Dr. Tara Felix grew up in Northwestern Pennsylvania where her family raised predominantly dairy goats, but also hogs, rabbits and a variety of poultry. She received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Bioscience from Penn State University in 2006. She completed her Master’s degree in ruminant mineral nutrition at the University of Florida under Dr. Lee McDowell and her Ph.D. in beef cattle nutrition at The Ohio State University under Dr. Steven Loerch.  Dr. Felix then began her career as an Assistant Professor of Beef Cattle Feedlot Nutrition and Management in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois in September 2011. While at the University of Illinois, Tara investigated the impacts of feeding a variety of co-products to beef cattle on ruminal metabolism, growth performance, and feedlot economics. In January 2016 she decided to pursue her passion for education in a teaching and Extension appointment in the Department of Animal Science at Penn State. Dr. Felix has published 39 peer-reviewed articles in under 10 years and has also mentored 8 master’s students and 3 doctoral candidates, as well as undergraduate students. Her student’s have successfully presented their scientific research in 33 abstracts. Dr. Felix has also published 13 articles in popular press and extension publications and has been invited nationally and internationally to speak about the work she has done feeding various co-products to cattle.

Dr. Felix has been a member of ASAS for 9 years and has served on the Midwest Ruminant Nutrition Committee and chaired the national Graduate Student Program Committee. She also maintains active roles in the Pennsylvania Farm Show as part of the Beef Committee and in the PA Beef Producers Working Group, an organization dedicated to working together to monitor the beef industry needs in order to create educational opportunities that improve performance and production. In addition, Tara has served as an adviser for Penn Ag Industries Association as part of the Feed, Grain, and Allied Industries executive committee for over a year.