David Forgacs has been a PhD student in the lab since 2013. He works on the population genetics and genomics of American bison. Most of his dissertation work is concerned with the Yellowstone bison herd, where he has been collaborating with the National Park Service on several projects, deducing historical lineages from current population structure, assessing genetic diversity, and establishing a validated test for fecal DNA sampling. He is also working on developing a SNP-based genotyping test for detecting cattle introgression in bison.
Selected Publications:
- Forgacs D et al. Evaluating the use of fecal DNA as a non-invasive sampling technique by comparing matched blood and fecal samples from American bison (Bison bison). BMC Genet. 2019. doi:10.1186/s12863-019-0722-3.
- Fitak R et al. The expectation and challenges of wildlife disease research in the era of genomics: forecasting using a horizon scan approach. J Hered. 2019; esz001.
- Forgacs D, Wallen RL, Dobson LK, Derr JN. Mitochondrial genome analysis reveals historical lineages in Yellowstone Bison. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(11):e016608.
- Fredericks LP, Forgacs D, Yu J, Allan BF. An expanded reverse line blot hybridization protocol for the simultaneous detection of numerous tick-borne pathogens in North America. J Med Entomol. 2016;53(3):721-6.
- Agunbiade TA, Coates BS, Kim KS, Forgacs D, Margam VM, Murdock LL, et al. The spatial genetic differentiation of the legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata F. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) populations in West Africa. Bull Entomol Res. 2012 Oct;102(5):589-99.
Selected Awards:
- Throlson American Bison Foundation Scholarship
- Texas A&M Genetics Fellow Scholarship
- Genomics of Disease in Wildlife Scholarship Award
- Exceptional Teaching Assistant Award