Author Spotlight: Sebastián Umaña Sedó on Dairy Calf–Management Research, the Long-Term Value of Mentorship, and Not Getting Hung Up on Perfection

Today’s trailblazing dairy science innovations are built on the incredible work being done by a diverse, interconnected, global scientific community. Get to know a fellow community member in our ongoing Author Spotlight series.

Caption: Sebastián Umaña Sedó,
DVM, MSc, DVSc
(Credit: Virginia Tech University

Sebastián Umaña Sedó, DVM, MSc, DVSc, is an assistant professor of production management medicine at the Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech University and a regular contributor to ADSA’s journals.

We caught up with Sebastián to learn more about his work in dairy calf health and welfare, what challenges he hopes to tackle in the field, and how his mentors have shaped his work.

Connect with Sebastián on LinkedIn or keep up with his work on Instagram.

What specific questions or challenges within the field of dairy science are you currently working on?

I am currently exploring how management practices in the preweaning period affect dairy calves’ productive performance and health when they reach adulthood. It requires long-term studies, but many dairy farms have large datasets available that are worth evaluating with an epidemiological approach.

I also recently became interested in bovine respiratory disease in dairy calves. During my DVSc program at the University of Guelph, one of my projects was related to respiratory-pathogen surveillance. I found that most of the research being done on preventive measurements against bovine respiratory disease comes from beef cattle versus dairy cattle.

There is also an opportunity to explore how the nasal immunity and microbiome behave under different management and environmental conditions, such as when calves are left with their dam for a prolonged period, or when they are vaccinated using intranasal vaccines.

Do you have any advice for navigating the world of scientific publishing?

As a new faculty member, I am still learning to navigate the world of scientific publishing, so this is a great question! I think so far what has worked for me is to collaborate with more experienced faculty.

Collaborating with senior colleagues has helped me focus on important ideas based on their wisdom and feedback, including study timelines and feasibility or relevant questions to address in my larger pool of research ideas.

A central takeaway, at least for me, is to not get stuck trying to do the perfect study. There are simple questions that still need to be addressed, and more studies need to be repeated to support management practices during the preweaning period.

Another piece of advice for grad students: Include people who are or were editors for a scientific journal on your committee, if possible. You’ll spend a lot of time going back and forth with your manuscript editing, but when you submit it for publication, the feedback you get from journal reviewers is minimal. People with editorial experience improve your writing by enhancing clarity, coherence, accuracy, and precision, and they can help you highlight the findings or ideas that have an impact in your subject area. Again, it takes a long time before you’ll have the manuscript ready for submission, but it is worth it!

Caption: Sebastián (left) during
his Ruminant Field Service residency
at the University of Guelph with
Matthew Bouwman (middle) and
Jake Bouwman (right) of Harbodale
Dairy Farm. Sebastián acted as
herd health veterinarian
at the farm.
(Credit: Harbodale Dairy Farm)

In your experience, what aspects of dairy science are the most fascinating or enjoyable? Are there specific challenges within the field that you run into, or wish there were better solutions available for?

I think dairy calf management is the aspect I enjoy the most, specifically strategies to prevent diseases during the preweaning period and weaning strategies. For the latter, I think we need more studies on the carry-on effects of weaning strategies during the postweaning period.

Regarding challenges, I think we need more epidemiological data to support certain practices in the dairy industry, specifically, we need to have more data at the herd level.

Herd-level data are challenging because the studies are expensive to conduct. It is critical to have good relationships within the industry and dairy farmers because they can either help us obtain the data or allow us to conduct large studies.

Collaboration and mentorship often shape a scientist’s journey in the profession. Do you have mentors or colleagues who have positively impacted your career? How have they influenced you and your approach to dairy science? Add their names below.

I had the amazing opportunity to experience two different types of mentoring while I was in grad school, both of which I’m trying to merge while mentoring my students.  

During my master’s program, I had the opportunity to work with Rafael Bisinotto, DVM, PhD, who was able to enhance the skills—such as data organization, presentation, and communication—I needed as a researcher. One funny memory of that period at the University of Florida was when I was presenting for the first time, and he was in the back of the room taking notes. I thought I was saying everything all wrong because he kept writing and writing! When my presentation finished, we went for coffee, and he worked with me to understand my presentation strengths and to improve on the skills I had room to grow in. For me, that was great! He showed me the dedication and commitment he has for mentoring graduate students.

During my clinical residency and doctorate program at the University of Guelph, I worked under David Renaud, DVM, PhD. I’ve never seen a researcher with such a great work-life balance, and he was able to teach that skill to his students. He taught me a lot about time management and efficiency—for example, to schedule an entire day for research without any other commitments (even if you think you’ll have enough time!). That was the period during grad school when I was the most productive.

When you don’t have the suffocating stress of working all the time, more ideas pop into your head. Hopefully, I can manage to follow that way of thinking here at Virginia Tech. 

Overall, both were passionate about dairy science, which allowed me to explore questions. They never rejected any of my ideas—maybe reshaped them, but never rejected them. I will always be grateful for their contribution to my career.

We know authors have many options for which journals they submit to. What benefits do you see to publishing in a society journal, such as JDS Communications?

Besides the excellent reputation of JDS Communications and the Journal of Dairy Science, publishing in these journals ensures your work reaches a targeted audience interested in dairy-related research, which maximizes the impact and relevance of the results.

Strengthening our shared dairy science community means celebrating more than just our professional selves. Outside of work, what activities or hobbies bring you joy?

I enjoy playing the guitar, watching and playing soccer, and sometimes playing video games! I also enjoy camping and hiking.

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