Associate professor Kristen Govoni has spent the majority of her career at UConn, having earned her BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in animal science in the College. Her research focuses on animal growth, development and health.
For the past eight years, Govoni has been involved in a collaboration with two other faculty in the Department of Animal Science, Professor Steven Zinn and Associate Professor Sarah Reed. Using sheep as a model, the team has recently received their fifth USDA grant to examine the effects of maternal diet during gestation on offspring health and growth, with a goal of improving livestock health and production efficiency.
Their research has demonstrated that overfeeding and restricted feeding during gestation adversely affects offspring, resulting in decreased muscle growth and increased fat, as well as changes in metabolism. Specifically, a decrease in the ability to regulate and utilize glucose and changes in hormones such as leptin, which regulates satiety, lead to altered overall body composition and metabolism in offspring.
