops, and mingle with other researchers.

  • Heather presented "Hair coat and thermoregulation in Brangus heifers". See abstract and poster for more info.

  • Joel presented "Genome-wide association and gene enrichment analysis of meat sensory traits in a crossbred Brahman-Angus population". See abstract and poster for more info.

December 15, 2017

Gainesville, FL

2017 UF Animal Sciences

Christmas Party

IMG_5920
DSC_2363
DSC_2504
DSC_2495
DSC_2493
DSC_2440
DSC_2358
IMG_5919
IMG_5918
DSC_2429
DSC_2401
DSC_2400
DSC_2376
DSC_2307
DSC_2309
DSC_2345
DSC_2336
DSC_2317
  • Another wonderful Christmas Party in the Department of Animal Sciences!

  • Great to visit with old and new friends!

  • Santa's visit always a treat - we all have been good this year!

Extension In-Service Training

December 6-7, 2017 Gainesville, FL

  • New Technologies in Animal Breeding: Opportunities and Challenges

Wednesday December 06,2017. 1:00 – 5:30

  • Precision Livestock Management Technologies (Ricardo Chebel)

  • Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Farm Animals (Peter Hansen)

  • Current and Emerging Genomic Technologies for Livestock Breeding (Francisco Peñagaricano)

  • Genomic tools in Beef Cattle Breeding (Raluca Mateescu)

  • Genomic tools in Dairy Cattle Breeding (Francisco Peñagaricano)

 Thursday December 07, 2017. 8:30 – 12:00

  •  DNA Testing in Horses (Samantha Brooks)

  • Development of Genomic Tools for Small Ruminants (Raluca Mateescu)

  • Public Perceptions of Modern Food Biotechnology (Joy Rumble)

  • Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology: Lessons From the rbST Experience (Ricardo Chebel)

August 17-18, 2017

Brighton, FL

2017 SBBA Field Day & IBBA Fall Conference

SBBA
Seminole Tribe of Florida
Alex
cattle2
cattle
Salacoa Valley Farms
photo_expert_mateescu_IBBFresearch
Gator
Gator2
  • Sarah Flowers, Heather Hamblen and Dr. Mateescu attended the 2017 SBBA Field Day & IBBA Fall Conference at at the Seminole Indian Reservation in Brighton, Florida.

  • On Friday, August 18th, Dr. Mateescu presented "Use of Genomics to Improve Climate Adaptability and Carcass Merit".

  • On Aug. 17, IBBA President Brandon Belt announced plans for an International Brangus Breeders Foundation (IBBF) research study at the SBBA Cattlemen's Gathering & IBBA Fall Conference in Brighton, Florida.

Oct. 13-14, 2017

St. Augustine, FL

ANS Symposium 2017 Outside
ANS Symposium 2017 Inside
DSC_2844
Presentations
DSC_2864
IMG_5686
IMG_5687
DSC_2902
DSC_2911
IMG_2099
IMG_5689
DSC_2939
DSC_2919
DSC_2942
DSC_2985
Posters2
Posters
IMG_5690
IMG_2101
  • The 3rd Animal Sciences Symposium for graduate students and faculty from UF and FAMU was held at the Courtyard by Marriott St. Augustine Beach, on October 13-14, 2017.

  • We had 108 registered participants (including 60 graduate students, 24 faculty, 5 summer interns and 15 postdocs/visiting fellows/graduate interns), 29 oral presentations and 22 poster presentations.

  • Great two days of science and fun!

  • The symposium was funded by the IFAS Dean for Research Dr. Jackie Burns and by the ANS Chair Dr. Dahl. All MS and PhD students and the current FAMU interns in the department (or UF undergraduate students working on research projects with ANS faculty) had the opportunity to present an oral or poster at the symposium. 

  • Zaira presented ". Effect of Ovar-DRA and Ovar-DRB1 genotype on fecal egg counts in sheep and goat populations infected with Haemonchus contortus"- click for Abstract.

  • Heather presented "Genetics of thermotolerance in Brangus heifers – the role of sweating rate and coat score" - click for Abstract.

  • Joel presented "Genome scan and gene enrichment analyses of meat tenderness in an Angus-Brahman cattle population" - click for Abstract.

  • Tamia presented "Analyzing Meat Tenderness in Beef Cattle: Saraf Gene"- click for Abstract.

​

November 13-14, 2017

Beltsville, MD

Livestock HTP and Big Data meeting

  • Dr. Mateescu attended the Livestock High-Throughput Phenotyping and Big Data Analytics (Livestock HTP and Big Data) meeting. You can listen to the presentation here or find information on this meeting here.

