Continue to help us welcome Dr. Sunoh Che, Dr. Emilia Przygrodzka, and Dr. Heewon Seo
Left to right: Dr. Sunoh Che, Dr. Emilia Przygrodzka, and Dr. Heewon Seo
Over the past year, Animal and Avian Sciences has brought on three new faculty members, each with an impressive background and research specialties that expand and strengthen our department. The three joined the department in January as Assistant Professors. Please welcome Dr. Sunoh Che, Dr. Emilia Przygrodzka, and Dr. Heewon Seo, and get to know a little bit more about them below.
Dr. Sunoh Che:
Dr. Sunoh Che came to the University of Maryland from the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College where she was Postdoc researcher building statistical models with microbiome sequencing data to predict antimicrobial resistance. Her area of expertise is poultry management and veterinary epidemiology with a focus on implementing poultry health enhancements and data analysis for population patterns.
When Dr. Che first saw campus, she was stuck by its beauty. She is, “happy to see diverse backgrounds and experiences represented.” Dr. Che also noted how supportive she has found ANSC as a department.
Dr. Che is originally from South Korea though her academic and professional experience have taken her across continents. She grew up on a livestock farm with beef cattle, swine, and backyard chickens. Dr. Che earned her B.S., D.V.M., and veterinary license in South Korea. She then worked as a government veterinarian for over a decade auditing animal processing plants in South Korea and around the world with a focus on import risk assessments of animals and meat. Dr. Che credits these experiences as eye opening to different processes and systems in animal production, though she observed that similar goals of animal care and health remain universal.
One Health epidemiology became a key focus in Dr. Che’s work that led her to pursue two master's degrees–one from Murdoch University in Australia focused on the epidemiology of Classical Swine Fever, and the other from the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada specialized in epidemiology. Her Ph.D. was focused on broiler breast myopathy through risk factor analysis from processing plant data.
Dr. Che’s faculty position is primarily focused on applied research and extension work with large- and small-scale poultry production throughout Maryland. She collaborates with vertical integrators, broiler growers, and extension agents in the Eastern Shore, conducts studies on growth rate and health associations, and promotes best practices for backyard chicken raising. Dr. Che teaches ANSC 262 - Commercial Poultry Management, offered biannually in the fall semester.
Outside of campus and research work, Dr. Che enjoys gardening, particularly growing herbs. She also appreciates Maryland’s weather and enjoys the seasons here – it reminds her of her home in South Korea.
Dr. Emilia Przygrodzka:
Dr. Emilia Przygrodzka came from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center where she was a Postdoc Research Associate (2018-2021) and Instructor (2021-2023). Her area of expertise is reproductive biology with an emphasis on changes across species including signaling and metabolic pathways regulating progesterone production and the corpus luteum function.
In the months since she started, Dr. Przygrodzka has found being at UMD and the department positive, saying, “People are very supportive and helpful. I like the vibe of campus too. I see many opportunities here.” She expressed appreciation for the multicultural backgrounds on campus and the surrounding community.
From an early age, Dr. Przygrodzka loved working with animals and for a long time she wanted to be a veterinarian until she realized she did not enjoy being involved with the sick and injured. As she furthered her education, she gravitated towards biology, life sciences, and biotechnology as a perfect career fit for working with animals and doing scientific research.
Dr. Przygrodzka and her family are originally from Poland, where she completed her education and early research career at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn, before accepting a Postdoc position at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2018 with Dr. John S. Davis. “We came with three suitcases, and one was full of toys and Polish books for my daughter. It was an adventure, and we planned to stay a couple of years–two or three maybe,” said Dr. Przygrodzka. The position enabled her to further her research on animal reproduction and signaling pathways triggered by factors crucial for the corpus luteum fate.
While her Postdoctoral position at the University of Nebraska Medical Center was initially intended to be for five years, she was promoted to an instructor. When the reproductive biology opening was announced at the University of Maryland, Dr. Przygrodzka saw it as a way to pursue her own research goals. She hopes “to develop my own research program focused on signaling and metabolic pathways regulating function of the steroidogenic ovarian cells with particular interest on metabolites as signaling molecules in these cells.” Dr. Przygrodzka is excited about the collaborative opportunities within the department, nearby agencies, and future students. She added, “I also hope I will be able to support our students on their career journey.” Dr. Przygrodzka is co-teaching ANSC 446 Physiology of Mammalian Reproduction and its lab- ANSC447, with Dr. Heewon Seo this fall.
Outside of campus activities and setting up a new lab, Dr. Przygrodzka travels around the US and internationally with her family. She enjoys music and is an avid walker.
Dr. Heewon Seo:
Dr. Heewon Seo came to University of Maryland by way of Texas A&M University. His area of expertise is reproductive and developmental biology with a focus on pregnancy, embryonic development, and differentiations of the placenta across species.
Speaking of his first impressions of the university, Dr. Seo noted how accessible the Campus Farm is – not just for ANSC students but for the whole community. He also commented that “there is great diversity at UMD with lots of different people from different backgrounds working together.”
Dr. Seo is originally from South Korea, where he completed his undergraduate through postdoctoral work at Yonsei University in Wonju. Early in his academic career he had an interest in the developing field of animal cloning, which led him to work in a reproductive laboratory on embryonic development and animal pregnancy. This work led to a postdoctoral opportunity in 2013 at Texas A&M.
In the following years, Dr. Seo worked with pig, sheep, and cattle pregnancy as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. In 2018, he became an Assistant Research Professor, running the laboratory’s operations and investigating aspects of bovine placenta. Through USDA funded research, the group made a number of discoveries including that a cow’s placenta is part of a different classification type than what had previously been believed.
In his faculty position in ANSC, Dr. Seo is able to develop his own lab and pursue his own research direction and goals. He is building his lab group, focused on recruitment, grants and publications. At a fundamental level, his long-term goals are to expand research to decrease animal loss during pregnancy with economic benefits for farming and animal production. Dr. Seo is co-teaching ANSC 446 and 447 Physiology of Mammalian Reproduction and its lab with Dr. Przygrodzka this fall.
Outside of campus and research work, Dr. Seo enjoys hiking and spending time in nature. He likes the blend of urban and rural that our area provides and appreciates the ease of getting out to natural environments while enjoying the conveniences of metropolitan life.
