Anita M. Oberbauer
University of California, Davis
Department of Animal Science
Anita Oberbauer is a Professor of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis (UCD).
She was appointed to the position of Chair of the Department in October, 2009. She received
her B.S. in Zoology at UCD, and her Ph.D. in Animal Science from Cornell University and then
completed post-doctoral fellowships in Perinatal Biology at Loma Linda University and
Biological Chemistry at University of California, Los Angeles prior to joining the faculty at UC
Davis in 1989. She has been at the forefront of incorporating companion animals into animal
science curricula and teaches two high enrollment courses on the topic.
Dr. Oberbauer studies growth and development focusing on skeletal growth and body
composition and the genetic basis for animal health disorders. She has trained more than 25
M.S. and Ph.D. students, published over 90 refereed articles and 63 abstracts and proceedings.
She serves on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals Board of Directors, provided numerous
invited talks, served on 3 NIH panels, 6 NRI USDA panels managing two, on editorial boards of
several journals including Journal of Animal Science, the ASAS biennial Growth Symposium
Planning Committee, and several ASAS award Committees. She has served on 3 Strategic
Planning and Visioning efforts for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at
UCD. She has received the UC Davis Distinguished Teaching Award, the ASAS Corbin Award in
Companion Animal Biology, the Distinguished Teacher Award for the Western Section of ASAS,
and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the UC Davis Consortium for Women & Research.
Vision Statement
The American Society of Animal Science is a prestigious organization with a vast history of
success of generating excellent scientific knowledge. The need for excellence in animal science
is more profound now than ever before. As the public becomes more distanced from food
production, the need for generating and transmitting sound scientific information and
informing policy and planning becomes critical. The American Society of Animal Science should
be viewed as the “go to” source—a champion for accurate, objective scientific information to
be incorporated into sound policy and public choice and a key player in the animal agriculture
arena. It is imperative that our membership and resources be placed strategically to offer
accurate and impartial scientific data in the development of such policy, to develop the next
generation of animal scientists, and to grow research funding. Throughout my career, the
American Society of Animal Science has provided me numerous opportunities and I would like
to serve on the board to ensure that those opportunities exist for our current and future
members. I also welcome the opportunity to contribute to the strategic visioning of the Society
to best leverage the vast intellectual resources our members possess.