Visiting researchers

Kristen Parker Gaddis

Dr. Kristen Parker Gaddis is a postdoctoral researcher with the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL), who is working at the Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, ARS, USDA. She received her Ph.D. from North Carolina State University with a focus in animal breeding and genetics and minors in statistics and biotechnology. Her dissertation work investigated the utilization of producer-recorded health data on U.S. dairy farms for genetic improvement of health traits. She is currently involved in research for the improvement of dairy cattle fertility. Her work will include identification and validation of single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with fertility-related traits (such as daughter pregnancy rate, heifer and cow conception rates, days to first breeding, and age at first calving) as well as developing gene networks associated with those traits. Additional research interests include further investigation of health traits in livestock animals, incorporation and utilization of sequence data for complex and low heritability traits, and utilization of data-mining techniques for the improvement of animal production.