23/09/2020
Check out this spotlight!
Francine Henry Postdoc Spotlight!
Francine Henry, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at Texas Tech University, lead by Dr. Michael Orth, chair and professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. Henry’s research focus is beef cattle nutrition. She is focused on achieving sustainable beef cattle production in grazing and feedlot systems through implementation of nutritional strategies that have the potential to mitigate greenhouse gases emissions, with emphasis on enteric methane, while enhancing animal performance and decreasing the carbon footprint of beef production.
Henry has earned several accolades and awards over the past years:
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences International Student Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Florida (2018)
Department of Animal Sciences PhD student of the year, University of Florida (2017)
Grinter Award Fellowship, University of Florida (2015 and 2016)
International Stockmen's Educational Foundation: Student Travel Fellowship (2014)
São Paulo State University Valedictorian (2011)
São Paulo Regional Council of Veterinary Medicine
Top Animal Science Student (2011)
Henry is originally from Brazil, and although agriculture was not a part of her childhood, biology has always fascinated her. When searching for universities, she learned about the opportunity to study the biology of animals, and more specifically livestock species. After enrolling in the Animal Science program at São Paulo State University in Brazil in 2006, Henry was engulfed in the intensive nature of animal science. During her MS and PhD at the University of Florida, she began to find gaps in the knowledge in which she is passionate about, filling them with uncompromised scientific data, and then disseminating that information to scientists and producers alike.
Today, and after almost 14 years, Henry is motivated to continue her path to career excellence. “I understand that my development as a scientist and educator is of the utmost importance as I will be training those students who will be leading the charge to feed the world alongside me and after me.”
She describes her reasoning for choosing Texas Tech for her postdoc, “I have chosen to complete a Postdoctoral program at Texas Tech University due to its phenomenal Department of Animal and Food Sciences, which offers one of the nation's premier teaching and research programs in this area, and its location at the agricultural epicenter of the Texas South Plains.”
Postdoctoral associates are a vital part of Texas Tech community and a crucial element in its quest towards the Tier 1 status. We want to recognize the significant contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to U.S. research and discovery by celebrating National Postdoc Appreciation Week.
