Dr. Ian Kirimi Daniel has been appointed as a livestock specialist for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s (UAPB) School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences (SAFHS).
In this position, Dr. Daniel will conduct educational workshops, field days and demonstrations on livestock production and management; provide one-on-one technical assistance to farmers and ranchers and collaborate with county Extension agents and agricultural organizations.
He will advise producers about nutrition and feeding programs, breeding and reproductive management and assist them with heard health, biosecurity, pasture and forage management.
He will also help them with marketing and farm profitability.
Youth and student engagement will include supporting collegiate MANRRS students and 4-H youth programs.
He will also mentor undergraduate students majoring in animal science and other agricultural programs.
Research support will be in the form of assisting faculty with applied livestock research projects, collecting and analyzing production data related to nutrition, breeding and animal health as well as helping to manage university livestock herds and demonstration farms.
Dr. Daniel earned his doctorate degree in veterinary biomedical sciences with a specialization in veterinary parasitology from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
His doctoral work integrated molecular diagnostics, entomology and parasitology with direct applications to livestock and companion animal health management and producer education.
Prior to joining Texas A&M, he spent nearly two years at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Texas Tech University as a graduate assistant working with feedlot cattle at the Texas Panhandle focusing on producer education, developing new diagnostic tools for industry and as a teaching assistant in veterinary microbiology and parasitology.
Dr. Daniel received his Master of Science degree in agricultural regulations (animal sciences) from UAPB, writing a master’s thesis focused on pre-harvest food safety in meat goats while serving as a laboratory, field and teaching assistant for Dr. Obadiah Njue, assistant dean of Extension and outreach for SAFHS. His bachelor’s degree in agriculture was earned from Kisii University in Kisii, Kenya.
“Ian has acquired strong academic and research training, cutting across small and large ruminant management, diagnostic laboratory operations, entomology, molecular biology, food microbiology, parasitology and community-based Extension and outreach,” Dr. Njue, said. “His broad academic preparedness, experience and knowledge of how to engage and serve targeted clientele will serve UAPB’s Extension and outreach efforts well.”
Dr. Daniel is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the Entomological Society of America, the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, the American Society of Parasitologists, the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology and the American Society of Microbiologists.
