Graduate Research Assistant
Texas A&M University
Nicholas Kertz, M.S. is a Ph.D. student studying Physiology of Reproduction at Texas A&M University. He completed his B.S. at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in Animal Science and Agricultural Systems Management. He received his M.S. at Auburn University in the Livestock Genomics and Bioinformatics Laboratory investigating molecular markers for heifer fertility through omics based approaches. There, his thesis was titled, "Using transcriptomics to investigate pathways influencing female fertility in beef cattle". Currently, he is working on understanding how environmental insults can influence reproductive outcomes on the molecular level in beef cattle. Nicholas stays involved in the cow/calf industry through his several memberships within organizations such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Assocation and the Illinois Beef Assocation. He also maintains all records for his family owned commercial cow/calf and feeder operation while at school. In general, Nicholas strives to maintain common applied reproductive management techniques while also using molecular technologoies to explore and better understand reproductive physiology in beef females.