Dr. Irina A. Polejaeva

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences: Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences

Irina Polejaeva is currently a Professor in the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences at Utah State University and is also a member of the USU Veterinary Diagnostics and Infectious Diseases Team. Her primary research interests are the development of genetically engineered large animal models using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing techniques; and cloning efficiency improvement through understanding the molecular mechanism of epigenetic reprogramming.

She regularly mentors graduate, undergraduate and veterinary students and maintains an active postdoctoral program. Dr. Polejaeva has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and abstracts (majority of them with her trainees). Additionally, she and her trainees have given over 60 scholarly presentations at 33 national and international research conferences over the past 11 years. Furthermore, her graduate students are frequent recipients of local, national and international research awards. Dr. Polejaeva’s positive impact on graduate students extends through her service on the ADVS Graduate Program Committee and CAAS Research Advisory Committee.

Furthermore, Dr. Polejaeva has served on the Foundation Board of Trustees for the International Embryo Technology Society that works to promote research and the support of youth programs and education in the field of embryo transfer and associated reproductive technologies.