Much of the current research involves the investigation of feedstuffs, feed additives and animal metabolism to enhance the nutritional quality and healthfulness of milk and meat products, controlling environmental pollution from P and N though nutritional strategies, and exploring the role of probiotics, prebiotics and plant phenolics in health and productivity of animals. Research into epigenetics, and its influence on nutrition and obesity, is an exciting new area in this field.
Sergio Burgos, Associate Professor; B.Sc. (Florida), M.Sc. (Davis), PhD (Guelph). Food production (molecular regulation of nutrient metabolism in the bovine mammary gland during development and lactation); Human health and nutrition (identification of bioactive compounds in milk with beneficial effects on human health); and Environmental sustainability (identification of rumen-derived milk metabolites that can be used as biomarkers of rumen function, feed efficiency and methane emissions by dairy cows).
Jennifer Ronholm, Associate Professor: B.Sc. Microbiology (Waterloo), M.Sc. Appli Ph.D. Microbiology (Ottawa). Effects of husbandry practices, diet, and health of food-producing cattle on shaping their microbiome; understanding if and how the microbiome of food-producing cattle can affect the transmission/ persistence of zoonotic pathogens; correlating accessory-microbiomes with microbial quality of cattle food-products; and determining if altering the microbiome can increase the safety of minimally processed products (such as raw-milk dairy products or fermented meats).