Current Students

Chantelle Croucamp || Elizabeth Dressler ||Kelli Retallick||Will Shaffer || Menzi Spiller || Danielle Stock || Mathew Kinghorn

Ph.D. Students

Chantelle Croucamp
Graduate Research Assistant
Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa

Ph.D., Animal Breeding and Genetics
Anticipated Graduation: August 2026

MSc., Agric Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Pretoria, 2024
Dissertation: Selection Signatures in Geographically Separated Hereford Populations

BSc., Agric Animal Science, University of Pretoria, 2021

Ph.D. Project Description: My Ph.D invlvolves the Implementation of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) into selection signature analyses using real and imputed data at various densities to identify genomic regions and subsequent candidate genes related to beef bull fertility traits. MY Master's involves the detection of selection signatures within and between four Hereford reference populations, identifying candidate genes for adaptation to climatic regions in South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, and Uruguay.

Elizabeth Dressler
Graduate Research Assistant

B.S., Kansas State University, 2020
M.S., Kansas State University, 2022 - National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) Doak Fellowship Recipient
Thesis: "Evaluation of novel traits influencing the sustainability of the beef industry: greenhouse gas fluxes, feeding and drinking behaviors"

Ph.D. Project Description: Evaluating greenhouse gas production from grazing beef cattle using a GreenFeed system and genetic evaluation of cashmere goat fiber quality traits.

Kelli Retallick
Ph.D. Student and Director, Genetic Service, American Angus Association

M.S., Kansas State University, 2015, “Genetic variance and covariance components for feed intake, average daily gain, and postweaning gain and indices to improve feed efficiency in growing beef cattle”

Ph.D. Project Description: Development of novel trait genetic evaluation in Angus Cattle

Will Shaffer

Graduate Research Assistant
Hometown: Carthage, MO

Ph.D., Genetics - Genetics Fellowship Recipient
Anticipated Graduation: December 2024

M.S., Kansas State University, 2022
Thesis: https: "Modeling phenotypic plasticity as an indicator of adaptability in beef cattle"

Graduate Certificates: Applied Statisticsin, 2021
B.S., Oklahoma State University, 2017

Project Description: My Master's focused on modeling and selecting for phenotypic stability and the impacts of genetic-by-environment interactions on selection. My Ph.D. involves developing pipelines and testing statistical methods to maximize our power to detect differentially expressed miRNA and their gene targets, modeling beef sire conception rate (SCR) in dairy and beef populations to compare the genetic similarity, and predicting SCR from semen evaluation traits.

M.S. Students

Danielle Stock

Graduate Research Assistant
Hometown: Waukon, Iowa

B.S., Iowa State University, 2022
M.S., Kansas State University, Anticipated 2024

M.S. Project Description: My master's focuses on Male Fertility in Beef Cattle. This involves estimating variance components and heritabilities for scrotal circumference and semen quality traits measured during both a breeding soundness examination and artificial insemination semen collection, and determining the genetic relationships between these traits.

Mathew Kinghorn

Graduate Research Assistant
Hometown: Winterton, South Africa

B.Sc., Animal Science, University of the Free State, 2018
M.Sc., Animal Sciences majoring in Animal Breeding, University of the Free State, 2023
Dissertation: Genetic Evaluation of South African Jersey Cattle
Ph.D., Animal Breeding and Genetics, Anticipated August 2026

Ph.D. Project Description: Exploring potential beef sire fertility metrics derived from existing genetic evaluations for comparison with standard beef sire fertility measurements from breeding soundness exams and semen quality tests.