Research in the Division of Animal Sciences in the Mizzou College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources has evolved to represent scientific areas, both basic and applied, that extend beyond the traditional areas of animal production and management to disciplines such as human health and immunology. This means that our work is not only helping to improve the lives of animals, but also the lives of people.
Our faculty are known for their expertise in research areas such as:
- Reproduction
- Genetics/genomics
- Meat science
- Nutrition
- Physiology
Graduate students benefit from the world-class knowledge of our faculty.
We are part of the CAFNR research enterprise, which means that our graduate students have access to the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, CAFNR facilities and Mizzou advanced technology core facilities.
CAFNR Programs of Distinction
Animal Sciences faculty are part of CAFNR Programs of Distinction including:
The Interdisciplinary Reproduction and Health Group (IRHG) was organized and established through a faculty-driven, grassroots effort in 2016 to develop a multidisciplinary program to foster distinction in reproduction, health research and education at Mizzou. The primary goal of the IRHG is to address broad challenges to reproduction and health of humans and animals by conducting basic, clinical and translational research and providing training for the next generation of scientists.
The MU Livestock Engineering Team (MULE Team) facilitates the production of genetically engineered livestock for science, medicine and agriculture. Part of the MULE Team, the MU’s National Swine Resource and Research Center works to ensure that biomedical investigators have access to critically needed swine models of human health and disease.
The MU Forage-Livestock Group provides science to sustain Missouri’s livestock industry, while also protecting the state’s natural resources.
The Show-Me-Select™ Replacement Heifer Program is recognized nationally as a model in the land-grant system in translational research and extension with immediate impacts on Missouri’s beef industry.
Collaboration at Mizzou
The collaborative nature of Mizzou strengthens our research. Mizzou is one of only a handful of public institutions nationwide that have a medical school, veterinary medicine college, law school, agriculture college (CAFNR) and engineering college on the same campus along with an interdisciplinary life sciences research center, a precision health research facility and the highest-power university nuclear research reactor.