UC Santa Cruz Researchers Strive to Enhance Milk Production With $150,000 Zoetis Grant

August 4, 2015

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Lindsay Hinck

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz will continue research related to mammary gland development, thanks to $150,000 in research funding from Zoetis. The award is part of the competitive Zoetis Cattle Call research grant program, which supports efforts by North American researchers and veterinarians to improve dairy and beef cattle performance. 

This year’s grant recipients, Lindsay Hinck, Ph.D., professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, along with Sharmila Chatterjee, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar, are working on basic research that could identify potential pathways to higher milk production in dairy cattle.

Dr. Hinck’s research lab studies mammary gland development and stem cell biology, focusing primarily on human breast cancer.

“I had never thought about the practical role our research could play in the dairy industry,” Dr. Hinck said. “It turns out that our investigation into regulatory mechanisms governing mammary stem cells can directly translate to milk production. This is a new and exciting direction for our research program.”