Skip to main content
College of Veterinary Medicine

PVM Directory / Rafael C. Neves

Rafael C. Neves, DVM, MSc, PhD

Rafael C. Neves, DVM, MSc, PhD

Associate Professor, Food Animal Production Medicine
Section Head, Bovine Field Service

Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine
625 Harrison Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907

765-496-1108 (fax)
rcneves@purdue.edu

Bovine Field Service

Education

2017 - PhD | Cornell University
2011 - MSc | Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
2008 - DVM | Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais, Brazil

Experience

2013 | Residency-Cornell University

Areas of Interest

  • My laboratory uses large-scale epidemiological studies and experimental projects to answer questions related to dairy cattle health and performance.
  • Metabolic disorders during the peripartum of dairy cows with a greater emphasis on subclinical hypocalcemia has been the primary research focus.
  • Other research ares: novel biomarkers for early identification of subclinical inflammatory states, precision medicine, and development and implementation of point-of-care instrumentation in livestock production and management

Selected Publications

  • Epidemiology of subclinical hypocalcemia in early-lactation Holstein dairy cows: The temporal associations of plasma calcium concentration in the first 4 days in milk with disease and milk production
  • Differential effects of a single dose of oral calcium based on postpartum plasma calcium concentration in Holstein cows
  • Method comparison and validation of a prototype device for measurement of ionized calcium concentrations cow-side against a point-of-care instrument and a benchtop blood-gas analyzer
  • Association of immediate postpartum plasma calcium concentration with early-lactation clinical diseases, culling, reproduction, and milk production in Holstein cows
  • Risk factors associated with postpartum subclinical hypocalcemia in dairy cows
  • The effect of Presynch-Ovsynch protocol with or without estrus detection on reproductive performance by parity, and the long-term effect of these different management strategies on milk production, reproduction, health and survivability of dairy cows
  • Reproductive management practices and performance of Canadian dairy herds using automated activity monitoring systems
  • Reproductive performance with an automated activity monitoring system versus a synchronized breeding program