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Michael Roberts, MU curators’ professor of animal
science and biochemistry, shares the prestigious Wolf
Prize for his research on understanding pregnancy. Photo
courtesy of MU Publications and Alumni Communication
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Professor
to Lead Inquiry at National Zoo
By Jason Jenkins
A University of Missouri animal scientist
will lead a national committee reviewing animal management at
the Smithsonian National
Zoological Park following a recent string of animal deaths.
Mike
Roberts, curators’ professor of animal
science and biochemistry,
will lead a 15-member National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee as they spend the next
year identifying strengths, weaknesses, needs and gaps in the
National Zoo’s current infrastructure. The committee will
provide recommendations or changes needed to ensure effective
animal care and management.
Roberts said he believed his broad training
in the life sciences and his expertise in reproductive biology
and technology were the reasons he was selected to lead the
committee. “Reproductive physiology is becoming more and
more important in zoo conservation and endangered species management,”
he said.
The deaths of many animals, including a
bobcat, an elephant, two giraffes, a lion, two red pandas, a
tree kangaroo and two zebras in the past three years prompted
the study, which will cost about $450,000. The committee will
issue its final report next year.
An MU faculty member since 1985 and an NAS
member since 1996, this is Roberts’ second NAS committee
appointment and first appointment as committee chairman. In
2001, he was appointed to a committee that identified risk issues
concerning products of animal biotechnology.
Roberts is best known for his research with
Interferon-tau and other proteins that enable an unborn embryo
and mother to chemically “communicate” during pregnancy.
Earlier this year, he received the Wolf
Prize in Agriculture for his efforts.
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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