Board of Regents approve Animal Reproductive Biotechnology Center construction

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved construction of the new $13 million Animal Reproductive Biotechnology Center at their meeting on Aug. 16. Construction is expected to begin in September with substantial completion scheduled for January 2025.

This initiative is a joint effort among the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science and Texas A&M AgriLife Research . It will provide opportunities to combine and advance the research, teaching and outreach potential of the department while supporting its vision to become a global leader in domestic animal pregnancy and development. “Approval to begin construction on the center is a major step in carrying out the land-grant mission of Texas A&M AgriLife to provide innovative, science-based solutions to problems facing the industry,” said Jeffrey W.

Savell, Ph. D. , vice chancellor and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The center will be located on the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, a 2,400-acre applied research campus in Bryan. It will include research labs, educational spaces, office space, and animal holding and handling areas segregated by size and type of ruminants. Designated areas for each group will include chutes for specimen collection, stanchion space for hands-on instruction, and preparation and recovery spaces for small ruminants.

These workspaces will be supported by load-out areas, holding pens and alleyway circulation. Reproduction issues can impact the bottom line for livestock producers and, in turn, affect the price to consumers, making these issues a priority for researchers and industry members alike. “It’s essential that we generate science our partners can trust and apply,” said G.

Cliff Lamb, Ph. D. , director of AgriLife Research.

“To do this, we will need to be more creative and entrepreneurial to effectively support our programs as we strive to create the translational research necessary to develop and produce sustainable livestock systems with local, national and global impacts. ” The new center will be fundamental to increased understanding of ruminant reproduction at the molecular, cellular and whole-animal level while continuing work to address known reproductive issues. It will serve to advance innovation and collaboration through industry-partnered research focusing on the latest techniques and technologies that optimize reproductive efficiency and minimize economic loss for producers.

Gifts from industry members have helped transition the center from an idea to reality. The Texas A&M Foundation is a nonprofit organization that exists to the benefit of Texas A&M University . The Foundation works with former students, corporations and other Texas A&M supporters to match their charitable interests with the university’s priorities.

Gifts create scholarships, advance faculty endeavors, enhance student programs and fund new buildings, ultimately creating a brighter future for Texas A&M, one relationship at a time. To donate to the new Animal Reproductive Biotechnology Center, go to http://give. am/ANSCConstructionFund or contact Jennifer Ann Scasta, senior director of development, at 979-845-7594.

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