Research Interests
- Systems biology; molecular nutrition; genomics; metabolomics; bioinformatics; nutritional programming of adipose tissue; mammary gland development; lipid metabolism; conjugated linoleic acids (CLA); nutritional and physiological genomics; comparative genomics; regulation of milk fat and protein synthesis; nutritional regulation of muscle development.My research program focuses on the study of how nutrition, physiological state and their interaction affect tissue function and metabolic adaptations through alterations in the transcriptome, i.e. mRNA expression profiles. We rely heavily on cutting-edge technologies such as microarrays, DNA sequencing, quantitative RT-PCR, and bioinformatics to generate biologically-meaningful data. The integration of these data sets is at the core of our Systems Biology efforts in Nutritional Sciences. We use large animals as primary models but also perform more fundamental studies with animal tissue cell lines or explant cultures. Through the use of high-throughput techniques and bioinformatics we intend to identify genes that might be associated with susceptibility to immune and metabolic diseases (e.g. hepatic steatosis, mastitis) and also to developing obesity.
Education
- Ph.D., 2001, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
- M.S., 1997, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
- B.S., 1995, University of California, Davis
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Animal Sciences
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Professor, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Recent Publications
Kang, J., Luo, T., Gu, F., Li, M., Hong, W., Liu, J., Loor, J. J., & Shi, H. (2026). N-Carbamylglutamate supplementation promotes mammary development through integration of hormonal signaling in pubertal ewe lambs. Journal of Dairy Science, 109(1), 841-855. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2025-27168
Luo, T., Jiang, N., Wu, C., Zhang, W., Liu, J., Loor, J. J., & Shi, H. (2026). Pregnancy-to-lactation transition remodels mammary adipocytes via p38 MAPK-dependent adipogenesis. Journal of Dairy Science, 109(1), 795-809. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2025-27033
Nopparatmaitree, M., Hwanhlem, N., Mitsuwan, W., Thongnum, A., Intawicha, P., Loor, J. J., & Incharoen, T. (2026). Novel Double-Layer Microencapsulated Phytosynbiotic Derived from Probiotics and Tiliacora triandra Extract for Application in Broiler Production. Fermentation, 12(1), Article 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12010059
Shen, T., Xia, S., Huo, Y., Li, X., Loor, J. J., Xu, C., Wu, W., & Song, B. (2026). Hyperoside Alleviates Free Fatty Acid-Induced Inflammatory Damage and Tight Junction Disruption in Mammary Epithelial Cells by Regulating Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 1. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 74(2), 2244-2254. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c04541
Chang, R., Jia, H., Chen, Y., Loor, J. J., Xu, Q., Ma, L., Li, M., Shen, T., Li, X., Xu, C., & Sun, X. (2025). TGF-β3-mediated phagocytosis protects mammary epithelial cells of ketotic dairy cows against metabolic stress–induced inflammatory damage. Journal of Dairy Science, 108(10), 11443-11462. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2025-26828