Imtiaz Randhawa

Dr. Imtiaz Randhawa serves as Casual Senior Principal Researcher and Casual Academic in the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland. He earned his PhD in 2014 from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, with a thesis titled 'Analyses of signatures of selection in the bovine genome.' Prior to this, he completed his M.Sc. in 2005 from the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, focusing on 'Molecular genetic variation among Nili, Ravi and Nili-Ravi buffalo breeds of Punjab, Pakistan.' His research specializes in genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics applied to livestock species, including cattle, horses, and sheep. Randhawa's work encompasses genomic prediction, genome-wide association studies, selection signatures, and breed composition analyses to enhance productivity, adaptation, and traits like polledness and heat tolerance.

Randhawa's career at the University of Queensland includes roles as a postdoctoral research fellow and progression to his current senior researcher position, where he contributes to collaborative projects on animal breeding and genetics. He lectures in courses such as VETS4040 and VETS2001. His publication record features over 23 journal articles in prestigious outlets. Key works include 'Genomic prediction and genome‐wide association studies for productivity, conformation and heat tolerance traits in tropical smallholder dairy cows' (Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics, 2024), 'Genomic insights into the population history and adaptive traits of Latin American Criollo cattle' (Royal Society Open Science, 2024), 'Epidemiological investigation of insulin dysregulation in Shetland and Welsh ponies in Australia' (Equine Veterinary Journal, 2024), 'Selection signatures for local and regional adaptation in Chinese Mongolian horse breeds reveal candidate genes for hoof health' (BMC Genomics, 2023), 'Optimized genetic testing for polledness in multiple breeds of cattle' (G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 2019), and 'A population genomics analysis of the native Irish Galway sheep breed' (Frontiers in Genetics, 2019). These contributions advance understanding of genetic merit for meat traits, epigenetic aging clocks, and portable sequencing applications in animal genomics.Professional Email: i.randhawa@uq.edu.au