Dr. Samer W. El-Kadi is an Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology in the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech. He obtained his B.S. in Agriculture and M.S. in Poultry Science from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, in 1998 and 2000, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Maryland in 2006. Dr. El-Kadi’s research interest is primarily to elucidate the underlying factors that contribute to macronutrient metabolism. His research is centered on three areas. One research area has focused on understanding why amino acids are catabolized excessively by splanchnic tissues (mainly liver and intestines) and whether dietary or physiologic factors such as amino acid supplies or muscle growth could affect their metabolism. Another area has focused on investigating the in vivo regulation of protein turnover in growing pigs. The third is to elucidate the partitioning of nutrients into anabolic and catabolic pathways in muscles and splanchnic tissues. To achieve this goal, he is applying a multifaceted approach that combines protein expression and targeted metabolite analyses to identify how dietary management interventions could be used to improve growth.
