1: Better Animal Nutrition for a Better World w/ Dr. Jhones Sarturi

Our first guest on the Deep Roots Podcast is Jhones Sarturi, Ph.D. Sarturi comes from a diverse background, a veterinarian with additional degrees in agronomy and animal science. When he joined Texas Tech University in 2019, he stepped into a newly created position that allowed him 
to build courses and develop research programs. Today, he also serves as a Faculty Fellow in the Office of International Affairs, splitting his time as an Associate Professor in the Department of 
Animal and Food Sciences in Beef Cattle Nutrition & Metabolism.

In this episode, we sit down with Sarturi to talk about his research focus, challenges, and the unanswered questions that motivate him to get out of bed before his alarm clock goes off.The heart of Sarturi’s research is digestive physiology, seeking ultimately to understand how animals metabolize and utilize nutrients. While much of his early work focused on beef cattle, his research now spans much broader applications. As Sarturi strives to blend both basic and applied science, researching not just what happens inside an animal’s digestive system, but how 
it happens is important. By understanding these pathways, researchers can develop strategies to help animals use nutrients more efficiently. This can lead to improved productivity, reduced resource use, and greater sustainability, especially in challenging environments such as semi-arid regions.

Collaboration plays a vital role in his research. From partnerships with other universities to direct engagement with producers and agricultural associations, he emphasizes that meaningful research begins with meaningful questions. Often, those questions come directly from the 
community. He reminds us that good research doesn’t just provide answers; it generates better questions.

Sarturi hopes listeners can takeaway one key message, and that is to ask yourself, “Are we making somebody’s life better and are we doing our best to make that a reality?” Sarturi emphasizes applying that to any job, especially in research. Looking ahead, his vision centers on contributing to large-scale, team-based solutions, particularly those addressing sustainability, water use, and global food production. 

Let us know your thoughts on Dr. Sarturi’s research, reach out to him for more information, and be sure to subscribe to Deep Roots!

Transcript

Vikram Baliga 0:00

Hi, and welcome to the Deep Roots Podcast. We're so excited to be with you today to teach you a little bit more about agriculture and the research and teaching and innovation going on in the Animal and Food Science Department in the Davis College of Ag Science and Natural Resources at Texas Tech University. Our guest for today is Dr. Joan Sarturi in the Department of Animal and Food Science. Dr. Sarturi is an associate professor of beef cattle nutrition and rumen metabolism and a faculty fellow in international affairs, exploring the impacts of agriculture on a global scale, both on students and the community at large. Dr. Sarturi is passionate about teaching and his research, and we had a great conversation in this episode about integrating students into research programs and into innovative teaching ideas. Jones has a great personality and a great heart for people and for animals and for agriculture as a whole. I know I learned a lot from talking to Dr. Sarturi, and I think you will as well. So join us for today's episode. I hope you stick around and learn a little bit more about growing deep roots in agriculture. Well, Jones, it's so great to have you with us today. Thanks for giving us your time and coming in and um being our first guest, actually, on the Deep Roots podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

What a honor. What a honor. Thank you for having me. So uh we'll do our best over here to share what we what we believe and what we empower other people to do.

Vikram Baliga 1:21

That's awesome. And that's actually such a good segue. And we're still working on a tagline, and you know, you may have just given us one. We'll credit you for it for sure. But uh just to get started, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself? Introduce yourself, what's your position here at Texas Tech, and and what does that mean? What do you do here?

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Yeah, great, great. You know, as uh I have a quite diverse background as far as uh professional formation, and uh in uh some uh somehow that at the beginning I thought that that would uh make me lose focus, but uh that was perhaps uh a premature thought or maybe an experienced thought at the at the moment, but uh so I'm a veterinarian and I went to an agronomy school for a degree and then a animal science here in the United States. And and when I was hired here at Texas Tech, it was a blessing position, I would say, uh in the in the in the job I got offered because it was a new position, and I get uh I got the choice or the the the opportunity to choose classes I would like to develop, and it was a new and it was a new position. I wasn't replacing anyone, right? So there are pros and cons again uh on that, but uh uh for sure uh uh made me uh be to grow roots within this this idea and the research that I conduct and uh involving teaching as well because I had a chance to develop these classes and most of them uh that I teach. So currently, right now, uh hopefully it doesn't come as a surprise, but uh I have an appointment as well at the Office of International Affairs. Okay, so 50% of my time, let's if we can frame it that way, I spend at the Animal and Food Sciences Department in the Davis College, and the other 50% at the Office of International Affairs. So I have been uh enduring this uh very gladly, actually, this journey since uh last semester. And uh mornings over there, afternoons at my department. Wow, so you're busy, always very busy. Yeah, I I usually joke with my students. I have a blessing in a course of having three offices. So Animal Food Sciences, my our laboratory is actually here at the Food Technology Building. So I have an office here because it's the only lab that is out of our home department, and now more recently at the Office of International Affairs, so uh uh makes me uh focus. Uh I guess that's the the great thing. And it just adds a little bit on the mileage, I guess, that I have to run to get to this place.

