Alison L. Van Eenennaam

Alison Louise Van Eenennaam is an agricultural extension agent specializing in animal biotechnology and genomics. She was a temporary voting member on the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee in its September 2010 meeting on the genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon. In the past, she has worked for Monsanto. She also serves on the USDA's Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21).

In 2010, Van Eenennaam won a bronze award from the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences for producing a YouTube video called “Animal Biotechnology.” The video compares genetic engineering and cloning to traditional animal breeding, artificial insemination, and in vitro fertilization, referring to all as "biotechnology." The video oversimplifies genetic modification by describing it as cutting DNA from one genome and pasting it into another, when in fact, the actual process of genetic engineering is nowhere near this precise and orderly.

Previous Work on Transgenic Fish
In light of Van Eenennaam's appointment to the FDA VMAC committee evaluating the AquAdvantage salmon, here are some of her previous work relating to genetically engineered fish. Van Eenennaam's publications on genetically engineered fish date from as early as 1998, when she wrote about sturgeon. She later wrote about the specific cases of zebrafish and Atlantic salmon, as well as the larger issue of genetically engineered fish in general.

In 2004, she published a fact sheet on genetically engineered fish for the University of California. She reiterates many of the same points in a later, 2006 article, "Careful risk assessment needed to evaluate transgenic ﬁsh," co-authored with Paul G. Olin. Here, she specifically addresses the issue of fast-growing genetically engineered salmon. The paper cites a number of benefits of genetically engineered fish, including:
 * A large number of eggs laid per female
 * The fact that "fertilization and embryonic development occurs outside of the mother (in most species)"
 * The lower probability of carrying human pathogens
 * The fact that "aquaculture is a rapidly expanding market"
 * Increased feed-conversion efficiency, providing "economic and potential environmental benefits such as reduced feed waste and effluent from ﬁsh farms"

However, the paper notes one downside to producing genetically engineered fish, stating, "aquatic organisms are also the most likely group to present environmental concerns if accidentally released into the environment. Unlike most other agricultural species, ﬁsh are both difficult to contain and highly mobile, and they can easily become feral and invade native ecosystems (NRC 2002)."

About the AquAdvantage salmon specifically, the article says: "The mature weight of these ﬁsh remains the same as for other farmed salmon, but their early growth rate increases by 400% to 600%, with a concomitant 25% decrease in feed input and a shortened time to market (Du et al. 1992)... Assuming a positive regulatory approval decision and consumer acceptance, the enhanced growth rate and feed efficiency of these transgenic salmon could increase salmon aquacultural productivity significantly, and would likely necessitate that salmon aquaculturists adopt the technology to remain competitive (Aerni 2004)."

From her writing, she clearly sees many benefits to genetically engineered fish, specifically salmon, and her main - and perhaps only - concern is the possibility of the fish to escape. She continues to pursue that issue in a later article, "Transgenic Approaches for the Reproductive Containment of Genetically Engineered Fish," co-authored with Andrew C. Wong in 2008. This article argues that genetically engineered fish will provide humans with benefits, provided that the fish can be "contained" (i.e. prevented from breeding with native fish populations). From the abstract: "Aquacultural applications of transgenic technologies have the potential to supply the ever growing demand for food products derived from aquatic resources. However, before any benefits of genetically engineered fish can be realized, methods for the containment of transgenic fish must be developed to help prevent their interbreeding with native populations should they be accidentally released or escape."

Education and Employment
Van Eenennaam began her career as an International Agricultural Exchange Association trainee at Genetic Resources Inc.'s bovine reproduction facility in San Marcos, TX in 1984. Following her graduation from The University of Melbourne (Australia), where she earned a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Honors with a major in animal science in 1987, she spent nearly a year as a development scientist at Coopers Animal Health in New South Wales, Australia from 1987 to 1988.

She then moved to the United States to pursue her graduate education, where she continued her education at University of California, Davis. There she received a Master of Science in 1990. Her next employment was as a regional dairy and livestock farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension in San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, California from 1991 to 1993.

She received her PhD in genetics from University of California, Davis in 1997 and then, in 1998, went to work for Monsanto in July 1998. She began as a research scientist at Monsanto's Calgene campus, and became a project leader in 2000. In 2002, she left Monsanto to serve as an Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in Animal Biotechnology and Genomics at the Department of Animal Science of University of California-Davis. In 2006, her title changed to "Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist in Animal Biotechnology and Genomics," and it changed again to "Cooperative Extension Specialist in Animal Biotechnology and Genomics" in 2010.

