A nationally-recognized USDA expert in ruminant nutrition and beef cattle energetics has been named an associate professor and Thornton Distinguished Chair in Animal Science within Texas Tech University's Department of Animal and Food Sciences, according to officials in the university's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Kristin Hales officially stepped into her new research and teaching on June 1.

"I am excited to be back on campus interacting with the student population at Texas Tech," Hales said. "I'm looking forward to conducting research to address beef industry problems and joining the elite faculty of the Animal and Food Sciences."

The Texas panhandle native indicated that she is interested in continuing her research efforts on beef cattle nutrition and management, specifically focusing on rumen microbiome, antimicrobial resistance, beef cattle energetics, and improving feed efficiency of beef cattle.

One of her primary goals at Tech is to train future academic leaders and consulting feedlot nutritionists while building and internationally recognized research program that addresses knowledge gaps in feedlot production and beef cattle nutrition.

For eight years, prior to joining the Tech faculty, Hales served as a research animal scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service's U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. Prior to that she worked as a research animal scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, Texas.

Hales received her bachelor's and her master's degrees in animal science from Oklahoma State University-Stillwater. Her doctorate in animal science is from Texas Tech. Recent honors for Hales include being named a 'Top 3 Reviewer' for the Journal of Animal Science (2016); and a 'Top 10 Reviewer' for the Journal of Animal Science (2015). She is a committee member on the American Society of Animal Science's Animal Production Committee (2017-2019), and served as the chairperson of the Ruminant Nutrition Program Committee of the Midwest Society of Animal Science (2016-2018).

She currently serves as an associate editor for the journal, Applied Animal Science. Hales has published more than 65 research papers, and was recently awarded the Outstanding Early Career Research Award from the Midwest Section of the American Society of Animal Science (2019).

Tech's Department of Animal and Food Sciences is one of seven departments within Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Housed in a state-of-the-art research and teaching facility, the department's 28 faculty members have excellent research support. Many are leading researchers in their respective fields. Areas of research emphasis include meat science and muscle biology, food safety and food microbiology, food security, animal nutrition and health, and animal welfare, with work in all major livestock species.

CONTACT: Michael Orth, chairman, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-5653 or michael.orth@ttu.edu

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