The University of Vermont

Animal Science Department (ASCI)

wright_announcement

Announcement & Welcome to new ASCI Chair André-Denis Wright

New Animal Science Chair Pioneered Correlation Between Livestock Burps and Global Warming

Dr
André-Denis Wright will begin his role as associate professor and  chair of the University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' (CALS) animal science department on Sept. 1, Dean Tom
Vogelmann announced today.

Wright made international news in 2004, when his research on the correlation between livestock gas and "greenhouse gas" was published in the prestigious journals "Nature," "The Economist" and "New Scientist."  He was among the first to articulate that reducing "cow burps" - that, is, methane emissions from millions of ruminating animals could reduce global warming, thereby reducing their "carbon hoof print."

As senior scientist and research group leader at Australia's largest research consortium, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) out of Brisbane, Queensland, for nearly a decade, Wright has led colleagues to develop vaccines and other strategies to reduce such emissions.

In the past five years, Wright has brought in more than $5 million in research funding for such work. In his new lab in Terrill Hall at UVM, he will continue to develop strategies to reduce methane emissions from ruminants, as well as using gut microorganisms as biomarkers for early diagnosis of colonic diseases in humans.

Wright's fieldwork even resulted in a species named after him. /Apokeronopsis wrighti /is a ciliate, in other words, large ciliated protozoa, residing off the coast of Hong Kong.

"I am excited for André-Denis Wright to join our excellent team of animal scientists and faculty. His leadership will bring UVM animal science to an extraordinary new level. His collaboration with colleagues will mutually benefit research teams across disciplines on campus, and his international connections will bring an exchange of new ideas and focus to UVM. And all of this benefits our students in the classroom and in the laboratory," said Vogelmann.

As chair, Wright will also make his mark on the College by filling two faculty vacancies this coming year and reorganizing the UVM Farms.

André-Denis Wright was educated at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and the University of Guelph, Ontario with degrees in biology and Zoology with a specialization in molecular microbiology and evolution.  As an associate professor, he has taught seven different courses at the University of Guelph and Murdoch University and mentored more than a dozen PhD, post-doctoral and honors students over the past seven years. He has over 45 publications in peer-reviewed international  journals.

Last modified September 01 2009 03:10 PM

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