Current Applied Ethology Lab Graduate Students

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Hector J. Perez Marquez, DVM, PhD

Hector was born and raised in Zacatecas, Mexico, where he earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry at the University of Zacatecas in 2008. His previous work has included the use of infrared thermography to measure physiological changes via radiated heat and micro-behavioural biometrics to detect different reproductive states in dairy cattle. In addition, he is interested in new technologies that combine physiological and behavioural parameters to help diagnose and predict important pathological and physiological events in dairy cattle. Currently, he is working on novel approaches to minimize lameness prevalence in dairy cattle as part of a post-doctoral program.

PhD Student, Emily DePaoli, MSc

Emily was raised in Southern Alberta on a mixed grain and cattle operation, where she developed an initial interest in agriculture and animals. She completed her BSc in Animal Health at the University of Alberta in 2021 and her MSc in 2023. Emily's research interests include projects that work to improve animal agriculture in relation to: animal welfare, the environment and the well-being of producers.

Research Technician, Emily Lowen, BSc

Emily grew up on a cattle ranch in Northern Alberta where her love for animals began. She graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in Animal Health in 2023. The summer following graduation she was awarded the NSERC USRA working with Dr. Bench in the Applied Ethology lab. Her summer research used 3D kinematics to identify negative affective states using lameness as a known painful state. After the summer Emily started working full time as a research technician for the lab.