Understanding How Nutrition Modulates Immune Responses and Disease in Dairy Cattle

Ballou, a nationally-recognized nutritional biologist, earned his bachelor's degree in animal science in 2002 and his doctorate in nutritional biology with an emphasis on immunology, in 2007, both from the University of California-Davis. He was recognized by the American Dairy Science Association in 2017 for outstanding achievement in research, teaching and service, and received the Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award in 2016.

His research program broadly focuses on understanding the immunological basis for diseases in high-risk populations of livestock. In the past Ballou's research has centered on understanding how the innate immune responses of animals at various physiological states are involved in resistance to diseases and modulation of innate immune responses through management and nutrition practices.