Professional Committee Appointments
Van Eenennaam serves on the following committees:
 * Appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to the national USDA 16568 – “Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21)”. This committee examines “the long-term impacts of biotechnology on the U.S. food and agriculture system and USDA, and provides guidance to USDA on pressing individual issues, identified by the Office of the Secretary, related to the application of biotechnology in agriculture.” (6/2005-present)
 * Appointed to be the National Cooperative Extension Representative on the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium Advisory Committee (NBCEC) (6/2005-present)
 * California Beef Cattle Improvement Association (CBCIA) Advisor (2004-present)

Publications
The following are publications Van Eenennaam wrote or contributed to:
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J.H. van der Werf, and M.E. Goddard. 2010. The value of using DNA markers for beef bull selection in the seedstock sector. Journal of Animal Science. Accepted
 * Hagopian,K., K. L. Weber, D. T. Hwee, A. L. Van Eenennaam, G. López-Lluch, J. M. Villalba, I. Burón, P. Navas, J. B. German, S. M. Watkins, K. A. Simmons Domer, Y. Chen, A. Wei, R. B. McDonald, and J. J. Ramsey. 2010. Complex I hydrogen peroxide production is decreased and electron transport chain enzymes activities are altered in n-3 enriched fat-1 mice.PLoS ONE. Accepted.
 * Van Eenennaam, A.L. and W.M. Muir. 2010. Animal biotechnologies and agricultural sustainability. Chapter in “The Role of Biotechnology in a Sustainable Food Supply.” Cambridge University Press. In press.
 * Fahrenkrug, S. C., A. Blake, D. F. Carlson, T. Doran, A. L. Van Eenennaam, D. Faber, C. Galli, P. B. Hackett, N. Li, E. A. Maga, J. D. Murray, R. Stotish, E. Sullivan, J. F. Taylor, M. Walton, M. Wheeler, B. Whitelaw, B. P.  Glenn. 2010. Precision Genetics for Complex Objectives in Animal Agriculture.  Journal of Animal Science. In press. Mar 12. [Epub ahead of print] . PMID: 20228236
 * Wong, A.C., and A. L. Van Eenennaam. 2010. FLPe functions in zebrafish embryos. Transgenic Research. In press.
 * W. E. Pohlmeier, R. C. Hovey, and A. L. Van Eenennaam. 2010. Reproductive abnormalities in mice expressing omega-3 fatty acid desaturase in their mammary glands. Transgenic Research. In press
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., K. L. Weber, K. Cooprider, and D. J. Drake. 2010. http://ucanr.org/repository/cao/landingpage.cfm?article=ca.v064n02p94&fulltext=yes Development and implementation of a vertically-integrated beef cattle data collection system]. California Agriculture. 64: 94-100.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., and J. F. Medrano. 2008. Manipulation of Milk Fat Composition Through Transgenesis, pages 343-354 in “Bioactive Components in Milk”, Volume 606 of Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Edited by Z. Bösze. Springer. 483 pp.
 * W. Pohlmeier, and A. L. Van Eenennaam. 2008. Animal Biotechnology. 30 minute UC ANR peer-reviewed video. [http//animalscience.ucdavis.edu/animalbiotech/Outreach]
 * Andrew C. Wong and Alison L. Van Eenennaam, "Transgenic Approaches for the Reproductive Containment of Genetically Engineered Fish", Aquaculture, 2008.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., R. L. Weaber, D. J. Drake, M. C. T. Penedo, R. L. Quaas, D. J. Garrick, E. J. Pollak. 2007. DNA-based paternity analysis and genetic evaluation in a large commercial cattle ranch setting. Journal of Animal Science.  853159–3169
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J. Li, R. M. Thallman, R. L. Quaas, M. E. Dikeman, C. A. Gill, D. E. Franke, M. G. Thomas. 2007. Validation of commercial DNA tests for quantitative beef quality traits. Journal of Animal Science. 85891-900.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., and P. G. Lemaux 2007. Cornucopia’s Challenge. 30 minute UC ANR peer-reviewed video. University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 6587V (VHS) or 6587D (DVD). Also available on www.YouTube.com
 * K. D. Bongiovanni, E. J. DePeters, and A. L. Van Eenennaam. 2007. Neonatal Growth and Development of Mice Raised on Milk Transgenically-Enriched with Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Pediatric Research. 62(4)412-6.
 * Kao, B. T., E. J. DePeters, and A. L. Van Eenennaam. 2006. Mice Raised on Milk Transgenically-Enriched with n-3 PUFA have Increased Brain Docosahexaenoic Acid. Lipids. 41(6)543-9.
 * Kao, B. T., K. A. Lewis, E. J. DePeters, and A. L. Van Eenennaam. 2006. Endogenous Production and Elevated Levels of Long-Chain n-3 Fatty Acids in the Milk of Transgenic Mice. Journal of Dairy Science. 893195-3201.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L. and P. G. Olin. 2006. Genetically engineered fish. California Agriculture. 60(3) 126-131.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L. 2006. What is the future of animal biotechnology? California Agriculture. 60(3) 132-139.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L. 2006. “DNA-Based Biotechnologies” Chapter in the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium (NBCEC) Beef Sire Selection Manual. Pages 66-73.
