ZACK SEEKFORD
Hello, my name is Zack and I am a PhD student working in Dr. Bromfield’s laboratory at the University of Florida. I am originally from McGaheysville, Virginia and was raised on a 120-cow dairy. My passion for the dairy industry started at a young age and is influenced by my farm upbringing.
I obtained both my bachelor’s in dairy science and master’s in animal science degrees from Virginia Tech. During my time at Virginia Tech, I interned with a premier show herd in central New York where I gained familiarity with the production, marketing, and limitations of bovine embryos. This experience fostered my curiosity, and eventually led me to meet my master’s advisor Dr. Alan Ealy and co-advisor Dr. Vitor Mercadante.
During my master’s degree, I learned how to produce bovine embryos in vitro as well as perform embryo transfer and conduct ultrasound measurements of fetuses throughout early gestation. My thesis was titled “Interleukin-6 supplementation improves post-transfer embryonic and early fetal development of in vitro produced bovine embryos.” The research I performed during my master’s combined farm-based work with laboratory analyses to better understand changes in pregnancy after in vitro culture.
I am excited to work under the supervision of Dr. Bromfield and the UF faculty. I am interested in working to better understand both how uterine infections can affect subsequent instances of female infertility along with how these infections can alter the performance of offspring in future generations.