Con-Ning Yen Position/Title: Assistant Professor email: yenc@uoguelph.ca Phone: 53706 Office: ANNU 250 Google Scholar

Con-Ning Yen was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina with a passion for science and horseback riding. This led her to attend Virginia Tech for a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences with the intention of becoming a veterinarian. Being at a Tier 1 Research Institute, she had the opportunity to pursue undergraduate research in the Meat Science program studying postmortem energy metabolism focusing on the conversions of muscle to meat. Here she learned other opportunities to support her interests in animal health through avenues of understanding underlying mechanisms that can contribute significantly to the development of meat producing livestock. Her passion for research then led her to pursue a graduate degree in Meat Science and Muscle Biology under Dr. David Gerrard. Her dissertation focused on skeletal muscle energy metabolism, specifically the role of the mitochondria during muscle growth and subsequent meat quality attributes in various species. Upon joining University of Guelph as an Assistant Professor of Muscle Biology and Meat Science in 2026, she is now working on focusing research efforts toward current issues in meat science within Canada and further pursing pathways of energy metabolism in skeletal muscle as it impacts growth efficiency in meat producing species.

Academic History

Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2017)

Doctor of Philosophy in Meat Science and Muscle Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2025)