Faculty

Faculty

PHOTO	NAME	BACKGROUND
	Dr. Ronaldo Cerri, Associate Professor	Research interests include: Early embryonic and fetal development in dairy cows and the effects of animal health, nutrition, management, and animal welfare on various aspects of reproduction. Ronaldo’s direct approach to problems affecting fertility in lactating dairy cows blends basic and applied studies, with the ultimate objective of improving the knowledge of the sub-fertility problem in dairy cows, and proposing practical solutions for dairy producers to improve embryonic survival.
	Dr. Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk, Professor	Nina’s love of animals began at a very young age while growing up on a beef cattle ranch in British Columbia. After leaving the ranch, she went onto complete her undergraduate in agricultural sciences at UBC, and her MSc. in Animal Science at the University of Alberta. She returned to Vancouver to complete her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Dr. von Keyserlingk’s studies have focused on under-researched areas of farm animals, including behaviour, housing and management and how these contribute to the health and welfare of dairy cattle.
	Dr. Dan Weary, Professor	Dan works with students and colleagues in the Animal Welfare Program using behavioural and other non-invasive measures to objectively assess various aspects of animal well-being. One focus of recent work is the dairy cow, and welfare issues important in this species. In his graduate and postdoctoral work Dan focused on acoustic communication and vocal behavior in wild birds and mammals. He has now turned his interests to the development of objective methods of assessing animal well-being. This more recent work includes more basic research on how vocal and other behaviors can provide us with information about an animal’s physical and emotional state, as well as how these measures can be applied to find better ways of handling animals
	Dr. Jim Thompson, Professor Emeritus	Dr. Thompson’s recent work includes characterization of branched chain amino acid, methionine and glutamine metabolism in skeletal muscles from mammalian and avian species and determination of the regulation of skeletal muscle protein turnover by glutamine, ketone bodies and environmental temperature. Currently he is exploring the response of large animals to stressors.
	Dr. Raja Rajamahendran, Professor Emeritus	The current research interests of Dr. Rajamahendran’s group are to: investigate GnRH-R and GnRH systems in ovaries, reproductive tracts, gametes and early embryos in the bovine using molecular techniques and understand it’s role in ovarian / oviduct / uterine function, sperm function, fertilization, and early embryo development; study the reasons for reduced fertility in post-partum dairy cows by comparing in vivo and in vitro progesterone synthesis, genes associated with corpus luteum function, embryo quality, and uterine environment, of dairy heifers and lactating cows; develop reproductive technologies to advance post-partum ovarian activity, for timed artificial insemination, and to reduce early embryonic mortality in dairy cattle; and develop in-vitro tests to predict fertility of dairy bulls in the field.
	Doug Veira, Adjunct Professor	Ruminant Nutrition and Management
	Dr. Anne Marie de Passille, Adjunct Professor	Animal Welfare and Behaviour
	Dr. Jeff Rushen, Adjunct Professor	Animal Welfare and Behaviour