Patricia Ask-Gullstrand

I am a doctor of agronomy in animal science. My research focuses on dairy cattle breeding and genetics. 

I am currently working with SLU's infrastructure for dairy cows, SLU Gigacow, and specifically with a research project on heat stress in dairy cows in Sweden. 

In my PhD project, I studied new phenotypes to measure embryonic- and fetal losses in dairy cows. The agriculture sector is facing a switch to more automatic systems and sensors. In my doctoral project, I therefore studied how progesterone measurements from an in-line milking system, Herd Navigator, and measurements of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins can be used in breeding for improved fertility in our Nordic dairy cows. Within the framework of the project, I also studied genetic defects in dairy cows, focusing on how much of the measured embryonic- and fetal losses can be explained by the so-called at-risk matings, i.e. where both parents carry a defect that leads to pregnancy loss.

• Doctorate in Agronomy in Animal Science, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2019-2024
• Research assistant at the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, July 2017 – December 2018
• M.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2017

Ask-Gullstrand, P., E. Strandberg, R. Båge, E. Rius-Vilarrasa, B. Berglund. 2024. The effect of genetic defects on pregnancy loss in Swedish dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 107(5):2999-3005.

Ask-Gullstrand, P., E. Strandberg, R. Båge, B. Berglund. 2023. Genetic parameters of pregnancy loss in dairy cows estimated from pregnancy-associated glycoproteins in milk. J. Dairy Sci. 106(9):6316-6324.

Backeman Hannius, L.M., Keeling, L., Ask-Gullstrand, P., Verbeek, E., Wallenbeck, A. 2022. Effects of early social mixing and genetic line on social behaviour and activity in young pigs. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science. 

Ask-Gullstrand, P., E. Strandberg, R. Båge, JM. Christensen, B. Berglund. 2021. Genetic parameters for reproductive losses estimated from in-line milk progesterone profiles in Swedish dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 104:3231–3239.

Tarekegn, G. M., Gullstrand, P., Strandberg, E., Båge, R., Rius-Vilarrasa, E., Christensen, J. M., & Berglund, B. (2019). Genetic parameters of endocrine fertility traits based on in-line milk progesterone profiles in Swedish Red and Holstein dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 102(12), 11207–11216. 

Bieber, A., Wallenbeck, A., Leiber, F., Fuerst-Walt, B., Winckler, C., Gullstrand, P., Walczak, J., Wójcik, P., Spengler Neff, A. 2019. Production level, fertility, health traits, and longevity in local and commercial dairy breeds under organic production conditions in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and Sweden. J. Dairy Sci. 102:1–12.