“This is the culmination of a project that began in 1995 from a workshop in Lexington, Ky.,” said Ernie Bailey, PhD, co-author and professor of veterinary science.

Since the workshop, scientists from 25 countries collaborated on what is known as the Horse Genome Project, with Bailey as its coordinator, to build preliminary maps of the horse genome and use genomics tools to address horse health issues. The group has met twice a year since the first workshop.

Other researchers from UK include Teri Lear, PhD, professor of veterinary science; James MacLeod, VMD, PhD, John S. and Elizabeth A. Knight chair, professor of veterinary science, and director of UK’s Equine Initiative; Stephen Coleman, graduate student in the department of veterinary science; and Jinze Liu, PhD, professor of computer science