Massey Alumni Event - National Fieldays - Hamilton
You're invited to our upcoming networking function and to hear Prof Dorrian Garrick speak on Genomics and its role in selection and personalised medicine.
Genetic improvement in plants and animals is achieved by selection of above-average candidates to be parents of the next generation. Traditionally, this was achieved using pedigree and performance information, in much the same way that family history is used by a physician to predict your disease risk. Pedigree selection does not allow any distinction to be made regarding the merit of fill-sibs, until they have their own performance records. Genomic information allows chromosomal information to be tracked across generations, and this can be used to predict offspring that are likely to be below- or above-average for any particular attribute. The exact same concept is used in personalised medicine in humans, to predict simply inherited traits such as eye colour, and complex traits such as risks of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. These concepts will be explained in the animal and human context.
Date
Thursday 15 June 2017
Venue
The Ferrybank
Grantham St
Hamilton
Time
6.00pm
Network with alumni and friends of Massey (canapés will be served, cash bar available)
6.45pm
Guest Speaker, Prof Garrick
7.30pm
Q&A, refreshments and networking |
We look forward to seeing you at what promises to be an enjoyable evening.
Guest Speaker Prof Dorian Garrick
Dorian Garrick is the Chief Scientist at the AL Rae Center in the Institute of Veterinary, Animal & Biomedical Sciences at Massey University, located at the Ruakura Research Centre in Hamilton. He received a First Class Honors degree in Agricultural Science from Massey University in 1981 and a PhD from Cornell University in 1988.
He held the inaugural appointment to the Jay Lush endowed Chair in Animal Breeding & Genetics at Iowa State University for 10 years from 2007 following 5 years at Colorado State University and 15 years at Massey University where he held the A.L. Rae Chair since 1994. Dorian is a founding partner of US-based Theta Solutions LLC that licenses BOLT software for national and international genetic and genomic evaluations and is used across a variety of species.
Dorian has been integrally involved in the development and implementation of national animal evaluation programs, performance recording databases and breeding schemes. His recent work has focused on theoretical and applied aspects of using genomic information to predict performance. Dorian works routinely in the improvement of beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens. He works well with other researchers and equally enjoys working with enthusiastic producer and industry groups that seek to include animal breeding approaches in the attainment of their farm business goals.