Newsletter – Spring 2020
Greetings from the Interim Director
Kent Weigel
First, I’d like to thank Dan Schaefer for his service as director, as well as his 38 years of service to the Animal Sciences Department, and offer my congratulations on his retirement.
As the Animal & Dairy Sciences department chair, I’ll be covering these duties until the new director of Meat Science & Animal Biologics Discovery (MSABD) is hired. That process started the first week of February and we invited four outstanding and experienced candidates to visit Madison for interviews on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the month of February. Once a top candidate is identified and he or she commits to the position, we will start the transition process, and the new director will participate in all key decisions going forward.
I am happy to report that the Board of Regents and State Building Commission approved the final funding plan for the new Meat Science & Animal Biologics Discovery building that increases the budget by $7M, getting us to the finish line. With these final approvals complete, construction will continue and substantial completion of the Meat Science building is scheduled for August of this year. We are extremely grateful to Chancellor Blank and her team for their commitment to seeing this dream become a reality. Our new building will be the envy of every university in the country, and we can’t wait to get started on our new research projects, undergraduate and graduate courses, and outreach programs.
We have new faculty to welcome as well. Dr. Wei Guo arrived in January, from the University of Wyoming, as the newest member of our faculty. That title won’t last long, though, as Dr. Vanessa Leone will be joining us from the University of Chicago in late spring.
It’s an exciting time here at UW-Madison, with new facilities and new faces, and we would like to thank all of our alumni, friends, and stakeholders who have and continue to contribute to this initiative.
Thank you, and Go Badgers!
Kent
Thank You to our Outgoing Director
Dan Schaefer
Dan Schaefer retired from the Department of Animal Sciences on December 30, 2019. He started his career on June 20, 1979, as an Assistant Professor of Animal Sciences at Purdue University. He returned to the Department of Meat & Animal Science in 1981. (The department name became Animal Sciences in 1996 and will be Animal & Dairy Sciences in 2020.) He taught, with Ed Hauser and then Brian Kirkpatrick, beef cattle production to undergraduates and Farm & Industry Short Course students, and rumen microbiology to graduate students his entire career. Dan chaired Animal Sciences from 1999 to 2016, with the exception of 16 months as CALS Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs. He chaired the design and construction committee that resulted in the opening of the Livestock Laboratory in 1993, and then had the pleasure of working with the Meat Science Advisory Council and faculty and staff colleagues to secure approval for the design of the Meat Science & Animal Biologics Discovery building.
Dan said, “In my last two years as program director, I have had the pleasure of helping to bring vision, staff and organization to the program for the new building. This building and program hold significant potential for students, researchers, and client companies. I look forward to observing the ascendance and maturation of this program. Meat science will exist on this campus into the future because of the partnership between donors, legislators, campus leaders, and visionaries who have been attracted to the future impact of this building and program. The meat industry is important to Wisconsin and the nation, and this program will be a centerpiece at both levels. I am so pleased to have had a hand in securing the future which program founder, Bob Bray, sought for this program on this campus.”
Faculty Updates
Subash Kethavath successfully defended his M.S. with Dr. Claus (Fall 2019). Thesis title “Post-Exsanguination Vascular Rinsing of Market Hogs and Cull Dairy Cows on Meat Quality”. Following his graduation, Subash was hired by Fusion Ranch in Scotts Bluff, NE as a quality assurance manager also responsible for their food safety program.
Commercial Meat Processing AnSci 515 – Seventeen students enrolled in the fall semester course. Class created three project teams to expose students to undertaking a research and product development experience all the way through consumer testing. The projects involved: 1) Rehydrated versus fresh jalapenos in beef snack sticks, 2) Evaluation of the effect of incorporation of liquid smoke into polish sausage, and 3) Development of a pheasant bratwurst.
