Guilherme Madureira Position/Title: PhD Candidate email: madureig@uoguelph.ca Phone: (226) 501 5336 Office: Google Scholar Research Gate LinkedIn

Guilherme's Past - Building a Strong Base

I was born in Brazil and since I was a kid, I had a strong connection with animals. Further, this passion led me to veterinary school where I spent five years studying and learning about beef and dairy cattle production. During this period I actively participated in livestock farming research and extension activities. While I was helping small producers by introducing new technologies and knowledge, I was also learning and improving my skills. Finally, I received my bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine in 2017. By the end of the program, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in researching cattle production systems and expand my scientific knowledge. Then, I started my Master’s in Animal Science, focusing on the development of novel strategies to maximize fertility outcomes of cattle. Along my two years studies, I led several large-scale trials in the field, over the whole country, and I also managed the reproduction sector of Research Stations and commercial farms. Fortunately, since today, most part of my achievements were applied in the field, and it is still in use by Brazilian farmers. Proudly, I earned my master’s degree in Animal Science in 2017. Since then, I started the internationalization of my career. I spend one year working as a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin - USA) to develop practical strategies to reduce pregnancy loss in cattle.

Guilherme's Present - Straightening Knowledge and Exploring New Areas

After years working on innovative technologies, basic science, and management adjustments to improve cattle production systems, I decided to challenge myself and merge into a PhD program. Thus, I joined Dr. Eduardo Ribeiro's laboratory and I earned an scholarship of the Arrell Food Institute. We created a wide approach involving the main topics on dairy cattle production (Reproduction, Health, Nutrition and Genetics) to understand factors disturbing uterine environment and pregnancy survival. This approach was created based on the several papers previously published by Dr. Ribeiro. My first study aims to develop a new method to identify highly fertile dairy heifers, contributing to an effective genetic selection of superior fertility. The second study will explore the relationship of genetic markers for fertility with physiological and metabolic status of dairy cows during postpartum. My last study will investigate benefial effects of essential fatty acid supplementation on production and reproduction of postpartum dairy cows. Our results will support decision-making on the farm, as well as it will support the development of new technologies by the industry. Our final goal is making local and global food systems stronger and more competitive, and cattle production more efficient, profitable, and sustainable.

Guilherme's Future – The World’s Change That I am Working Towards

My career goal is to work on research development in the livestock industry, using animal science and applied research to solve problems faced by food animal producers.