Gomez Leon, Victor

Assistant Professor, Dairy Extension Specialist
126 Weber Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-2652
608-692-9098
vgomezleon@ksu.edu

Area(s) of Specialization

Reproductive Physiology
Reproductive Biotechnologies
Dairy Cattle Reproduction

View my Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Education and Research Training

B.S. in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidad de Cordoba, Columbia. 2011
M.S. in Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil. 2014
Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil. 2018
Ph.D. and Post-doctoral Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. 2017-2021

Bio Brief

Victor grew up helping his family’s agricultural enterprises in Colombia. In 2011, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science and, in 2012, he moved to Brazil to pursue a master’s and subsequently a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine. This experience provided him hands-on skills on reproductive techniques and the opportunity to apply them in large commercial livestock operations. Victor’s enthusiasm for teaching and his multilingual skills have led him to train students, veterinarians, and producers by providing workshops, seminars, and field training. In 2017, Victor had the unique opportunity to perform his Ph.D. research projects in collaboration with Dr. Milo Wiltbank and Dr. Oliver Ginther at University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW), where he continued to work as a post-doctorate researcher until January of 2021. Victor’s research has been mostly focused on basic and applied reproductive physiology. He has studied the mechanisms controlling follicle selection, which could be translated to strategies to decrease double ovulation and twins in lactating dairy cows. He has also studied pregnancy losses in recipients of IVF embryos as well as the luteolysis and return to ovulation in non-pregnant animals.

Victor’s position at K-State as Assistant Professor/Extension Specialist-Dairy matches his main career goal of integrating research into a collaborative extension program that meets the dairy producers’ needs. With his expertise and passion for research, he aims to develop a program informed and driven by data obtained from studies with animal models. This will be mostly focused on reproduction and its interaction with other areas such as health, nutrition, and management of dairy cattle. Victor is eager to develop a high-quality and innovative research/extension program by integrating his expertise to the dairy team and the K-State faculty group.