Vikram Baliga 3:52

That's uh that's a good way to put that, actually. Your odometer just clicks over as you're just going to work.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

We have to for that nowadays, right? Yeah, I think so.

Vikram Baliga 4:00

I think so. So, you know, you talked about some of the research you do and the teaching as well, but let's let's start with research. Um, and and I think it's I like the way you talk about it for one thing, because they go hand in hand. You know, they're not independent. Our research informs our teaching, and the way we want to teach informs the research we do because we get to work with students and things like that. I think that's awesome. But um, for for those listening, tell us a little bit about your research. What what do you work on? What are you trying to find out?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

No, great. And uh and and I like the way you framed this, the this to to to start to talk about this. I I I like I used just I used to say that uh research is my passion and uh teaching is my liquor. By the way, I don't I don't drink alcohol, but uh my organism doesn't take very well. But uh but I like the analogy because it's something that uh uh for those that actually take that and and and then go for it is uh is something that I really enjoy to do and I merge my research into it. So uh I think my example was just terrible, but uh the the point is I as a core uh goal or object or frame for my research, I could put in two words, digestive physiology. Okay. And when I first started to work, I used to use a beef kettle as a model only, right? Because come out of graduate school, a postdoc, and different places I have I was in school for quite a few years, almost 13, 14 years before I got this job, and um that I can conduct research and lead a team and empower other people. So I I used to use beef cattle as a model only, right? Uh but uh as as we advance in the career and as we start to collaborate with other people and and and go more cross-disciplinary, it is it is beautiful that we can engage with so many other researchers and other departments. Uh, if we make our our model to be more flexible to engage uh with other core objectives as well. So, again, I bring digestive physiology on things that people invite me to do. And and some of these things might be uh in areas that uh I don't have my my feet wet as as as much as I would like. However, as a collaborator, I can bring the expertise, right? I can bring the expertise. So new technologies, management systems, everything that involves a animal digestive uh ability to use nutrients from ingredients and convert those nutrients to edible tissues or tissues that can be used to serve people somehow.

Vikram Baliga 6:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Uh, it's my my goal, right?

Vikram Baliga 6:48

That's really interesting. And I think from an industry standpoint, um, you've sort of alluded to this already, but it seems to me that there are a lot of ways that this is very practical research, right? It has direct impacts on the lives of your students, of the community, of the ag industry in general, and just the general public. Um, can you speak a little bit to that? So, you know, as you were talking about how your research works in digestive physiology, what does that mean for the average person? What does that mean for your students?

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Okay, great. Yeah. So uh and and we think that uh actually we think that the research aspect will we have more, we have a basic research where we are trying to look at uh pathways of how nutrients are metabolized, and we have applied research as well. And but regardless if our graduate students and the people involved with us are working on the applied side or to the basic side, at the end of the day, we need to build that overall picture, right? So if we understand uh how things are metabolized, how nutrients, let's bring things for nutrients, if we understand how nutrients are metabolized and which circumstances that make that nutrient to be to become more or less available, if we understand how those things happen, not just what happens, but how they happen, we can actually set up strategies on technologies that exist already for a long time. Allow me to give an example. Uh live yeasts, for example. So I do a lot of uh kinetics of digestion inside the cattle uh stomachs, uh, with uh with a technology with live yeast. So live yeast has been used for decades on the food industry, on the preservation industry. So these microorganisms are very resilient, and they have the ability to transform uh ingredients and release nutrients based on that impact. And the animals, the host we call the host, the animals are able to take more or less of these products of digestion. Right? So this is not new. If you say, Did you invent this? Did you discover the live? No, I did not, completely not, right? But what we do is we underst we uh discover or we elucidate the pathways on how these microorganisms affect these nutrients, so then us we can create new strategies on how to use them in our benefit. And by benefit, I mean we use less resources for animals that are for livestock that are consuming these nutrients, so then we can be more productive, we can be more sustainable, we can uh strive in environments that are challenging for life to grow, like semi-arid conditions or arid conditions. Right. So, and we are not reinventing the wheel, we are not discovering the new pill, we are not discovering the new bug, but we are uh discovering the mechanism of action so then we can develop these strategies.

