Chair
Jordi Estelle
INRAE
Jouy-en-Josas, France

Term of service (1st, 2021-2025)

Co-Chair
Oscar Gonzalez-Recio
INIA-CSIC
Madrid, Spain

Term of service (1st, 2021-2025)

Dr González-Recio completed his PhD in animal breeding in 2006 from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, receiving an outstanding PhD thesis award in 2007. Then, he spent his post-doctoral period in the University of Wisconsin, working on statistical modelling of genomic information on complex phenotypes. In 2013, he worked on Feed Efficiency and Fertility as a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (Victoria, Australia). In 2015, he moved to INIA where his most recent research projects include the selection of feed efficiency and lower methane emissions to breed more productive livestock that provide more food for human consumption with a reduced use of raw material and lower environmental and land footprint. The role of the microbiome in the sustainability of animal husbandry and the use of metagenomic information in animal breeding has got much of his research interest. He has faced the microbiome studies from an amplicon as well as from a whole metagenome approaches, with emphasis on incorporating long reads in the metagenomic analyses, and considering the animal and its microbiome as a holobiont. Dr. González-Recio emphasizes the importance of phenotypes and recording schemes to maximise the success of breeding programs, as well as to improve any inference or prediction to be made for a better understanding of genetics and biology. Oscar is also associate professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, teaching population and quantitative genetics, breeding programs, genomic selection, statistical genetics, and biocomputation. He also participates in international courses as an invited lecturer.

Member
Peter Karlskov-Mortensen
University of Copenhagen
Frederiksberg, Denmark

Term of service (1st, 2021-2025)

Member
Farai Muchadeyi
Agricultural Research Council
Ondestepoort, South Africa

Term of service (1st, 2021-2025)

Dr Farai Muchadeyi is a Research Senior Manager at the Biotechnology Platform of the Agricultural Research Council, South Africa (http://www.arc.agric.za/Pages/BTP/BTP-Research.aspx). She holds BSc Honours (Animal Sciences) and MPhil (Agriculture) degrees from the University of Zimbabwe, and was awarded a PhD degree in Animal and Molecular Genetics from Goettingen University, Germany. Between 2008 and 2010, Farai held a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Her research interests are in the characterization, sustainable utilization and conservation of livestock genetic resources. She has worked on Animal Genetic diversity and characterization of indigenous animal genetic resources since 2004. Currently, Farai’s research involves the application of genomics and population genetic tools in unravelling the genetic diversity and identifying adaptive features associated with livestock species from marginalized farming environments. She is passionate about investigating how the genetic adaptation can be harnessed in mainstream commercial agriculture. Her other projects involve the identification of the causal mutations of animal genetic disorders and the inclusion of molecular genetic marker information in selection programs. She leads the Animal Genetics and Genomics research group at the Biotechnology Platform managing various projects on livestock and wildlife genomics.

Member
Suzanne Rowe
AgResearch Limited
Mosgiel, New Zealand

Term of service (1st, 2021-2025)

Member
Michael Watson
Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Term of service (1st, 2021-2025)