  • This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss how cutting-edge methodologies to manage and analyze large diverse livestock data can be applied to the animal sciences.

  • The goal of this meeting was to gather a diverse group of animal scientists in across disciplines to stimulate the livestock research community to expand the use of high-throughput data and develop a vision and strategy to apply these data to production agriculture.

November, 2017

UF ANS Beef research Report

BIF - Beef Improvement Federation

Conference

May 31 - June 2

Athens, GA

BIF program
  • Sarah Flowers, Heather Hamblen and Blair Ballin attended the "Young Producers Symposium" which kicked off the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Meeting and Research Symposium in Athens, GA.

  • On Thursday, June 1st, Dr. Mateescu presented "Beef cattle climate adaptability: How can genomics help?" in the "Advancements in efficiency and adaptability" breakout session. Read the summary or the ppt.

  • On Friday, June 2nd, Dr. Mateescu presented "Genetic improvement of carcass traits in Bos indicus-influenced cattle" in the "Advancements in end product improvement" breakout session. Read the summary or the ppt.

  • Summaries, proceedings, PowerPoints and audio are available here

TAMU Beef Cattle Short Course

August 7-8, 2017

College Station, TX

TAMU Beef Short Course
Youth 706 cutting #beef during the #

Youth 706 cutting #beef during the #beefCSC12.

HatParking
IBBA tweet
  • Sarah Flowers and Dr. Mateescu attended the the 63rd Annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course in College Station, TX.

  • On Tuesday, August 8th, Dr. Mateescu presented "Genomics of adaptability in beef cattle" in the "Building Better Breeding Programs" breakout session. See the presentation.

  • TBCSC 2017: Measuring Heat Stress in Cattle - A blog for stakeholders in beef production, genetics, and genomics

International Symposium of Animal Biology and Nutrition & Short Course

September 25-29, 2017

Bucharest Romania

P1010687
P1010747
P1010740
P1010894
P1010677
P1010794
P1010773
P1010900
P1010679
IMG_5172
  • Dr. Mateescu was invited to attend the 14th International Symposium of Animal Biology and Nutrition, Bucharest, Romania from September 28 - 29, 2017. 

  • Dr. Mateescu presented an invited  talk on "Genomic tools for thermotolerance in beef cattle".

  • Three days before the Symposium, Dr. Mateescu held a short course on “Recent developments in genomics and current applications”, at the National Research Development Institute for Animal Biology and Nutrition (IBNA), Bucharest, Romania from September 25 - 27, 2017.

S-1064 Multi-state Research Project - Annual Meeting

May 23-26, 2017 Gainesville, FL

037_edited
005_edited
015ace14ac9cd3fc4bf46e32fbd1e8849be451c7ca
013654de67e77bc087e78032eec54f76dcfd58101c_edited
01459aa22d5618b81364ba5b559c28714ddaadbd7e_edited
01820aff387fe15a89fc712fd531056c66f36bb6de_edited
01bda62f16bf90728e952ca18c5b0bdb99d1ebc4e6
0173d0bce2d4d5e9a38d20ffcb3918b3e3c2bd925c_edited
01d56a6df37778d30a1f80189cb3dd68a05171fc28_edited
012162a84822748498282d630536678db21627d821_edited
01bf9ff4542bf085df8946994b44528fd9fa42391b_edited
015b645ff09d64e2b935456ca04c5d1e0b35fa87cd_edited
01efcb74a38e3f2f90926fd7dc488c404c5859a7bd_edited
018f8bfeed38fbeb55dc5890ff7a1eb91da446ba16_edited
0101927d4222317a23cdb0fb3dd4930becb17c446e_edited
01696aa0b3852b1baa5e67d8b862bc4b57d7b821c0_edited
01aa83811cfd2b8d81ff353bd5417ef75b6439ffed
  • The S-1064 "Genetic improvement of adaptation and reproduction to enhance sustainability of cow-calf production in the Southern United States" is a multistate research project committed to improving beef cattle production systems in the Southern region of the United States.

  • Dr. Mauricio Elzo from the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida (UF) planned and coordinated the 2017 annual meeting in Gainesville FL.

  • Station reports from each location were presented and discussed during the two days of meetings.

  • On Thursday, participants visited the research cattle herds at the University of Florida Beef Research Unit and Santa Fe River Unit where Danny and Michelle Driver provided insights on activities related to research projects involving the Multibreed Brahman-Angus and the Brahman herds.

