WT Researcher Wins USDA Grant to Expand Study of Cattle Liver Abscesses

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University faculty member recently was awarded more than a half-million dollars to explore new avenues of research into costly liver abscesses in beef cattle.

Dr. Emilie Baker, assistant professor of animal science in the Department of Agricultural Sciences in WT’s Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, won a $595,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Baker, a geneticist, will study the molecular makeup of tissues surrounding liver abscesses to see if the rest of the liver is functioning normally and how much of the organ is affected beyond the abscess.

“Instead of the liver doing its normal metabolism work, is it doing more immune work?” Baker said. “I got this idea from cancer studies and other liver disorders, including fibrosis. How far out does that tumor affect function? It’s more than you can see with your eyeballs.”

Baker’s study is one of 19 animal nutrition, growth and lactation projects that were awarded about $10 million from NIFA.

Baker said she hopes to identify “processes going on within the cells that encourages the healing of liver abscesses.”

“There has been a lot of work in our department in regard to what causes abscesses and how you can control them, but I’m hoping this grant can provide a molecular viewpoint of how an abscess affects overall liver function,” Baker said.

“By mapping the tissue adjacent to a liver abscess, we are finally moving beyond simply identifying the presence and severity of abscesses to understanding their impact,” said Dr. Ty Lawrence, WT’s Caviness Davis Distinguished Chair in Meat Science and professor of animal science. “This will allow us to see exactly how these lesions disrupt systemic metabolism, providing a biochemical link between liver pathology and the resulting declines in feed efficiency and animal growth performance.”

WT is a leader in research into liver abscesses in feedlot cattle, dating back to the 1970s and increasing as the University continues to grow as a regional research university.

In 2020, a team led by Dr. Paul Morley, professor and director of research for Texas A&M University and West Texas A&M University’s Veterinary Education, Research, and Outreach program won $500,000 from the Food and Drug Administration to research ways to prevent antimicrobial drug resistance in feedlot cattle.

In 2022, Lawrence and Dr. John Richeson, WT’s Paul Engler Professor of Beef Cattle Feedlot Management and associate professor of animal science, were the lead editors for an edition of “Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice” focused on liver abscesses in cattle.

Dr. Kendall Samuelson, associate professor of animal science, was awarded $300,000 from the International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture in 2023 to study ways to prevent liver abscesses in feedlot cattle. She won a separate $267,000 grant in 2022 to study the relationship between the abscesses and acids in the rumen, the first chamber of a cow’s four-chamber stomach.

Lawrence was a key member of a research team that published a model study into the triggers for liver abscesses in cattle in the Journal of Animal Science and won a $650,000 NIFA grant to continue their work.

Such research is a key factor in WT earning its classification as a Research College and University from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The new designation encompasses institutions that spend more than $2.5 million annually on research, regardless of whether they offer doctoral degrees.

WT spends approximately $10 million per year on research activities and currently offers two doctoral degrees: one in agriculture and one in educational leadership.

Meeting area needs as a Regional Research University is the primary goal of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign, which is now winding down, has raised more than $175 million.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

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