A Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science faculty member and a doctoral student received prestigious honors at the American Society of Animal Science, ASAS, Southern Section meeting in Rogers, Arkansas.
Jason Smith, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist and associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, earned the ASAS Extension Award, while Dallas Soffa, doctoral candidate in physiology of reproduction, received the organization’s Emerging Scholar Award.
The ASAS Extension Award recognizes outstanding achievements in outreach and extension programs in animal science. The Emerging Scholar Award honors exceptional dissertation research conducted by doctoral candidates and highlights mentorship within graduate education. Emerging Scholar nominees also present their research at the annual Southern Section meeting.
“Dr. Jason Smith and Ms. Dallas Soffa represent the very best of our department’s commitment to excellence in research, teaching and extension,” said Clay Mathis, Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Animal Science. “Their recognition at the national level reflects the impact our faculty and students continue to make across the animal science industry.”
Advancing beef cattle education and outreach
Smith works at the Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center in Canyon. A native of northern Virginia, he developed an early passion for beef cattle that continues to shape his career.
While Smith values his formal training in beef cattle nutrition and production management, the hands-on lessons he continues to learn through his involvement in his family’s small cow-calf herd influence his approach to research and extension programming.
Smith develops and delivers educational programs that serve beef cattle producers and industry stakeholders across Texas. He also conducts applied research and demonstration projects in beef cattle nutrition, connecting fundamental discoveries to practical field applications and addressing production challenges producers face daily.
He is actively involved in professional organizations, including the ASAS, the Plains Nutrition Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Smith currently serves as a coordinator of the Texas Beef Quality Assurance program and leads the recently established Texas Beef Cattle Efficiency Initiative.
Emerging research in reproductive physiology
Soffa earned her bachelor’s in animal science from North Carolina State University in 2019 and her master’s in animal and poultry sciences from Virginia Tech in 2022. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in physiology of reproduction under the mentorship of Rebecca Poole, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology of reproduction in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science, and plans to defend her dissertation this spring.
Her research examines how internal and external factors influence reproductive microbiota and immune signaling in cattle fertility. By identifying underlying biological contributors to reproductive success, her work aims to improve fertility outcomes and reduce risks for producers.
Soffa has authored 13 abstracts, a popular press article and one peer-reviewed manuscript while at Texas A&M. She has also earned numerous recognitions, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Predoctoral Fellowship.
Share or print this post: