Harvey Blackburn

Harvey Blackburn is an Animal Geneticist and the Coordinator of the National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP). He manages the development and acquisition of animal germplasm at the NLGRP and he coordinates the six animal species committees that advise the NAGP about collection development. Since 1998 he has been the USDA-ARS representative to the FAO's Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Animal Genetic Resources and was that committee's chairperson throughout the negotiation of the Global Plan of Action which was accepted by over 100 countries at the International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources in Interlaken Switzerland (2007). He also initiated efforts to develop a multi-country database (Animal-GRIN) for managing animal genetic resources with colleagues in Canada and Brazil. His research interests include: determining how new breeds are formed and how their genetic composition changes over time, landscape genetics, determining levels of genetic diversity among and within breeds of livestock, the utilization of computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA) to assess the quality and viability of germplasm stored in the collection, the utilization and flow of genetic resources within and among countries, and the management of in-situ livestock populations.