Dr. Mary Beth Gordon is the Senior Director of Equine Technical Innovation for Purina Animal Nutrition (Land O'Lakes, Inc.) with responsibilities to lead and guide the research and technical teams for the horse business group. Her ambitious research team has completed over 350 research protocols at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center, leading to the creation of 24 new products and 20+ reformulated products in the equine market since 2005. This research encompasses exercise physiology, growth and reproduction, and digestive physiology including palatability, intake, and microbiome work.
Mary Beth earned her BS in Animal Science from Delaware Valley University and PhD in Animal Science with a specialty in Equine Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Rutgers University. Her graduate research focused on the effects of exercise on the hormonal regulation of appetite in horses and her work was the first to characterize the appetite stimulating hormone, ghrelin, in equine. She is published in numerous scientific journals including The Veterinary Journal, Equine Veterinary Journal, Journal of Animal Science, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science and Equine Comparative Exercise Physiology. She has also co-authored chapters in textbooks such as Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery. In addition to her work at Purina Animal Nutrition, Mary Beth is active in the horse world as a dressage rider, owning multiple warmbloods that keep her very busy!