A new faculty member is joining the Texas A&M AgriLife Research at Amarillo and the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’s (VMBS) Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) program in Canyon. Dr. Cassidy Kilma is an expert in bovine health and antimicrobial resistance and will bring her expertise to the VERO campus.
Kilma will be the newest veterinary educator and researcher, and she hopes to contribute to the program’s growth and impact. She hopes to do this by advancing innovative research in bovine health, fostering strong industry-academic collaborations and mentoring the next generation of veterinary scientists.
Kilma earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. Kilma completed her master’s degree in the same field at the University of Lethbridge as well. After this, she pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan. There, her passion for cattle health research began to blossom.
While working on her doctorate, Kilma gained valuable experience at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Research Institution. There, she focused on comparing the genetic information of various organisms to identify effective vaccine components aimed at strengthening cattle’s defenses against Bovine Respiratory Disease.
“At Agriculture and Agri-Food, a mentor provided me with opportunities to get involved in cattle research,” Klima said. “That’s how I transitioned into the field, which felt like a natural fit given my family’s ranching and farming background.”
After earning her Ph.D., Kilma widened her expertise through a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary. There, she investigated how bacteria in cattle develop antibiotic resistance. She took a research scientist position at Feedlot Health Management Services, where she conducted research to improve cattle health and welfare.
Outside of beef cattle research, Kilma also studied antimicrobial resistance in chickens for a second postdoctoral fellowship at Iowa State University. As a technical director for the Beef Cattle Research Council and Canadien Cattlemen’s Association, she helped improve trade and policies for the beef cattle industry.
A blend of academia, mentorship, research and industry experience has shaped Kilma’s career. It has equipped her with a diverse skill set spanning microbiology, food safety, production policy and animal health. She will now bring this elite expertise to her role at Texas A&M.
Kilma will be an assistant professor in the VMBS Department of Veterinary Pathobiology (VTPB). She plans to focus on bovine health, specifically antimicrobial resistance, food safety and fighting the microbes that cause respiratory disease in cattle.
“My goal is to build a research program that makes a real difference at the production level,” Klima said. “I want to tackle some of the hard questions in bovine health that we’ve struggled to answer while using the latest technologies that are now becoming available.”
Advancing studies like this is critical to the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. One West reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in Sept. 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, One West has raised nearly $160 million.
