Joseph McFadden
Associate Professor of Dairy Cattle Biology, Animal Science
Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow, PRO-DAIRY

Research Focus
Our goal is to enhance the health and productive efficiency of dairy cattle. We explore the interactions between nutrition, environment, and food animal production.
Our areas of interest include: (1) defining the role of sphingolipids as mediators of insulin resistance to support milk production and growth, (2) delineating the mechanisms that impair liver and gut health, (3) defining new approaches to enhance nutrient digestibility, (4) identifying nutritional approaches to prevent endotoxemia and enhance resilience during heat stress, (5) exploring the role of lysophospholipids as immunomodulators, (6) reducing the negative environmental impact of dairy production, and (7) educating the public about animal-sourced food production. Collaborative work also explores the effects of diet on human health and disease. He is actively leading the development of climate-controlled respiration chamber system to study enteric methane emissions from dairy cattle at Cornell.
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
Johns Hopkins University - 2012 - Doctorate
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - 2009 - Master of Science
University of Illinois - 2005 - Bachelor of Science
Cornell University - 2003
Awards & Honors
- Cargill Animal Nutrition Young Scientist Award (2019) ADSA
- ASAS-ADSA Northeast Young Scientist Research Award (2018) ASAS-ADSA
- Outstanding Recent Alumni Award (2018) Virginia Tech
- First Place -Graduate Student Paper Contest in Dairy Production (2009) National Milk Producers Federation Award – American Dairy Science Association
Courses Taught
- ANSC 6220: Graduate Student Research Updates
- ANSC 7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research
- ANSC 4990: Undergraduate Research in Animal Science
Contact Information
264 Morrison Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
jwm43 [at] cornell.edu
Additional Links
Joseph in the news


News
Cornell will teach small farmers in India – the world’s largest dairy producer – how to produce milk more efficiently while limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
- Cornell Atkinson
- Animal Science
- Agriculture