Caring for Baby Animals

This study will be a very welcomed change from the hard labor it took to care for 23 beef bulls.  Needless to say I am very excited for the day the calves for this study are born. Unfortunately the calf that we were waiting for turned out to be a heifer (these will not be used for the study).  This means we will have to wait until this weekend to see if we can start this study.  I was initially a little disappointed, but we still have plenty of time to conduct this research.

The study I will be working on  is measuring bovine interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta) beta levels in neonatal dairy  calves during their first day of life. The IL-1 beta is important as a mediator for inflammatory response.  I believe this project will be extremely interesting, it is a field that does not have very many publications.  My role for this research will be a little of everything, since it is my own little research I will be (hopefully) taking a part of every aspect of it.  I am sure I will also be obtaining help from veterinarians and other animal science students.  This research will be a great way for me to really continue practicing my skills in animal handling, blood drawing, and ELISA immunoassay (used to determine the IL-1 beta levels).