The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) is pleased to announce the participants in the 2017-18 Beef Researcher Mentorship program. Following an open application process, three researchers have been selected. Each has been paired with notable leaders in the Canadian beef industry and given a travel budget for the coming year, which will provide valuable opportunities for greater engagement with Canada’s beef industry.
Mentee: Dr. Mika Asai Coakwell
Mentors: Lance Leachman, Ryan Beierbach, and Michael Latimer
Mika Asai Coakwell, Ph.D. is the new Assistant Professor of Animal Genetics at the University of Saskatchewan. She grew up in Saskatchewan, attending elementary school, high school and university in Saskatoon. She began her MSc studies in bovine genetics in the department of Animal and Poultry Science, after graduating with BSc in Biology and Archaeology at the UofS. Mika completed her PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland examining epigenetic events in cloned cattle. Upon returning to Canada, she began studies in a new field, ocular genetics, in Edmonton, Alberta as a post-doctoral fellow. There, she studied genes implicated in human ocular defects. She subsequently became a research associate in the department. Her current research interests are in beef cattle genetics, particularly in muscle and bone growth and development. Other interests include the study of inherited disease in cattle and companion animals. Continue reading
