91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

Departmental News


Animal Science Graduate Students display the new t-shirts they designed.

Staff, Graduate, and Undergraduates - Show your pride in your program and get one while stocks last!Ìý See details.

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July 2016

Congratulations to James 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Professor Xin Zhao who received the 2016 West Agro Inc. Award from the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA).

The award is given to one individual each year "to recognize outstanding research of milk quality as affected by control of mastitis, management of milking, and practices in production of milk."

The award was presented at a ceremony during the annual meeting of the ADSA in Salt Lake City,Ìý Utah.

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Congratulations to Ms. Audrey St-Yves (pictured with Professor Roger Cue) was the recipient of the 2016 Canadian Society of Animal Science - Undergraduate Award

Mr. Mohsen Pourabedin (second from left) was awarded the Ajinomoto Heartland/Halchemix Scholarship and Mr. Hector Delgado (second from the right) was awarded the Blair Postgraduate Fellowship.Ìý Professors Xin Zhao and Roger Cue were also in attendance.

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The inherent nature of disease

Canada Research Chair in Epigenetics, Reproduction and Development Dr Sarah Kimmins discusses her groundbreaking work into epigenetics and how it is informing new theories about the importance of parental health and nutrition.

Read the complete article (pdf) in International Innovation, published by Research Media, is the leading global dissemination resource for the wider scientific, technology and research communities, dedicated to disseminating the latest science, research and technological innovations on a global level. More information and a complimentary subscription offer to the publication can be found at:

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M. Benjamin Ponchon - a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Prof. Xin Zhao - won the 2012 CSAS Poster Award at the 2012 Joint Annual Meetings of ADSA/ASAS/CSAS in Phoenix Arizona.

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Cloned pigs at 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Department of Animal Science

Montreal, December 5, 2007

Canada's first cloned pigs born at 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

Long-term cloning program to aid treatment of human diseases

Researchers in 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Department of Animal Science have successfully produced three litters of cloned pigs, a Canadian first that will eventually contribute to advancing biomedical research into human ailments such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"This is an important intermediate step toward generating transgenic animal models for research because it gives us the opportunity to create animals from cell lines that can be easily manipulated in vitro; it could even lead to the development of new cell therapies for genetic diseases in humans," explained Dr. Vilceu Bordignon, Director of the Large Animal Research Unit at 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Macdonald Campus in Ste. Anne de Bellevue.

The 17 piglets were produced from cells collected from a single pig. The cells were cultured in vitro and then injected into matured germ cells whose nuclei were removed. Developing embryos were later inserted into the uterus of a female - the same approach that gave birth to Dolly, a sheep that, in 1996, was the first mammal to be cloned in this manner, Dr. Bordignon said.

Of the 17 - all male, because the original cells were harvested from a male pig - seven underwent autopsies to rule out any potential health issues. The remaining 10, now several weeks old, are developing normally.

"We're monitoring their growth rate, but they're not receiving any special treatment," said Dr. Bordignon. "They are feeding, growing and developing just like normal pigs."

After monkeys, pigs are the most appropriate animal models to use in researching human disease because their physiology so closely resembles our own, he explained. Pigs were first successfully cloned in the United States in 2000.

"Because we are the first in Canada, I've already been contacted by researchers from 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ and other Canadian universities interested in developing specific animal cells to study a variety of human diseases," Dr. Bordignon said.

The research was funded with approximately $1 million in grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Le Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT) and 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ.
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