Dr. Pedro Fontes is an Assistant Professor in beef cattle reproductive physiology at the Department of Animal and Dairy Science. Dr. Fontes’ agricultural background began in South America. He is originally from Brazil, where his family runs a commercial cow-calf operation in the Southeast part of the country. Brazil has a strong agriculture tradition and today is one of the biggest beef producers in world. Growing up in that environment, it was natural for Dr. Fontes to become passionate about agriculture, specifically beef cattle production. This passion led him to Sao Paulo State University, where he obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Upon completion of his D.V.M., Dr. Fontes earned his M.S. in Animal Science from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in Physiology of Reproduction from Texas A&M University.

 

Currently, Dr. Fontes’ academic program focuses on increasing profitability and sustainability of cattle operations through enhanced reproductive efficiency. The main goal of his research program is to develop new reproductive management strategies and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that can be incorporate by cattle producers not only in Georgia, but across the U.S. and internationally. To accomplish this goal, his efforts focus on understanding the factors that influence fertility and pregnancy establishment in beef cattle, as well as developing novel strategies that can be adopted by cattle producers to maximize fertility in their herds. Properly communicating novel research findings is paramount to increase the adoption of ART. Hence, Dr. Fontes’ is committed to the development of research-based educational and extension programming to facilitate the adoption of reproductive management practices by cattle producers and industry professionals.