CALF_News_April_May_2020

30 CALF News • April | May 2020 • www.calfnews.net By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor A t a time when all of agriculture needs a fearless scientist to stand up and face our unreasonable critics, Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D., has appeared to shoulder the daunting task. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Van Eenennaam was raised on the outskirts of town. She had access to farm life through a close friend and spent time enjoying open space and horse-related activities, gaining an appreciation for agriculture along the way. Agricultural matters became more than entertainment for the young stu- dent when she attended a high school career day. Van Eenennaam described the experience as having “found my purpose” after learning about scientist Norman Borlaug. Her natural curiosity about agriculture took root that day and flourished into a lifelong career. On a humorous note, Van Eenennaam mentioned that her high school friends, considering her choice of agriculture, looked at her sideways and questioned, “why?” Undaunted by the negative peer pressure, she proceeded to take the req- uisite tests for admission to Melbourne University. Her scores were stellar and she was on her way to an eventual doc- torate degree. Travel plans Van Eenennaam was a tireless student, embarking upon two exchange programs as an undergraduate agricultural science student at Melbourne University. One extended trip entailed a year-long sab- batical from the classroom and sent her life down yet another path; she landed a stint at a Santa Gertrudis ranch in Texas. She smiled and described this experience as “wild.” Not only did she encounter herds of red, eared cattle, she had discovered Texans. Only 19 years old at the time, she saw oil rigs, helicopters and oil barons. Her first week out was difficult, she noted, on account of the heavy accents, both Australian and Texan. Van Eenennaam loved her time in America, and as a fourth-year under- graduate, traveled to the University of California-Davis (UC Davis). She credits her mentor, genetics professor Juan Fernando Mendrano, for guiding her to a graduate degree. Not only did he persuade her to remain at Davis, the influential teacher underwrote her finances and saw her through to a Ph.D. Van Eenennaam is grateful for his faith in her abilities. She says he went “out on a limb” for her. She did not disappoint. Today’s life Van Eenennaam is married; her hus- band is a fish reproduction researcher at the University of California, Davis. They have been married for 30 years and have two sons, ages 22 and 19. As a teacher, her educational travels have taken her worldwide and to nearly every continent. She says achieving a bal- ance of time is difficult, and her husband is “amazing.” 2018 was a particularly difficult year; she spent 50 percent of her time away from home. A long career path After completing her doctorate, the young scientist worked for Calgene, a Davis-based biotechnology company, and in 2002 moved to a job with the UC Davis Extension service. She spends 75 percent of her time teaching producers about genetics, and the general public about agriculture and enjoys it immea- surably. Twenty-five percent of her time is spent doing research in her own molecular laboratory at the UC Davis campus. She is primarily researching genome editing in cattle, and has three doctoral and post-doctoral students working under her, as well as a research scientist and one junior specialist. The lab presents a special place for Van Eenennaam. She loves the embryo work – “the day you find out whether an experiment worked or not. There are many disappointments, making success that much sweeter.” Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D., is a molecular biologist at UC Davis. She is working on using genome editing in animal agriculture to introduce useful genetic variation into livestock breeding programs. Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D. Continued on page 31  Fearless Scientist As scientists, we need to innovate around the problems faced by farmers and to be compassionate about people. I am very dogged about that. – Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D. She adds that good results with gene editing in animals are more likely to be reached in foreign countries, where governments are less restrictive in regula- tions. Van Eenennaam has collaborated with Recombinetics, the Minnesota- based company that successfully devel- oped the gene-editing technique that replaced the horned allele in the dairy cattle genome with the polled allele. It is a world-first accomplishment that is presently being hobbled by U.S. govern- ment restrictions. Who needs help the most? According to Van Eenennaam, Third World countries suffer most on account