Kaitlyn Sarlo Davila
Former Ph.D. Student, AMCB
Kaitlyn is a native of southwest Florida and grew up in the beef cattle industry. She received her B.S. in Animal Science at the University of Florida in 2014 and her M.S. in Animal Breeding at Texas A&M University in 2016. Kaitlyn is very excited to be back in Florida and to have the opportunity to be a part of Dr. Mateescu’s thermotolerance project where her passion for both genetics and the beef cattle industry get to come together.
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Zaira Estrada
Former Ph.D. Student, AMCB
Zaira Estrada was a Ph.D. student in the Animal Molecular and Cellular Biology Program in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. She received a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology Engineering and a Master's degree in Science with an option in Agricultural Sciences at the Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico. During her bachelor's and master's degrees, she started to work with molecular immunology in Pelibuey and Creole sheep. She found that genes from the immune mechanism of defense against gastrointestinal infections of sheep present high expression in lambs during primary and secondary infections of Haemonchus contortus. Also, during her Master's she did a research stay in The Moredun Research Institute. Some of the studies performed by Zaira Estrada have been published in the Journal of Parasite Immunology.
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Joel Leal-Gutierrez
Former Ph.D. Student, Animal Sciences. Postdoctoral Associate.
Joel is from Bogota, Colombia, and received a B.S. in Animal Science and MS in genetics from the National University of Colombia. Since Joel was in high school he was always fascinated by genetics. He found it very interesting how genetic material shapes life and drives evolution. Joel understood that similarly, genetics is very useful to animal production because it allows for selection and contributes to variability. Joel understands that consumer satisfaction is the base of any commercial activity and offering high-quality meat is the main goal of the beef industry. However, meat quality is a complex trait, because there is a phenotypic contribution from the environment, genetics, and their interaction all in which affect meat quality. Joel is particularly interested in determining what pathways, genomic regions, genes, and polymorphisms, contribute to this phenotypic variation.
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Sarah Flowers
Former MS Student, Animal Sciences. Extension Agent UGA, GA
Sarah is a Florida native and grew up in the town of Groveland. Throughout her youth, she was active in sports but was always around her family’s cattle operation. During high school, she became more involved with the family herd and began showing cattle through the Florida show circuit. This involvement sparked her passion for the beef cattle industry and she decided she wanted to pursue a career within the field. Sarah went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science with a focus in beef cattle production from the University of Florida in December 2016. Throughout her time as an undergraduate Sarah became more involved in the Florida cattle industry and found that she had the desire to help Florida cattle producers by improving Bos Indicus influenced cattle. Sarah was very interested in the multiple ongoing projects within Dr. Mateescu’s research group that revolved around Bos Indicus cattle research. Sarah hopes to dig deeper into the research that is proving to add value to Florida beef producers by improving the meat quality generated from Bos Indicus cattle.
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Heather Hamblen
Former MS Student, Animal Sciences. Teacher, Yankeetown School, FL
Heather grew up in Ocklawaha, FL. As a young child, she got involved in 4-H and FFA, which introduced her to many aspects of agriculture. The beef cattle industry really sparked her interest and eventually turned into a passion. Heather graduated from UF in 2016 with a bachelor's in Ag Education and Communication - communicating new developments to producers and consumers is something she believes is vital to the ag industry. Heather is involved with several projects studying genetic factors affecting nutritional value, quality of beef, and thermotolerance. She is looking forward to spreading the knowledge gained from this research to educate producers on the impact of using genetic information. It will give producers the knowledge needed to produce healthier, higher-quality beef, which will make them more competitive in today’s market where the consumers are more and more interested in higher quality, healthier diet.
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Mesfin Gobena
Former MS Student, Animal Sciences. Ph.D. student UF College of Medicine
Mesfin was born and raised in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. He studied Veterinary Medicine at Addis Ababa University and later worked at the same university for a short period of time as a lecturer. Mesfin then joined Dr. Mateescus's lab at the Department of Animal Sciences, the University of Florida where he currently works on the genetic background of various traits in cattle, sheep, and goats. He is passionate about all things science in general, and genetics, animal health, and environmental adaptation in particular. His future goal is to get further involved in interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding how the interplay between genetics and environment affects disease resistance and environmental adaptation. Outside of school, he likes to play soccer and do other outdoorsy things. Mesfin is also a big fan of Arsenal, a soccer club that plays in the English Premier League (although he will not hold his breath until they win the EPL ... sad).
