Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Meat Science
Research at a glance
Area(s) of Expertise
Research Summary
The overarching goal of Shelley Curry’s research program is to understand how nutrition, environmental stress, and animal physiology influence muscle development, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. Research findings will support the development of practical pre-harvest and post-harvest strategies that improve animal performance while enhancing the quality, consistency, and value of meat products.
Curry is an Assistant Professor of Meat Science in the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri. Curry’s research program focuses on fresh meat quality and lipid biology, with an emphasis on understanding how animal nutrition, physiology and pre-harvest stress influence muscle lipid metabolism, carcass composition and subsequent meat quality.
Research themes encompass: 1) determining how nutritional and environmental factors alter lipid deposition and metabolism in skeletal muscle, 2) investigating relationships among muscle lipid characteristics, fatty acid composition and fresh meat quality, 3) developing pre-harvest strategies to improve meat quality, consistency and shelf life, and 4) understanding how physiological and developmental factors influence carcass characteristics and post-harvest meat quality.
Educational Background
- Ph.D., University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2026
- M.S., Texas A&M University, 2022
- B.S., Texas A&M University, 2020