Dr. Wei Guo is a new faculty member of the MSABD program. Dr. Guo received his Ph.D. degree from China Agriculture University in 2004. He then came to the United States and had postdoctoral training at the Department of Animal Science at UW-Madison from 2005 to 2009 and the Nutritional Science at UW-Madison from 2009 to 2010. He then worked in industry for about two years. After two years of industry experience, he moved back to academia in 2013 and worked as a Research Scientist in the Medical School at UW-Madison. In the same year, he accepted a tenure-track faculty position at University of Wyoming. He has now started his new tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Animal Sciences at UW-Madison on January 1st 2020.
The major research interests of Dr. Guo’s laboratory are focused on understanding the molecular basis and cell signaling mechanisms underlying muscle function, growth, development, regeneration and diseases as well as life course impact of fetal programming on muscle development and function. Understanding of these mechanisms may provide new insights into the development of novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of heart and skeletal muscle diseases, as well as muscle growth and regeneration to improve meat quality and quantity in livestock. Dr. Guo’s lab is also devoted to the newly established Animal Biologics Discovery Program as part of MSABD. He is attempting to utilize the animal co-products to discover new bioactive molecules or peptides benefiting the animal industry and human health.
Dr. Guo’s research projects are currently supported by the startup funds as well as the American Heart Association award. He currently has two pending grants from National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Guo has mentored three graduate students, two postdocs, three undergraduate students and six visiting scholars. His lab has published over forty peer-reviewed papers and three book chapters. Dr. Guo’s lab currently has one visiting scholar and has two open positions for postdoctoral (Research Associate). He is also seeking two graduate students to start in fall semester of 2020.
American Heart Association Research Leadership has approved Dr. Guo’s request to transfer his award from University of Wyoming to University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Yanghai Zhang, M.S. Student, has begun her work in Guo’s lab.
Hatch Project: Improving Oxidative Stability in Muscle Foods by Phospholipid Hydrolysis and Examination of the Mechanism Involved
Chemistry of the Food Lipids 710 – There were 11 students enrolled this past fall semester. The course will be taught again in Fall 2021.
Yuting Wu joins the Richards Lab group as a Ph.D. student. Yuting brings electrical engineering experience to a project that explores solvent access to the interior of hemoglobin and myoglobin in the context of meat discoloration and off-flavor formation. Yuting is using a technique termed PLIMB, plasma-induced modification of biomolecules, to probe solvent access. The modifications to the protein interior are quantified using mass spectrometry. The project is a collaborative effort involving the Departments of Animal Sciences, Engineering, and Biochemistry.
James Whalin began his Ph.D. program examining oxidative processes in biological systems. James completed his B.S. at the Ohio State University with emphasis in meat science as well as entomology. James also completed six courses that are part of the Midwest Poultry Consortium program. He completed his M.S. conducting research related to phospholipase A2 as a natural antioxidant in pork sausage.
Na Li completed her M.S. in Meat Science and M.S. in Statistics. Na conducted research on the effect of phospholipase A2 on hemoglobin-mediated lipid oxidation in a lipid monolayer model systems as well as in a washed muscle model system. Her interest in statistical evaluations led to also obtaining an M.S. in Statistics.
Publications
Arowolo, F. K., X. Yang, M. E. Blaser, A. M. Nicholson, E. Hosokawa, J. R. Booth, C. T. Jobsis, R. L. Russell, J. J. Meudt, J. L. Reichert, T. D. Crenshaw, M. P. Richards, and D. Shanmuganayagam. 2020. Presence of lipid oxidation products in swine diet lowers pork quality and stability during storage. Meat Sci 160:107946. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.107946
Richards, MP. Olson, J.M, and Haas, M.J. (2019). Animal Fats, In Bailey’s Industrial Oil & Fat Products. 7th edition (Accepted).
Kurz, J.P, Richards, M.P, Garcia, M.M., and Wang Z. (2019). Exogenous phospholipase A2 affects inflammatory gene expression in primary bovine mammary epithelial cells. J. Dairy Res. 86. 177-180; DOI: 10.1017/S0022029919000232
Perez, DM, Tatiyaborworntham, N., Sifri, M. and Richards, MP (2019). Hemolysis, tocopherol, and lipid oxidation in erythrocytes and muscle tissues in chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Poultry Sci. 98, 456-463, doi: 10.3382/ps/pey329.
