Released Feb. 14, 2008

AMARILLO, Texas -- Dr. Jason Osterstock is trained in infectious diseases of cattle, so he figured where better to get a job than the Texas Panhandle, the center of the beef cattle industry, he said.

Osterstock was recently hired to fill a newly created position in ruminant animal health for Texas AgriLife Research, said Dr. John Sweeten, resident director of the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Amarillo.

With an animal science degree and doctorate in veterinary medicine from The Ohio State University, a doctorate in biomedical sciences from Texas A&M University, and experience in clinical practice and research, Osterstock was an excellent fit for the position, Sweeten said.

“We are extremely pleased that Dr. Osterstock has joined and strengthened our CREET team that is recognized in beef cattle nutrition and health,” Sweeten said.

The Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Team is composed of facilities, scientists and administrators of: AgriLife Research, Amarillo; the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Amarillo; West Texas A&M University’s Agricultural Sciences, Canyon; Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, Amarillo; and U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Bushland.

“Dr. Osterstock will serve as a project leader for planning and conducting research in ruminant animal health, involving the beef feedlot, dairy, stocker and cow/calf industries of the Texas High Plains region,” Sweeten said.

Ruminant health problems should include infectious disease of calves, dairy and feedlot cattle, and livestock biosecurity issues, he said.

“The animal resources and contemporary production systems of the Texas Panhandle are a big attraction for someone like me with an interest in epidemiology and animal health,” Osterstock said.

Osterstock said he anticipates focusing his program initially on infectious disease epidemiology in cattle. He will work in collaboration with Texas A&M’s Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, where he also has a faculty appointment, and with the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at Amarillo.

“Probably the biggest issue is the large concentrations of animals in this area and the different layers of biosecurity that exist as it relates to infectious disease,” he said. “There is a specific need for the mitigation of infectious disease threats in these production systems. I want to identify potential risk factors and develop ways to address and monitor these risks to limit losses and improve animal well-being.”

Osterstock said he will collaborate with other team scientists and industry stakeholders to model disease events and identify the risk factors for disease relevant to producers in the region.

“I’m also interested in genetic resistance to infectious disease,” he said, adding he did his dissertation on the genetic epidemiology of Johne’s disease in beef cattle. Johne’s disease is an infectious bacterial disease primarily affecting the intestinal tract.

The Texas A&M System has conducted only limited veterinary research related to animal health in the Texas Panhandle, in part due to the geographical location of the veterinary college on the Texas A&M University campus, Osterstock said.

“This program is a reinvestment of the university and Texas AgriLife Research to restore a veterinary component to this center,” he said.

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http://agnews.tamu.edu/showstory.php?id=349

Contacts: Kay Ledbetter, (806) 677-5600, SKledbetter@ag.tamu.edu

Dr. Jason Osterstock, (806) 677-5600, jbosterstock@ag.tamu.edu