Bethany Mordhorst

Experience

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  Iowa State University

  Aug 2008 - May 2012

  Undergraduate Research Assistant
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  North Dakota State University

  May 2012 - Jun 2014

  Graduate Research Assistant

  M.S. student in Animal Science Reproductive Physiology Under direction of Dr. Kimberly A. Vonnahme.Animal Science Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND • Research Topic 1: Arginine supplementation during early pregnancy in dairy heifers and cows.• Aims: Assess whether daily arginine supplementation in early gestation would impact uterine and mammary artery hemodynamics and blood metabolic parameters.• Techniques: Surgery for peritoneal cavity catheters, Doppler ultrasonography of uterine and mammary blood flow, individual feeding/nutrition experiments (collecting and processing feed refusals), blood collection and analysis for progesterone.• Research Topic 2: Impact of protein and fat supplementation on uterine and mammary blood flow in late gestating beef cows.• Aims: Determine how nutrition augments blood flow to the mammary gland and fetus and how these changes impact development of calves and the cows' condition.• Techniques: Doppler ultrasonography of uterine and mammary blood flow, individual feeding/nutrition experiments (Insentec system), use of hydraulic chutes, collection and processing of blood and milk, analysis of progesterone content, assisting in parturition, and management of the herd, statistical analysis, linear and quadratic regression analysis.• Research Topic 3: Nutrient restriction and realimentation impacts on placentome vascularity in pregnant beef cows.• Aims: Determine how nutrition impacts placental vasculature and fetal development in the gestating beef cow.• Techniques: Immunohistochemistry; microscopy, use of imaging software for processing and analysis.Other:- Periovulatory bovine somatropin effects on placental development in ovine with Carolina Pereira and Dr. Kendall Swanson; helped weigh, feed, and inject sheep. - Protein supplementation effect on uterine and mammary blood flow in pregnant beef cattle with Victoria Kennedy and Dr. Caleb Lemley; did Doppler ultrasonography and liver biopsies. Show less

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  University of Missouri-Columbia

  Jul 2014 - Aug 2017

  Graduate Research Assistant

  Ph. D. student in Animal Science Reproductive Physiology Under direction of Dr. Randall S. PratherAnimal Science Department, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO• Research Topic 1: Programming of donor-cell fibroblasts towards a more “Warburg-like" metabolism similar to that of a blastomere for improvement of embryonic development in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) produced porcine.• Aims: Determine how cells can be metabolically programmed pharmacologically and with oxygen constraint through altering mitochondrial function with pharmaceutical agents. Use this knowledge to optimize donor-cells for use in SCNT embryos transferred to surrogate sows. • Techniques: Flow cytometry, light and electron microscopy, mammalian cell culture, RNA extraction, qPCR, gas chromatography mass spectrometry metabolomics, in vitro embryo culture, somatic cell nuclear transfer, and embryo transfer.• Research Topic 2: Determine what pathways are differentially regulated between donor-fibroblasts (for use in somatic cell nuclear transfer) when cultured in a high vs. low quality fetal bovine serum. Furthermore determine what genes may not be expressed similarly among Landrace-cross, Ossabaw, and Minnesota miniature swine breed fetal fibroblast cell-lines. • Techniques: RNA sequencing, bioinformatic and statistical processing.• Other project collaboration: Computational biology flux-balance analysis of substrate and enzyme regulations facilitating a Warburg-like metabolism within a pre-implantation embryo model with Miranda Wilson and Dr. Gavin Conant. Show less

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  Sanford Health

  Sept 2017 - Dec 2018

  Postdoctoral Researcher

  Laboratory of Dr. Peter F. VitielloSanford Health, Environmental Influences on Health & Disease Group- Pediatrics.• Research Topic 1: Determining the molecular functions of Thioredoxin 1.• Aims: Investigate how conditional loss of Thioredoxin 1 contributes to pathologies, in utero organogenesis, and postnatal lung epithelial development.• Techniques: Development and use of conditional mouse models, microscopy, RNA extraction, RNA sequencing, network pathway analysis, HPLC, protein extraction, redox proteomic labeling, and proteomic analysis.• Research Topic 2: Determine roles of Thioredoxin 2 in central metabolic regulation and homeostasis.• Aims: Investigate changes in metabolism and mitochondrial function using targeted shRNAs to knock down expression of Trx2 and Bio-ID proteomic identification of Trx2-interacting proteins. • Techniques: Designing and testing shRNAs to knock down expression, investigate metabolic changes via flux balance analyzers, metabolomics, mitochondrial complex assembly assays, Bio-ID pulldown, and proteomic analysis. • Research Topic 3: Develop a biotherapeutic for Friedreich's ataxia.• Aims: Engineer E.coli for expression of fusion proteins like Frataxin and Peroxiredoxin 3 which could be used as a biotherapeutic for Friedreich's ataxia. Eventual testing the ability of these refolded enzymes in patient-derived cell lines as well as in other cell lines with shRNA targeted knock down of Frataxin. • Techniques: E. coli culture, plasmid development, transfection, DNA extraction for sequencing and gels, restriction enzyme digests, isolation of protein via FPLC, protein folding, and protein concentration. Show less

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  Precigen Exemplar

  Jan 2019 - Jul 2022

  Embryology Laboratory Manager
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  Integrated DNA Technologies

  Jul 2022 - Aug 2023

  Staff Scientist Enzyme Development
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  ABS Global

  Oct 2023 - now

  IVF Production Manager