Department of Animal Science announces new associate chair of research
Nicholas Gabler, professor in animal science, will serve a four-year appointment as the Associate Chair of Research in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.
“Nick Gabler has demonstrated excellence in research, teaching and outreach for our department in swine nutrition and production. He has provided leadership in many areas of our programs. Gabler will build on our research enterprise at Iowa State University to help provide solutions for farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders in Iowa animal agriculture. He will also develop and foster strong opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in research on projects providing tremendous impact on the industries we serve,” said Dr. Dan Thomson, professor and chair of the Department of Animal Science.
Gabler has built a robust research program in swine nutrition and physiology in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State. He was recently awarded a COVID-19 Exceptional Effort Award from Iowa State University and the Missions Award from Gamma Sigma Delta for delivering practical science-based solutions for pork producers to overcome the challenges of packing plant shut-downs.
He is originally from Australia where he received his B.S. and Ph.D. in agricultural science with an emphasis in animal science and nutrition at La Trobe University. Upon coming to the U.S. in 2004, Gabler served as a postdoctoral research associate at Purdue University and in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State before joining the animal science faculty in 2008.
The Associate Chair of Research will focus on helping faculty, staff and students be successful in conducting research to serve the animal agriculture industry. As the largest department in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Iowa State University, this new position was developed to assist the department in the administration of the research enterprise and to ensure that faculty have adequate support for submitting to grant opportunities. Gabler will also promote undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral and visiting professor research opportunities within the department.
Led by strong faculty researchers, the Department of Animal Science is home to about 70 graduate students and 10 post-doctoral researchers. Researchers within the department submitted over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles in 2020 and had more than 60 new grant proposals awarded. The animal science department research team is uniquely suited to conduct studies from farm to fork using the Iowa State research farms, laboratories and USDA inspected meat laboratory on campus.
Contact:
Michelle Hiscocks, Department of Animal Science communications, michhisc@iastate.edu