Maci Mueller is a Ph.D. candidate in Animal Biology at the University of California (UC), Davis, under the mentorship of Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam. She earned her B.S. in Animal Science with a Political Science minor from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2016), and her M.S. in Animal Biology from UC Davis (2019). Maci was awarded a USDA-NIFA Predoctoral Fellowship (2021-Present) for her Ph.D. research, which is focused on the application of genetic-based biotechnology, specifically gene editing, in livestock production. She received the 2015 ASAS Zimbelman/Hafs Public Policy Internship Award, placed 1st in the 2018 WS-ASAS 3-minute Graduate Video Contest, and was a Foundation for Food & Agriculture (FFAR) Fellow (2018-2021). Maci is passionate about effective science communication and is driven to provide research and education to make the latest innovations in animal genetics and biotechnology applicable to livestock producers to improve animal health and welfare and production efficiency.