Alison Van Eenennaam was appointed as the Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Extension Specialist for the department in September. Her appointment includes both Cooperative Extension (75%) and research (25%). She has an extensive background in genomics, extension and animal production that is ideally suited for this position.

She is no stranger to the department having earned both a master's degree. in Animal Science (1990) and a doctorate in Genetics (1997) while working in the laboratory of Dr. Juan Medrano.

Born in Australia, she completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at The University of Melbourne in 1987. She spent her final undergraduate year at UC Davis as a part of the International Study Abroad Program. Following her bachelor's degree she worked as a development scientist for an Australian animal health company where she was involved in the development of products for the enhancement of growth in beef cattle.  

Alison returned to Davis in 1989 to begin her Master's program and to carry out research on milk proteins in California dairy cattle. In 1991 she commenced work as a UC Cooperative Extension Dairy and Livestock Farm Advisor in San Joaquin and Sacramento Counties. During her three years in this position she developed a regional outreach and educational program for dairy and livestock producers. She also carried out applied research focused on the efficacy and economics of alternative therapies for the treatment of clinical mastitis caused by environmental pathogens. 

Alison began work on her doctorate in Genetics at UC Davis in 1993. Her Ph.D. research focused on the sex determination mechanism of white sturgeon. Domestic white sturgeon is an important commercial species in California and the production of caviar from female fish is complicated by the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between the sexes in this species. Her dissertation research provided evidence of a genetic basis of sex determination in this species but found an absence of sex-specific genetic markers that would allow for the rapid identification of sex in immature sturgeon. Upon completion of her doctorate Alison spent four years at the Calgene site of Monsanto as a research scientist in their genomics group. Her research there focused on using various high-throughput genomic techniques for the identification and functional testing of genes with putative roles in metabolic paths of interest.  

In her role as an Animal Biotechnology and Extension Specialist, Alison plans to develop an integrated extension and research program including the development of unbiased educational resources on animal genomics and biotechnology. In this capacity she will interact and work with the many different groups that have an interest in animal genomics and biotechnology. She is interested in developing model animal systems to demonstrate the principles and concepts of transgenic modifications. She is also interested in examining the opportunities that exist to transgenically modify biochemical pathways to improve the quality of animal products for consumers.