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Assistant Professor
114D McCord Hall
2640 Morgan Circle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4574
(865) 974-5597
Fax: (865) 947-7297
Email: ckojima@utk.edu
Research Appointment: 60%
Teaching Appointment: 40% |
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Animal Genetics and Genomics |
EDUCATION and TRAINING
Cornell University, Animal Science B.S. 1988
University of Missouri, Animal Science Ph.D. 1997
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Animal Physiology 1997-2000
APPOINTMENTS
August 2004 - present. Assistant Professor of Animal Genetics
and Genomics, Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, TN. Appointment is 60% research, 40% teaching.
January 2000 - December 2003. Senior Scientist, Functional Genomics,
Swine Genomics Group, Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO.
June 1997 – January 2000. Research Associate (post-doctoral),
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Animal Physiology Unit, Columbia,
MO.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Kojima’s research program is currently composed of three
projects. The first is a study in collaboration with Drs. Gina Pighetti
and Arnold Saxton in which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
will be detected in candidate genes for mastitis resistance in dairy
cattle. Phenotype-genotype associations will be assessed and promising
SNPs will be further investigated as potential markers for use in
marker-assisted selection.
The second aspect of Dr. Kojima’s program involves transcript
profiling, which is the analysis of gene expression. In this work
the growing pig is used as a model in which gene expression relating
to growth, appetite and immune function is studied. This is a basic
physiological approach to the development of markers for health
and well-being of livestock animals.
The third project is the development of an equine genetics program.
The Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) provides a uniquely suitable model
for assessing the effects of inbreeding on a closed population due
to the local availability of animals, pedigree and trait information.
Dr. Kojima is currently developing a trait database which for the
first time in this breed will record and define traits of interest
including those relating to fertility, growth, conformation and
gait. Inbreeding depression and family influence will be examined
in relation to these traits, providing an invaluable point of reference
for breeders.
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