Purina Animal Nutrition has announced that Robert Jacobs, PhD, has joined its team as an equine research nutritionist.

“Dr. Jacobs’ passion for researching ways to better the lives of horses through nutrition will be a great asset to our company and to our customers,” said Mary Beth Gordon, PhD, director of equine research and new product development at Purina Animal Nutrition.

Most recently Jacobs worked as a graduate teaching and research assistant in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech. He also held research and teaching roles at the Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Middleburg, Virginia, and at the University of Florida.

Earning a PhD in animal science from Virginia Tech, Jacobs wrote his dissertation about the influences of omega-3 fatty acids on equine uterine health and embryonic development in obese, metabolically compromised mares. In 2012 he earned his master’s degree from the University of Florida, where he wrote his thesis about the effects of arginine supplementation on equine uterine health. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 2010 from the University of Florida, where he majored in animal science and pre-veterinary medicine