Dr. Dechow is a native of New York State and grew up on a small dairy farm that milked Holsteins and a few Brown Swiss. He has degrees from Morrisville State (A.A.S.), Cornell University (B.S.), Penn State (M.S.) and the University of Tennessee (Ph.D.). Chad's general research interest is the development of genetic selection strategies to improve productive efficiency while maintaining high levels of cow health and fertility. His lab is working toward the development of novel traits such as feed utilization, telomere assessment, DNA methylation, and fatty acid profiles. Dr. Dechow has teaching responsibilities in the areas of animal genetics, dairy cattle selection, dairy herd management and the use of dairy management software. He also co-advises Penn State’s Dairy Science Club and is the coach of Pennsylvania’s 4-H Dairy Judging team.