Megan Rolf

Since joining the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry in 2016, I have built a research and teaching program centered on advancing the genetic evaluation of beef cattle to address pressing challenges in the industry, from environmental sustainability to reproductive efficiency. Across both my 70% research and 30% teaching appointments, my work is unified by a common goal: generating the data, tools, and trained scientists needed to move novel traits from discovery into practical, industry-ready genetic evaluation frameworks.

In my research program, this means building the biological sample and phenotypic databases necessary to compete for major federal funding, pursuing interdisciplinary collaborations that extend the value of the data we collect, and developing the bioinformatics capacity to expand into new genomic technologies. It also means completing the translational work already underway to the point of industry application and establishing the data-sharing frameworks that will allow our work to be used more broadly across the field.

This same commitment to building durable, transferable infrastructure carries into my teaching program. As the teaching program in animal breeding and genetics increasingly serves distance students alongside those on campus, I have focused on developing course materials, seminar structures, and mentoring strategies that serve both populations effectively.