  • On Friday, the members of the S-1064 Regional Project visited the Kempfer Ranch, St. Cloud, FL where they had the opportunity to learn about the history of the ranch and gain insights of the cattle operation.

  • For more information read the story published in the FL Cattlemen Magazine

Jan 14-18, 2017 San Diego, CA

PAG

PAG2017

Joel Leal - PAG, San Diego CA 2017

La Jolla, CA 2017

Mesfin Gobena - PAG, San Diego CA 2017

Sunset at Pacifica Del Mar

  • Dr. Mateescu, Joel and Mesfin attended the Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, CA - meeting designed to provide a forum on recent developments and future plans for plant & animal genome projects.

  • Joel presented "Polymorphisms in µ-calpain and calpastatin genes associated with tenderness in a crossbred Brahman-Angus population". See abstract and poster for more info.

  • Mesfin presented "Predicting Breed Composition in an Angus-Brahman Crossbred Population Using Genomic Data". See abstract and poster for more info.

Florida Cattlemen Association - Legislative Quarterly

March 14, 2017 Tallahassee, FL

IMG_1457
FCA_LegQuarterlyPicture
IMG_3850
IMG_1461
IMG_3853
IMG_1484
IMG_2150
  • The Florida Cattlemen’s Association Legislative Quarterly meeting held in Tallahassee Florida is one of the association’s most important meetings of the year.

  • The goal of the meeting is for Florida’s cattlemen and cattlewomen to join together and discuss legislative issues important to the association to State Senators and Representatives. All who attend in support of the association break up into groups of 4-8 and each group is designated a select handful of Senators or Representatives.

  • Throughout the day each group meets with their designated Senators or Representatives or their staff to tell their story and the impact the legislative issues have on each diverse operation or segment of the Florida cattle industry.

  • This year Dr. Mateescu, Heather and Sarah attended the meeting and had the opportunity to share how the legislative issues affect Florida’s cattle production research and education.

NCBA - Annual Convention

February 1-3, 2017 Nashville, TN

Picture1
Picture2
Picture3
Picture4
  • The 2017 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association annual convention was held in Nashville, Tennessee.

  • Sarah Flowers attended this year’s convention. While at the convention she attend the Cattlemen’s College, Beef Checkoff Committee meetings, CattleFax Seminar, Emerging Leaders Luncheon, Southeast regional meeting, the NCBA trade show and networked with various professionals throughout the industry.

  • Some highlights of the sessions Sarah attended included hearing from genetic companies and experts such as Zoetis’s Dr. Kent Anderson and Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam. Sarah learned about new genetic tools that can be utilized within the beef cattle industry to improve efficiency and profits at each segment of the industry.

Oct. 21-22, 2016

St. Augustine, FL

ANS Symposium 2016_2_edited
IMG_0727_edited
IMG_0747_edited
IMG_0712_edited
IMG_0750_edited
IMG_0751_edited
IMG_0719_edited
IMG_0729_edited
IMG_0746_edited
IMG_0743_edited
IMG_0752_edited
IMG_0754_edited
IMG_0713_edited
IMG_0721_edited
IMG_0725_edited
  • The 2nd Animal Sciences Symposium for graduate students and faculty in our department and at Florida A & M University was held at the St. Augustine Hotel and Suites, St Augustine on October 21-22, 2016. The symposium was funded by the IFAS Dean for Research Dr. Jackie Burns and by the ANS Chair Dr. Dahl. All MS and PhD students and the current FAMU interns in the department (or UF undergraduate students working on research projects with ANS faculty) had the opportunity to present an oral or poster at the symposium. 

  • 23 Faculty, 61 Graduate Students, 4 Undergraduate Students, 6 Research visitors, 32 Oral presentations, 20 Poster Presentations
  • Zaira presented "The role of MHC Class II DRA gene in resistance of sheep and goats to Haemonchus contortus"- click for Abstract.

  • Heather presented Genetics of thermotolerance in Brangus heifers – the role of sweating rate and coat score - click for Abstract.

  • Joel presented "Association of SNPs and haplotypes in μ-calpain and calpastatin genes with Warner-Braztler Shear Force in a crossbred Brahman-Angus population" - click for Abstract.

  • Mesfin presented "Predicting breed composition in an Angus-Brahman crossbred population using genomic data" - click for Abstract.

  • Victoria presented "Genetic Markers in the Calpastatin Gene Associated with Beef Tenderness"- click for Abstract.

​

Oct. 5, 2016

Okeechobee, FL

Florida Heritage Beef Group

bottom of page