MADISON ââ?¬â?? Growing up in the Brazilian state of Goiana, Gabriela Cezar was deep in cattle country. And as far back as she can remember, she wanted to be a veterinarian.
ââ?¬Å?My father was head of the national beef cattle research center in Brazil, so I was always exposed to animals,ââ?¬Â said Cezar, who earned her veterinary medicine degree in her native country and has additional graduate degrees from Scotlandââ?¬â?¢s University of Edinburgh and UW-Madison.
But Cezarââ?¬â?¢s career path took a turn toward stem cell research early on. She has since worked on three continents ââ?¬â?? including a stint with the giant Pfizer pharmaceutical company. She also worked at the Roslin Institute in Scotland with the cloning team that produced ââ?¬Å?Dolly the Sheep,ââ?¬Â an early attempt at cloning a mammal.
ââ?¬Å?Stem cells are incredibly interesting territory,ââ?¬Â said Cezar, who joined the faculty of the animal sciences department at UW-Madison late last year. Her specialty is developmental biology.