Mélissa Duplessis, Ph.D., agronome

Research scientist

Smart Dairy Production: Integration of cow nutrition, metabolism and health as well as environmental impacts of diets

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre

Current research and/or projects

Ensuring ecosystem productivity and resiliency by assessing the impact of trace-metal contamination from manure on the potential for cyanobacterial and harmful algal blooms in fresh water bodies - Trials in commercial herds (Living lab) and in experimental herd;
Evaluate apparent absorption of trace metals and phosphorus between Holstein and Ayrshire cows;
Describe the actual practice in commercial dairy herds regarding trace-metal feeding;
Impact of vitamin B supplementation on energy and protein metabolism during the peripartum period of dairy cows;
Impact of cow nutrition on vitamin B12 concentration in milk.

Research and/or project statements

Trace metals and their impact on the ecosystem;
Better understand interactions between systems by integration of knowledge;
Vitamin B, minerals, energy and protein metabolism during the transition period of dairy cows;
Link between B-vitamin status and indicators of energy at the beginning of the lactation;
Impact of nutrition and metabolism on vitamin B12 concentration in milk of cow.

Professional activities / interests

Vitamins and Minerals
Precision nutrition
Metabolism
Smart dairy farming

Education and awards

Mention on the Dean's list of Université Laval for my Ph. D. thesis and defense (Tableau d'honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales de l'Université Laval), 2014

Ph. D. in Animal Sciences, Université Laval, 2014

B. Sc. in Agronomy oriented in Animal Sciences, Université Laval, 2009

International experience and/or work

Internship during my Ph. D. at Cornell University, NY, USA with Dr. Tom Overton from Department of Animal Science.

Post-doctoral internship at Lactanet, Canadian Network for Dairy Excellence, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Canada.

Collaboration with Dr. Hélène Soyeurt from Université de Liège, Belgium for a project aiming to predict vitamin B12 concentration in milk using mid-infrared spectral data.

Key publications

Girard, C. L., Vanacker, N., M. Duplessis and P. Lacasse. 2017. Effects of supplementary folic acid and vitamin B12 on glucose and insulin responses of fed-restricted dairy cows to an intravenous glucose tolerance test. Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 100, Suppl. 2: 299
2018 - View publication details
Duplessis, M., Mann, S., Nydam, D.V., Girard, C.L., Pellerin, D., Overton, T.R. (2015). Short communication: Folates and vitamin B12 in colostrum and milk from dairy cows fed different energy levels during the dry period, 98(8), 5454-5459. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-9507
2015 - View publication details
Duplessis, M., Girard, C.L., Santschi, D.E., Laforest, J.P., Durocher, J., Pellerin, D. (2014). Effects of folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation on culling rate, diseases, and reproduction in commercial dairy herds, 97(4), 2346-2354. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-7369
2014 - View publication details
Duplessis, M., Girard, C.L., Santschi, D.E., Pellerin, D. (2014). An economic model evaluating the supplementation of folic acid and vitamin B12 given around parturition and in early lactation on dairy farms in Québec, Canada, 94(4), 737-747. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/CJAS-2014-026
2014 - View publication details
Duplessis, M., Girard, C.L., Santschi, D.E., Lefebvre, D.M., Pellerin, D. (2014). Milk production and composition, and body measurements of dairy cows receiving intramuscular injections of folic acid and vitamin B-12 in commercial dairy herds, 167(1), 186-194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2014.06.022
2014 - View publication details
Ouattara, B., Duplessis, M., Girard, C.L. (2013). Optimization and validation of a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography method for the measurement of bovine liver methylmalonyl-coenzyme a mutase activity, 14(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2091-14-25
2013 - View publication details