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Kristen Larson
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Kristen grew up in Groveland, Florida. She grew up participating in FFA, which helped her expand her knowledge and love of agriculture. She graduated in Spring 2020 with her B.S. in Animal Sciences with minors in Agricultural Communications and Management in Agricultural Sales. She always had an interest in genetics and after taking Dr. Mateescu’s genetics course became interested in doing genetics research. Kristen hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in Genetics. In her spare time she enjoys riding horses and supporting the Gators at athletic events. |
David Rodriguez
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
David graduated from UF in 2018 with a B.S. in animal science and a Portuguese minor. He finished a graduate certificate in Veterinary Forensics in 2019. He has been working and volunteering as a veterinary technician since 2015. David is currently working towards getting into veterinary school and hopes to go into Zoological medicine.
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Alyssa Howell
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Alyssa grew up in Farmersville, Ohio. She graduated with her B.S. in Animal Sciences in the fall of 2019 and is hoping to attend veterinary school next year. In the future, she would like to open up a mixed animal practice. She has always had passion for animals, but she also enjoys sports and is currently on the University of Florida soccer team. Alyssa was awarded a Summer 2019 Undergraduate Research Internship sponsored by IFAS to explore thermotolerance in beef cattle.
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David Dominquez
Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
David is from Miami, Florida. He is in his 3rd year as an Animal Science major at the University of Florida. He hopes to continue his education to become a veterinarian for the Army. He’s always had a passion and love for animals and hopes to attain more experience with research and large animals. David plans on applying to vet school this upcoming cycle in 2019.
David received a University Scholars Program Award in 2019 to investigate the Role of the SLICK gene in thermotolerance of Brangus cattle.
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Maria Noquera
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Maria moved to the US from Santiago, Chile, and grew up in Weston, Florida. She received her Associates of Arts degree in Biology from Broward College and transferred to the University of Florida to pursue a degree in Animal Sciences. Working at a veterinary hospital she became interested in animal reproduction and genetics. She hopes to continue her education and go to Vet School where she would like to specialize in Theriogenology. Dr. Mateescu’s class as well as her lab has allowed Maria to learn more about animal genetics and given her a much greater appreciation for research.”
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Alexa Chiroussot
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Alexa was awarded a Summer 2018 Undergraduate Research Internship sponsored by IFAS to investigate “genetics of thermotolerance in beef cattle.” She is from Miami, FL. Alexa is a senior at the University of Florida majoring in Animal Sciences on the pre-veterinary track. With an equestrian background and experience assisting at a beef cattle reproduction barn, she hopes to become an equine or large animal veterinarian.
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Rebecca Stone
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Rebecca Stone is a freshman at the University of Florida majoring in Animal Sciences on a pre-veterinary track. She is from Lakeland, Florida, and has recently become involved in volunteering at different equestrian facilities. Gaining more experience, she is leaning toward a career in large or exotic veterinary medicine.
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Blair Ballin
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Blair was awarded a Summer 2017 Undergraduate Research Internship sponsored by the UF/IFAS - Office of the Dean for Research to investigate "Genetic markers for beef quality and tenderness". Blair grew up in Apopka, FL, and became involved in agriculture in my junior year of high school when she joined the FFA. Growing up she spent most of her time around horses, so it wasn’t until she came to the University of Florida that she realized her passion for beef cattle. Interning with Dr. Mateescu has allowed Blair to see just how important genetics is within the beef industry. Blair is excited to see what the future holds for beef cattle and she hopes to work in the industry when she graduates.
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Lauren Peacock
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Lauren Peacock graduated from the University of Florida in May 2018 with her B.S. in Animal Sciences and is currently attending Veterinary Science at Cornell University. She was a teaching assistant for Dr. Mateescu’s Genetics of Domestic Animals course for two semesters and began working in her lab after discovering an interest in genetics. Lauren grew up in Bradenton, Florida, and plans on attending veterinary school to study mixed animal medicine.
