Oscar González-Recio

Tell us about yourself (Who are you? Where are you from? What is your educational background?)

My name is Oscar González-Recio from Spain. I graduated as an Agricultural Engineer in Animal Science in 2002 at Technyc University of Madrid. Then I started my PhD on female fertility in dairy cattle. After my PhD I worked as a PostDoc at University of Wisconsin-Madison on genome-enhanced evaluations and genomic selection. In 2013 I moved to the Department of Environment and Primary Industries in Melbourne (Australia) as a Senior Research Scientist working on fertility and feed efficiency. Since 2015 I hold a Senior Scientist position at INIA-Madrid where I am starting a new research line on the relationship between feed efficiency, methane emissions and ruminal microbiome.

What is your area of expertise?

My area of expertise in Animal Breeding and Genomic Selection. I primarily work on dairy cattle.

Where does your focus lie within your current project(s)? (related to methane)

The main focus is on improving feed efficiency and reducing methane emissions from dairy cattle using state of the arte genomic and metagenomics tools.

What would be the added value for you of joining an international researchers network? (such as the METHAGENE network)

Discussions, exchange knowledge, collaboration and keep up to date on the state of the art are the main values for me from these sort of networks.

What and/or who inspired you to make a career in science?

I had a very inspiring professor during my degree. And I belong to a farmer family, so I suppose the link was right there.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I truly enjoy when my work can be applied to the field.

What is your most stand-out or surprising moment in science so far?

I was actively involved in the first implementation of genomic selection in dairy cattle in Spain, and the integration of Spain in the EUROGENOMICS consortium.