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Elizabeth
Maga, Ph.D.
Associate Research Biologist
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Education
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Colorado State
University, Ft. Collins, CO 1988
Ph.D., Food Science & Technology, UC Davis, Davis, CA
1994
Research
My research is focused on the production, study and use of
transgenic animals in agriculture. Our goal is to
genetically engineer dairy animals to improve the
healthfulness and safety of milk as well as the health and
well-being of the lactating animal. More specifically, we
have generated several lines of transgenic goats that
express either a natural antimicrobial protein or a
fat-modifying enzyme in their milk. Study revolves around
characterizing the animals and their milk in terms of
mastitis prevention, food safety, and animal health
In addition to studying the animals themselves, work is
also focused on generating transgenic livestock more
efficiently. We have employed a novel recombinase technique
that resulted in a 10-fold increase in the efficiency of
generating transgenic livestock. Study is now focused on
possible mechanisms of increased embryo survival and
transgene integration. Work also revolves around increasing
the frequency of homologous recombination in cells in
culture in order to ultimately be able to generate
transgenic animals with gene-specific modifications. Work is
currently under way using RNA interference (RNAi) techniques
to study DNA integration mechanisms in cells.
Selected Publications
Click here for a list of selected
publications.
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