Dr. Kristen E. Govoni earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. (2003) degrees in Animal Science from the University of Connecticut (UConn). Her postdoctoral training was at the Musculoskeletal Disease Center in the Jerry L. Pettis VA Medical Center in Loma Linda, CA. Dr. Govoni joined the faculty in the Department of Animal Science at UConn in 2008 and her laboratory’s current research focuses on understanding growth and development at the cellular level to identify methods to improve animal health and efficiency of production. Dr. Govoni has secured over $1.9 million in funding, published 42 peer-reviewed papers, and mentored 14 graduate students as primary advisor and 15 as associate advisor. She has served as Northeast Section Director since 2016, ASAS Publications Committee Chair since 2016, member of the organizing committee for Perinatal Biology Symposium (2022), Section Editor for the Journal of Animal Science from 2013-2016, and coordinator for Northeast Graduate Poster competition from 2008-2016.