 * Van Eenennaam, A.L. 2005. Genetic Engineering and Fish. UC ANR, Agricultural Biotechnology in California Series, Publication # 8185.
 * Van Eenennaam, A.L. 2005. Genetic Engineering and Animal Agriculture. UC ANR, Agricultural Biotech in California Series, Publication # 8184.
 * Van Eenennaam, A.L. 2005. Genetic Engineering and Animal Feed. UC ANR, Agricultural Biotechnology in California Series, Publication # 8183.
 * Morimoto, K. C., A. L. Van Eenennaam, E. J. DePeters, and J. F. Medrano. 2005. Hot Topic Endogenous Production of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids in Mammalian Cells. Journal of Dairy Science. 88(3) 88(3) 1142-1146.
 * Wong, A.C., and A.L. Van Eenennaam. 2004. Gonadotropin hormone and receptor sequences from model teleost species. Zebrafish. 1(3)203-221.
 * Van Deynze, A. Van Eenennaam, A.L. and Bradford, K.J. 2004. Crop Biotechnology Feeds for Livestock. UC ANR, Agricultural Biotechnology in California Series, Publication # 8145.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L. 2004. Genetic Engineering in California Agriculture. 30 minute UC ANR peer-reviewed video. ANRUCTV 04-06. 6502V (VHS) or 6502D (DVD).
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L. 2004. DNA-based Marker-Assisted Selection in Beef Cattle. Genetic Section - CL1043 in “Cow-Calf Management Guide & Cattle Producer’s Library”. University of Idaho, Moscow.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., G. Li, M. Venkatramesh, C. Levering, X. Gong, A. C. Jamieson, C. K. Shewmaker, and C. C. Case. 2004. Elevation of seed α-tocopherol levels using plant-based transcription factors targeted to an endogenous locus. Metabolic Engineering. 6(2)101-8.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., Kim Lincoln, Timothy P. Durrett, Henry E. Valentin, Christine K. Shewmaker, Greg M. Thorne, Jian Jiang, Susan R. Norris, and Robert L. Last. 2003. Engineering vitamin E content from Arabidopsis mutant to soy oil. Plant Cell. 15 3007-3019.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J. D. Murray, and J. F. Medrano. 1999. Karyotype of the American green sturgeon. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 128175-177.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., Van Eenennaam, J.P., Medrano, J.F., and Doroshov, S.I. 1999. Evidence of female heterogametic genetic sex determination in white sturgeon. The Journal of Heredity 90 231-233.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J. D. Murray, and J. F. Medrano. 1998. Mitotic analysis of the North American white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus Richardson (Pisces, Acipenseridae), a fish with a very high chromosome number. Genome 41266-271.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J. D. Murray, and J. F. Medrano. 1998. Synaptonemal complex analysis in spermatocytes of white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus Richardson (Pisces, Acipenseridae), a fish with a very high chromosome number. Genome 4151-61.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J. P. Van Eenennaam, J. F. Medrano, and S. I. Doroshov. 1996. Rapid verification of meiotic gynogenesis and polyploidy in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus Richardson). Aquaculture 147177-189.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., I. A. Gardner, J. Holmes, L. Perani, R. J. Anderson, J. S. Cullor, and W. M. Guterbock. 1995. Financial analysis of alternative treatments for clinical mastitis associated with environmental pathogens. Journal of Dairy Science 782086-2095.
 * Cullor, J. S., A. L. Van Eenennaam, I. A. Gardner, L. Perani, J.Dellinger, W. L. Smith, T. Thompson, M. A. Payne, L. Jensen, and W. Guterbock. 1994. Performance of various tests used to screen antibiotic residues in milk samples from individual animals. J. AOAC Int. 77 862-870.
 * Guterbock, W. M., A. L. Van Eenennaam, R. J. Anderson, I. A. Gardner, J. S. Cullor, and C. A. Holmberg. 1993. Efficacy of intramammary antibiotic therapy for treatment of clinical mastitis caused by environmental pathogens. Journal of Dairy Science 763437-3444.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., J. S. Cullor, L. Perani, I. A. Gardner, W. L. Smith, J. Dellinger, W. M. Guterbock, and L. Jensen. 1993. Evaluation of milk antibiotic residue screening tests in cattle with naturally occurring clinical mastitis. Journal of Dairy Science 763041-3053.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., and J. F. Medrano. 1991. Milk protein polymorphisms in the California dairy cattle population. Journal of Dairy Science 741730-1742.
 * Van Eenennaam, A. L., and J. F. Medrano. 1991. Differences in allelic protein expression in the milk of heterozygous Κ-casein cows. Journal of Dairy Science 741491-1496.

