A Steak in Genomics™

My group is currently recruiting people to fill two graduate student positions. We will also be recruiting a researcher to fill a postdoctoral position in the coming year. We are looking for candidates who are passionate about genetics, genomics, and research. Ideal candidates are creative, hard working (while maintaining a work/life balance), and self starters. Our group is strictly computational, so candidates should enjoy working on computers and analyzing data. Candidates should be willing to learn programming (typically in R or Python), or already have some programming experience. We will soon have access to over 200,000 genotyped beef cattle with phenotypes and breeding values. We also have access to whole genome sequencing data from over 2,000 cattle. So, if you like working with lots of data, come join us! Our group uses population genomics to better understand the  history of cattle breeds and to inform future selection decisions. We are interested in local genetic ada...

BIF put together a well respected host of speakers to review the last 50 years of research at the US Meat Animal Research Center. Larry Cundiff The Germplasm Evaluation Program was initiated in 1969 after several planning meetings from 1967 to 1969. Because of the quarantine facilities in Canada, the Germplasm Evaluation Program worked very closely with Ag Canada to obtain semen on imported continental bulls. G.E. Dickerson designed the programs to address questions about breed differences and to maintain heterosis among breeds. Over 8 cycles of the program, 37 breeds have been evaluated. In a 7 year period the MARC had amassed a large cow herd as they were trying to evaluate cows from each breed late into their productive years. One of the first lessons was the problems of breeding imported bulls to 2 and 3 year old cows, as calving problems frequently occurred. No one breed was able to excel at all economically important traits in the early years of the Germplasm Evaluation Progra...

I am excited to announce that I have accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Division of Animal Sciences  at the University of Missouri focusing on beef cattle genetics extension and research. While my basic research efforts will continue, such as reassembling the bovine reference genome sequence, a much larger part of my efforts will focus on my extension program. My Extension Program My extension program will be a mix of science communication and collaborative translational research , concentrated on using genomic technology in beef cattle breeding and production. I will work with beef breeders to help them understand and use new genomic technologies in their operations. I will collaborate with breed associations to assist in developing and deploying genomic selection programs. I have adopted Cees Leeuwis' redefinition of extension education as communication for rural innovation. My Motivation When I was 9 years old I exhibited a heifer at my county fair. I w...

I know, this is a very strange title for a post.  More about that later... USDA Fellowship In this post I want to introduce you to part of my day-to-day research.  In August of this year, I was awarded a USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship.  I was awarded this fellowship for two reasons: to prepare to become a leader in agricultural science and to complete a specific project.  My project is reassembly of the bovine reference genome sequence. Motivation: Why are we reassembling the bovine genome? The completion of the draft human genome sequence was announced to much fanfare in 2000.  But, the work of finishing the human genome still continues.  Two versions of the bovine reference sequence, by the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Maryland , were published in 2009.  At that time the bovine genomics community began discussing how to improve the draft assembly.  Key players suggested that more sequence data on  L1 Domi...