Ernest Bailey, MS, PhD, is a professor at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, in Lexington. Bailey’s research investigates genetic influences on horses’ innate and adaptive immune systems, which protect animals from infectious diseases. His other interests include the development of the genetic map for horses and investigation of genes involved in the horse health, such as those that might cause contracted tendons, extreme lordosis, and dwarfism.

Samantha Brooks, PhD, is a professor of equine physiology at the University of Florida, in Gainesville. Her research program explores a variety of horse health topics, including gene expression studies and mapping of genetic disorders in the horse. Previously, her research group discovered genetic mutations and markers for coat colors, height, sarcoid tumors, and two neurologic conditions. Her ongoing work targets gait variations, infectious disease susceptibility, metabolic syndrome, and skeletal defects using genomewide association, genome resequencing, and transcriptomics.