Tatiyaborworntham, N. and Richards, MP. (2018). Mechanisms involved in hemoglobin-mediated oxidation of lipids in washed fish muscle and inhibitory effects of phospholipase A2. J. Sci. Food Agric. 98, 2816-2823.
Research Projects
Title: Role of solvent access to myoglobin and hemoglobin: A unifying mechanism of oxidative deterioration in muscle foods
Title: Development of plant hemoglobin technology for application in meat substitutes
Title: Evaluation of a novel seed meal as dietary protein source for broiler chicken
Title: Developing a hamster model for inflammation in β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease
Title: Resilient salmon project with NMBU (Norway)
Building Construction Representation – Jeff has continued to represent the user group in efforts to work toward construction completion of the Meat Science & Animal Biologics Discovery building.
New M.S. students, Renally Ferreira and Jordan Nehls, have begun their work in Sindelar’s lab.
Meat Processing School to be held at UW-Madison on March 25-26, 2020.
Staff Updates
Dillon Walker, Meat Plant Operations Manager
As many of you are aware, we are still operating in our existing Meat Science & Muscle Biology Laboratory until construction of the new MSABD building is completed later this summer.
I wanted to 1) provide an update of our facility availability and 2) remind those interested that we are currently “open for business” and are very much interested and willing to support your needs before and after our move.
Our tentative date for starting operations in the new building will be September of this year with a dark period in our current building scheduled for July/August to allow for equipment and personnel transfer. During this dark period, we won’t be in a position to offer our facilities for your innovation, research & development, and general fee-for-service needs. In the meantime, you can reference a “Features and Capabilities” document for both the MSABD USDA inspected processing and the MSABD BSL2 (pathogen lab) facilities.
If we can help you with your needs before or after our move, please reach out to discuss and schedule!
Mitch Monson, Retail Operations Manager
Bucky’s Butchery, the campus butcher shop located on the first floor of the UW Meat Science & Muscle Biology Laboratory has expanded its hours and is now open Wednesdays from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m., Thursdays from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m, and Fridays from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
We are looking forward to providing high quality fresh cuts and value-added products in our new store (drum roll, please), Bucky’s Varsity Meats! It will be a really fun, collegiate space that will provide great program visibility and become a campus destination, similar to our friends at Babcock Dairy Store. Stop in next time you’re on campus and take home your favorite products!
Joan Parrish, Research Lab Manager
Joan Parrish recently started as the Research Lab Manager for the Meat Science & Muscle Biology Laboratory. You may have worked with Joan if you have had any research or fee-for-service contracts in the past and she will continue to help with that administrative function in MSABD in addition to managing the research lab.
Joan is a farm kid from upstate New York. She received her BS from Cornell University and MS from Pennsylvania State University. Joan has worked for the Department of Animal Sciences since 1983 when she started as a research technician in Dr. Neal First’s reproductive physiology lab. She enjoys learning about new aspects of animal science and is intrigued by muscle physiology and the relationship to food quality.
In her spare time, Joan loves working with her animals. From poultry to horses, her farmette makes a great place to think about science and learning in a practical setting. Joan is also an avid field and obedience dog trainer and competitor.
Rochelle Ripp Schnadt, Senior Marketing Specialist
With Dan Schaefer’s recent retirement, Rochelle has accepted the role of the WI Meat Industry Hall of Fame Chair in addition to her marketing and communication duties for MSABD. The intent with the 2020 Hall of Fame event is to transition from a spring luncheon to a fall WI Meat Industry gala in efforts to bring together a larger meat-focused group and highlight key accomplishments across meat and livestock organizations, industry and academia. One of the key objectives to this revamped event is to share the impact and importance of the WI meat industry and it’s people. Be on the look out for a date to be confirmed once the MSABD grand opening is set, likely in November. We hope you’ll join us as we’ll have a lot to celebrate in 2020!