Dr. Andrea (Lunsford) Sexten was raised on a commercial cow-calf and tobacco farm in Nicholasville, KY, where she was very involved from a young age. Growing up, Andrea also showed registered Tennessee Walking Horses and was very active in her local FFA chapter. She earned two B.S. degrees from the University of Kentucky in 2005 in Animal Science and Agricultural Biotechnology. She also completed her M.S. in Animal Science at the University of Kentucky in 2007. From there she went on to Oklahoma State University where she earned her Ph.D. in Ruminant Nutrition in 2010. As part of her Ph.D. program she had the opportunity to complete a research internship at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, NE during the fall of 2009. After earning her Ph.D., she accepted a postdoctoral research associate position with Oklahoma State University and Intervet Schering Plough Animal Health.

In the summer of 2011 Andrea joined the Kansas State University faculty with an 80% teaching and 20% research appointment. Dr. Sexten’s responsibilities include developing and serving as the faculty coordinator for the KSU Department of Animal Sciences and Industry Undergraduate Research Program, along with teaching Principles of Feeding, co-teaching Advanced Beef Science, and advising students. Her research interests include the interaction of nutrition and gene expression on cattle performance, carcass quality and value, and meat composition. Her current research focuses on the regulation of lipid metabolism in beef cattle.

Andrea and her husband, Austin, enjoy cheering on their favorite college teams, spending time with family and friends, and being active in church.