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Samantha Eifert
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Sammie grew up in Oviedo, Florida. She graduated from the University of Florida where she studied animal science with a minor in leadership. She hopes to continue her education by becoming an equine or large animal veterinarian. She has always loved horses but didn't truly get to work with other large livestock animals until college when she started working in Dr. Mateescu's lab. Samantha got accepted and is attending UF College of Veterinary Medicine starting Fall 2018.
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Eduardo Rodriquez
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Eduardo grew up in Miami. He graduated from UF with a B.A. in Physics, B.S. in Biology, and a Business minor. He became interested in biological research after working in a medical bioengineering lab at the University of Miami and paints in his free time. Eduardo has been a Veterinary Technician for two years and plans on going to vet school next year to pursue a DVM/Ph.D. dual degree with a focus on either aquatic or exotic animal genetics or bioengineering.
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Victoria Roe
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences
Victoria received a University Scholars Program Award in 2016 to investigate Genetic markers in calpastatin gene associated with beef tenderness. "For as long as I can remember science has been an important part of my life. Every year in elementary and middle school my school pushed us to have better science projects going as far as in middle to have an invention fair. It has only felt natural to continue that at the collegiate level in research. I have had a strong interest in genetics and was excited to join Dr. Mateescu’s research program." Victoria is currently attending Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
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Tamia Campbell
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences, Florida A&M University
Tamia was a 4th-year student at the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Florida A&M University, in Tallahassee, Fl. Throughout high school, Tamia was very active in sports and maintaining high academics, and continuously dedicated her summers to science. She participated in FAMU’s RATLR Program where her interests were stimulated in the biological and earth sciences, with an emphasis in agricultural and food sciences, natural resource management, and related disciplines such as Animal Science. Tamia wishes to go above and beyond her wildest dreams by achieving a degree in veterinary pathobiology and being able to practice in exotic wildlife, with hopes of focusing on wildlife diseases and conservation genetics while providing services and awareness to third world countries.
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Katie Odell
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences,
Katie came to the University of Florida to pursue a career surrounding her passion: beef cattle. She grew up on a small farm and was involved in 4-H in high school. It was her 4-H leader, Frances Yarborough, who showed her how her passion for beef cattle could become a career. "After taking Dr. Mateescu's class, I was intrigued. I wanted to learn more. There are so many possibilities in genetics, and that excites me."
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Alexandra DeHoyos
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences,
Alexandra transferred to the University of Florida about two years ago to continue her studies in pursuing veterinary medicine. Being that she was born in Tampa, Florida, she was raised with various house pets, including three dogs. It was not until Alexandra transferred to the University of Florida, that she began to gain an interest in cattle. With Dr. Mateescu’s lab, Alexandra has been given the opportunity to explore the genetics of cattle and give her a greater appreciation for research in general. Despite Alexandra’s interest in cattle, she plans to attend vet school to obtain a DVM focusing on small animal practice and shelter medicine.
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Carly Fredericks
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences,
Carly graduated from the University of Florida in 2016 with her bachelor's degree in Animal Sciences. She is currently a student in the Class of 2020 University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. During her time with our lab, she was mostly focused on internal parasite resistance in small ruminants. She presented her research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in early 2016. Going forward, Carly hopes to incorporate her love for genetics and research into her career as a veterinarian.
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Alexis Strickland-Tilton
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences,
Alexis was born in Homosassa, FL, and raised on a small cow/calf operation. Alexis graduated in April 2017 with a BS in ANS with a focus on beef production. Alexis was involved in numerous clubs, including Block & Bridle and Gator Collegiate Cattlewomen. She served an internship at Deseret Cattle & Citrus and worked on multiple projects including embryo transfers, artificial insemination, and heifer development. Her internship gave her a better perspective of the needs of Florida cattlemen and the economic impact that genetic selection can offer producers. Alexis has worked in Dr. Mateescu’s lab and realizes the importance of genomics in the beef industry and the significance it has for producers making better decisions within their herd.
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Sarah Randell
Former Undergraduate Student, Animal Sciences,
Sarah graduated in 2015 from the University of Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science. She currently studies Veterinary Medicine at UF, where her interest is large animal medicine and reproduction. In her spare time, she enjoys riding horses and hiking with her Boxer dog, Maui.
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