The associate dean for research in the Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources has been selected for an award recognizing his contributions to dairy nutrition.
Michael Ballou, an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, was honored Monday (June 26) with the Lallemand Forward Award for Scientific Excellence in Dairy Nutrition by the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). The award was presented at the ADSA’s annual convention in Pittsburgh.
Program officials note that one of the goals in presenting the honor is to stimulate and recognize outstanding achievement in research, teaching, extension and/or industry in applied dairy nutrition by scientists.
Individuals selected for the award must have made significant contributions in applied dairy nutrition. The contributions are in areas such as basic or applied forage research, specifically in the areas of forage production, processing, storage or utilization; and basic or applied research in the areas of rumen and gastrointestinal microbiology and function as well as nutritional effects on production efficiency, cow comfort and health.
Ballou provides primary leadership for the college’s graduate and research program development, including graduate student recruiting initiatives, responses to request for proposals and research team building. In the past, Ballou’s research has centered on understanding how the innate immune responses of animals at various physiological states are involved in resistance to diseases and modulation of innate immune responses through management and nutrition practices.
Prior to joining the Texas Tech faculty in 2007, Ballou served as an associate instructor and graduate research assistant at the University of California-Davis. He received his bachelor’s degree in animal science and his doctorate in nutritional biology from the University of California-Davis.
Recent awards for Ballou include a Texas Tech Distinguished Research Award (2017). He is a member of the ADSA and the American Society of Nutritional Sciences.
(News release from Texas Tech)