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Samla Cunha
Position/Title: Post-doctoral Scholar
email: scunha@uoguelph.ca
Phone:
Office: ANNU 047
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Samla is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, working with Dr. Christine Baes, Dr. Fillipo Miglior, and Dr. Flavio Schenkel. She is involved in the Net-Zero Dairy Genome Project, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the dairy industry while maintaining productivity and profitability. Samla holds a PhD in Animal Biosciences (UofG), an M.S. in Animal Breeding and Genetics (UNESP), and a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Medicine (UNIVASF). She has experience in molecular biology, particularly DNA-related processes, diagnosis of genetic diseases, quantitative genetics with a focus on animal modelling for genetic prediction, genetic parameter estimation, and GWAS analysis across various species.
Education:
Ph.D., Animal Biosciences [2021 - 2024]
University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
Thesis Title: Understanding the genes and metabolic pathways associated with the resistance of sheep to gastrointestinal nematodes and its climate change effects
Advisor: Dr. Angela Cánovas
Co-advisor: Dr. Flávio Schenkel
M.S., Animal Breeding and Genetics [2018 – 2020]
State São Paulo University Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil
Thesis Title: Genetic parameters and Genome-Wide association study for linear conformation traits, milking ease and temperament in Dairy Gir
Advisor: Dr. Danísio Munari
Co-Advisor: Dr. João Claúdio do Carmo Panetto and Tatiane Seleguim Chud
Master Exchange period: University of Guelph, ON, Canada [August 2019 - January 2020]
Supervisor: Dr. Flavio Schenkel
B.VetMed, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine [2011 – 2017]
Federal University of the São Francisco Valley, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Thesis Title: Rebuilding the genealogy of L-2 hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L2-HGAU) in Staffordshire Bull Terrier dogs in Brazil
Advisor: Dr. João Gouveia
Agriculture and Livestock Technician [2008 - 2010]
Federal Institute of Rondônia, Colorado do Oeste, RO, Brazil
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
- Cunha, S.M.F., Lam, S., Mallard, B., Karrow, N.A., Cánovas, A. (2024) Genomic Regions Associated with Resistance to Gastrointestinal Nematode Parasites in Sheep - A Review. Genes. 2024;15(2):187. doi: 10.3390/genes15020187.
- Cunha, S.M.F., Willoughby, O., Schenkel, F., Cánovas, A. (2024) Genetic Parameter Estimation and Selection for Resistance to Gastrointestinal Nematode Parasites in Sheep - A Review. Animals, 14, 613. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14040613.
- Nogueira, J.F., Borges, A.S., De Andrade, D.G.A., Bezerra, F.C.M., De Oliveira-Filho, J.P., Cunha, S.M.F., Gouveia, G.V., Gouveia, J.J.S. (2018) Deepening the knowledge about dermatosparaxis in Brazilian White Dorper population: Basis for the development and implementation of a genetic disease eradication program in sheep. Livestock Science, v. 217, p. 162-166.
- De Simoni Gouveia, J.J., Cunha, S.M.F., De Almeida, E.M., Nogueira, J.F., Souza Filho, J.L.P., Menezes, D.R., Gouveia, G.V. (2016) Molecular and genealogical analyses reveal multiple sources of the mutation associated with dermatosparaxis in Brazilian White Dorper sheep. Small Ruminant Research, v. 140, p. 46-49.
Awards:
- 2024: Food from Thought Conference Bursary - 75th European Association for Animal Production (EAAP) Annual Meeting in Florence, Italy
- 2024: Braithwaite Travel Grant - 2024 ASAS-CSAS-WSASAS Annual Meeting in Calgary, AB, Canada
- 2023: Brian W. Kennedy Memorial Scholarship
- 2023: Food from Thought Conference Bursary - 2023 ASAS-CSAS-WSASAS Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM, USA
- 2023: CSAS Graduate Student Travel Fellowship Award - Awarded by the Canadian Society of Animal Science
- 2022: Teaching Award - Animal Biosciences Department
- 2022: 2nd Place - Poster Presentation at the Animal Biosciences - OMAFRA Graduate Student Symposium
- 2015: Honourable Mention, Top 3 Abstracts at the X Univasf Teaching, Research, and Extension Week
- 2015: Honourable Mention in Animal Genetics at the XX Northeast Genetics Meeting