Dr Sam Walkom is a Senior Research Fellow at AGBU.AGBU is an internationally recognised research centre whose role is to carry out research, development, training and delivery of technology for the genetic improvement of livestock and plants. Sam’s research is focused around maintaining and developing these tools to bring about realised industry change through genetic solutions and implement key findings into the analysis pipeline responsible for disseminating breeding values to breeders, allowing sheep and cattle breeders to take his research and produce real world change within their production systems. This is epitomised by Sam’s role in developing a genetic solution to footrot, a foot disease in sheep, with an estimated annual cost of $32 million to the Australian and $11 million to the New Zealand sheep industries.Sam’s current research projects cover a broad range of species including sheep (meat, wool, dairy), beef cattle, goats (meat and dairy) and bees. He is also involved with undergraduate teaching at UNE and supervision of postgraduate students.