Lucas Krusinski

Lucas Krusinski

Assistant Professor, Department of Animal & Veterinary Science, Huntley College of Agriculture

About Me

Biography

Dr. Krusinski is a multidisciplinary scientist interested in the effects of agricultural practices on food nutrient density and animal welfare. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Animal Science - Biotechnology, and his work bridges multiple disciplines including food science, animal science, metabolomics, grazing management, molecular biology, and agroecology. He focuses on the One Health aspect of regenerative agriculture with one goal in mind: healthy environment, healthy animals, healthy humans. More specifically, he is interested in crop-livestock integrated systems, the effects of environmental conditions (e.g., air quality) on animal welfare, and using biotechnology to facilitate high tannin-containing plants digestion in cattle. Dr. Krusinski also uses his data to better authenticate grass-finished beef to protect ranchers and consumers from food fraud. 

 

Education and Training

Grand Challenges Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow, Chapman University (2023-2024)
Ph.D., Food Science, Michigan State University (2023)
B.S., Nutritional Sciences, Morgan State University (2019)

 

Research

Overview

The research in the Krusinski Lab is performed at the nexus of food and animal science. We investigate the effects of agricultural practices on meat nutrient density and authenticity. The Krusinski Lab performs high-throughput multi-omics work to measure fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, secondary metabolites, and animal health biomarkers in beef. Most of the work is performed on grass-finished cattle, and we are deeply interested in the use of supplemental feeds and agricultural by-products to enhance meat nutrient density and animal welfare. We love solving rancher-identified issues, so if you are a rancher and would like to collaborate, please contact us!

 

Publications

Fatty acids and secondary metabolites can predict grass-fiinished beef and cattle supplemental feeds
Krusinski L, Maciel ICF, van Vliet S, Ahsin M, Adams J, Lu G, Bitler CA, Rowntree JE, Fenton JI
Published, npj Sci. Food, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-024-00315-5

 

Measuring the phytochemical richness of meat: Effects of grass/grain-finishing systems and grapeseed extract supplementation on the fatty acid and phytochemical content of beef
Krusinski L, Maciel ICF, van Vliet S, Ahsin M, Lu G, Rowntree JE, Fenton JI
Published, Foods, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12193547 

 

Effects of hay, baleage, and soybean hulls waste used as supplemental feeds on the nutritional profile of grass-finished beef
Krusinski L, Maciel ICF, Sergin S, Jambunathan V, Garg E, Garmyn AJ, Singh S, Bitler CA, Rowntree JE, Fenton JI
Published, Foods, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11233856 

 

Fatty acid and micronutrient profile of longissimus lumborum from Red Angus and Red Angus x Akaushi cattle finished on grass or grain
Krusinski L, Maciel ICF, Sergin S, Goeden T, Schweihofer J, Singh S, Rowntree JE, Fenton JI
Published, Foods, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11213451 

 

Evaluation of fatty acid and antioxidant variation in a complex pasture system as compared to standard cattle feed in the Great Lakes Region
Krusinski L, Maciel ICF, Sergin S, Goeden T, Ali H, Kesamneni S, Jambunathan V, Cassida KA, Singh S, Medina-Meza IG, Rowntree JE, Fenton JI
Published, Front. Sustain. Food Syst., 2022.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.945080 

 

Attention to the details: How variations in grass-fed and grass-finished cattle-feed supplementation and finishing date influence the nutritional quality of beef
Krusinski L, Sergin S, Jambunathan V, Rowntree JE, Fenton JI
Published, Front. Sustain. Food Syst., 2022.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.851494 

 

Skin carotenoids status of Black/African college students correlates with plasma carotenoids and fruits and vegetable intake independent of skin tone
Faraji B, Jahns L, Bukowski MR, Thompson-Johnson T, Krusinski L, Lawson Goldberg J, Brooks C, Snyder S.
Published, Int. J. Clin. Nutr. Diet., 2022.
https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-8171/2022/161 

 

Fatty acid and antioxidant composition of conventional compared to pastured eggs: Characterization of conjugated linoleic acid and branched chain fatty acid isomers in eggs
Sergin S, Goeden T, Krusinski L, Kesamneni S, Ali H, Bilter CA, Medina-Meza IG, Fenton JI
Published, ACS Food Sci. & Tech., 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.0c00093 

Teaching

Courses Taught

AVS 1115L - Companion Animal Management (Laboratory) 

AVS 2101L - Fundamentals of Animal Nutrition (Laboratory) 

AVS 3305 - Animal Genetics

AVS 3327 - Meat Science

AVS 4430/4430L - Biotechnology Applications in Animal Science (& Laboratory)

AVS 4610 - Senior Seminar