Grant Record
The following are grants Van Eenennaam received to conduct research:


 * Integrating DNA information into beef cattle production systems. USDA-NRI ANIMAL GENOME INTEGRATED GRANT 1/1/2009 - 12/31/2012 A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Economic analysis of integrating DNA information into beef cattle production systems. UC Davis Academic Federation Professional Development Award. 7/1/09-6/30/10. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Whole genome associations for sire prolificacy on California commercial beef cattle ranches. University of California/California State University Collaborative Research Program. 1/1/10-12/31/10. A. L. Van Eenennaam (Co PI) and B L. Golden (Co PI)
 * Alterations in membrane composition and function with calorie restriction. NIH RO1 10/1/07 - 9/30/12. Jon Ramsey (PI). Collaborator A. L. Van Eenennaam
 * Assessment of the well-being and behavior of genetically engineered dairy goats. USDA–NRI 10/1/05 – 6/30/10 E. Maga, J. Murray, J. Mench and A. L. Van Eenennaam (Co-PI)
 * 2009 Beef Improvement Federation Annual Research Symposium and Annual Meeting. USDA-NRI ANIMAL GENOME Conference Grant. 1/1/2009-12/31/2009 A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * 2009 Beef Improvement Federation Conference. UC Davis CA&ES Programmatic Initiatives. Conference grant. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * 2009 Beef Improvement Federation Conference. California Beef Council. FY 2009 Proposal. Conference support grant. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Development of an Integrated Animal Identification and Tracking System. University of California Core Issues Grant 3/1/07-2/28/09. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Biological containment of genetically engineered fish. USDA – BRAG Biotechnology Risk Assessment 9/1/05-8/31/08.  A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Validation of new technologies for beef cattle improvement. California Cattlemen’s Livestock Memorial Research Fund. 7/1/05 – 6/30/06. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Animal Identification Outreach Contract. California Department of Food and Agriculture 07/01/2005 - 06/30/2006. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Coexistence of Diverse Production Systems in California Agriculture Development of Science-based Educational Materials and Outreach Programs. UC ANR Core Issues Grant. 3/1/05 – 2/28/06. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Functionality of recombinase/fluorescent marker fusion proteins in eukaryotes. UC Davis Academic Federation Research Grants Program Innovative Development Awards 7/1/05-6/30/2006 A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Using replacement heifers to estimate carcass quality of herdmates. California Beef Cattle Improvement Association. 5/2005. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Using replacement heifers to estimate carcass quality of herdmates. California Beef Cattle Improvement Association. 5/2004. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Pilot Study on Mammary Expression of Novel Desaturases. NIH NICHD R03 Small Grants Program. 7/1/04 – 6/30/06. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI)
 * Identification and characterization of the lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase from the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) mammary gland. NSF Women's International Science Collaboration (WISC) Travel Grant Program. A. L. Van Eenennaam (PI).

Related SourceWatch articles

 * AquAdvantage salmon
 * Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee