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Tracy Scheffler

Associate Professor
Tracy Sheffler in a maroon shirt with foliage and a Hokie Stone building in the background. Virginia Tech campus.
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Location:

School of Animal Sciences
368 Litton-Reaves Hall
175 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
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Contact:

tlscheff@vt.edu
540-231-4594

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Tracy Scheffler joined the School of Animal Sciences as an Associate Professor in January 2026. Prior to VT, she was a faculty member in Animal Sciences at the University of Florida, where she developed a research program in muscle biology, taught undergraduate and graduate courses related to animal growth and meat production, and contributed to youth and adult extension activities.

Scheffler’s research, teaching, and extension interests have been shaped by involvement in animal production, the food industry, and basic research. Experiences in 4-H and on the family farm in southwestern Michigan sparked an interest in how animals grow, and in turn, how growth impacts product quantity and quality. This led her to pursue a B.S. in Animal Science at Michigan State University and graduate degrees at Purdue and Virginia Tech. While conducting her graduate research, she developed a greater appreciation for basic research in muscle biology from both animal agriculture and human health perspectives. Her current research program utilizes various species models and approaches to investigate mechanisms related to growth, muscle metabolism, and conversion of muscle to meat. 

Skeletal muscle, which represents roughly 40% of body mass, plays important roles in locomotion, whole body metabolism, and health; and in the case of food animals, muscle ultimately becomes meat. Dr. Scheffler’s laboratory aims to optimize muscle growth, composition, and meat quality. The lab investigates basic mechanisms influencing muscle energy metabolism, growth, and conversion of muscle to meat, as well as their impact on production parameters and fresh meat quality traits.

Virginia Tech

      Undergraduate

  • APSC 4004: Contemporary Issues in Animal Sciences (Recitation). Co-instructor.

University of Florida

      Undergraduate

  • ANS 3500L: Chicken Growth and Development Lab 
  • ANS 3043: Growth & Development of Farm Animals
  • ANS 3634C: Meats
  • ANS 3613L: Livestock and Meat Evaluation
  • ANS 2002: The Meat We Eat. Instructor

      Graduate

  • ANS 6288: Experimental Techniques and Analytical Procedures in Meat Science
  • ANS 6636: Meat Technology
  • ANS 6939: Muscle Journal Club
  • ANS 6933. Non-thesis Masters Seminar

      Guest lectures

  • ANS 4932 Review of Meat Science
  • ANS 3934 Careers in the Livestock Industry
  • ANS 3006 Introduction to Animal Science
  • ANS 2002 The Meat We Eat

  • Associate Professor, School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech
    Jan. 2026 – present
  • Associate Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida
    July 2022 – Dec. 2025
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida     
    Aug. 2014 – Jun. 2022
  • Lab Specialist, Department of Animal & Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech   
    Sept. 2012 – July 2014
  • Food Technologist, ConAgra Foods, Omaha, NE    
    Oct. 2005 – Dec. 2006

  • Achievement Award – American Meat Science Association. (Recognizes 1-3 young AMSA members annually who have demonstrated significant skills and contribution to industry and organization): 2021
  • Outstanding Recent Alumnus – Academia, Department of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech: 2020

  • Ph.D., Animal & Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA (2012)
  • M.S., Animal Sciences, Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN (2005)
  • B.S., Animal Science, Michigan State University – East Lansing, MI; Honors College (2002)

View Dr. Tracy Scheffler's publications via Google Scholar

  • American Meat Science Association
  • American Society of Animal Science
  • Florida Cattlemen’s Association