Vikram Baliga 10:04

That's really fascinating. So that's interesting. You know, you talk about how we look at the body of knowledge overall, and we take that as sort of the framework for what we do with scientists, right? We we figure out how we can make those things better. I think that's really important for people to understand. Um, and and to that end, I think in science we're always working with the public, but also with collaborators, whether that be student groups or research organizations or growers or or um cattlemen or whoever, right? Can you can you talk a little bit about who you work with, not just the information you work with, but the people involved to get to that endpoint? And you kind of alluded to this earlier, but I'm just curious like what kind of partners are there? What kind of collaborators, what student groups and things absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

So uh in several different uh, let's say, arenas. So in the scientific community, of course, right? So I'll navigate a little bit uh more out of that, but just I guess it's important to mention well other universities, other uh we throughout the the graduate school tree or uh the connections we had through graduate school a few several years ago, but uh these uh research collaborations that we continue the things that we had in the past and for others that were created as well. So other universities as well, so we are not isolated, right? So we like to think that we we compete on on football with a lot of uh a lot of universities, but at the end of the day, in the scientific community, we are writing projects together and uh uh we are trying to discover solutions together. So uh that is that is real, that happens, right? So not only across universities, but also within different colleges inside the university, we always have the open mind to help colleagues on our area of expertise on things that are needed. But this would be, let's say, within the the uh within universities, right? But uh uh not only in this country actually, so uh international collaboration. That's actually part of my job at the international affairs, but community, let's let's bring a little bit community. And uh when when we when we engage with them, it is important to mention that we we put multiple multiple frames for, and then it is difficult to just to just deal with research. So, in my opinion, then we put together teaching, research, and outreach and engagement because uh at the same time that we are working with associations when we are working with producers directly, right? And uh these folks are uh not only supporting promoting financial support for our research, but actually uh bringing questions for us. And uh we we like to say that a good research will bring more questions than answers, right? And these the the ability to have this direct communication with the community, uh open the doors for these questions, so then it takes us out of the little box of the science, which is very easy to get trapped to. Sure. And then we open our eyes on on discovering solutions that are impactful to the community. When I say community, uh yes, local, uh, but it goes beyond borders, right? So most of the the work we do, uh it is applied to whatever the region that uh in the globe that it could uh uh that it finds a fit. So uh this community, so we we we strive strongly to have a global impact. And by doing that, we open, we broaden this, we we we break this barrier of uh a state or a country, and we become more impactful. And we have to open our heart for that sometimes because it it requires a little bit extra time and patience, right? But uh making sure that we have this connection with the community, regardless if it is research, teaching, or the combination on outreach and engagement, uh brings life to the research, bring is bring a uh uh the ability for us to be current and and face great challenges, right? And uh and take us a little bit away from the trap of uh uh being too narrow to one. There is a there are some positive on that aspect as well, but but but it makes our perspective more broadened, right? And then we involve people with that, and and that brings a little bit of the uh of what uh of the fruit that we need when we impact people's lives. And we can somehow professionally develop other professionals or people that are looking for professional development, and that makes that brings the satisfaction. You're a researcher as well. Yeah, that's that I I think that is priceless, right? So it makes us wake up in the morning before the alarm the alarm clock goes off, is because we want to go there and do more, right? So and I I think that the recipe there is the community, as more as you involved with the community, uh more uh more it makes you uh to be empowered.

Vikram Baliga 15:22

So I agree, and I think that you know one of our big challenges, and and we'll talk about some more challenges here in just a second, but you made a really good point that good research leads to more questions and leads to hopefully good, meaningful questions. You know, as we think about our challenges in research, as we think about the questions, I think one of the big things that we're always trying to answer, and you were alluding to this and talking about this, is the impact we have and how do we figure out the impact we have. But what to get to that point, we have to find good questions and we can find good ways to answer those questions. So research is always challenging, and it in my experience, and maybe that's just me, but when you're working with living organisms like plants or animals or people or whatever, things rarely go exactly the way you think they're going to up front. Can you talk about some of the challenges you faced in your research? Um again, those are not always bad things, but yeah, no, absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

So, and several challenges in different scopes. So uh uh one intrinsic to the research and uh dealing with uh life for organisms and uh and with animals, right? So it's uh the challenge is uh variability, variability, and uh and I don't like to allude too much on the on the funding for because once you have a streamline, those usually those usually become more available. Uh but what one of the things is that we are always concerned about is how we can professionally, how we can uh use these models with live animals uh to make sure that we are achieving the objectives that we need at the same time using the least amount that we have to use uh to conquer our objectives, but not underusing either, because then that would elude us to replicate to do it again, then do it again, then do it again, right? So it's a is a is a is a fine, it's a narrow line over there that we walk through because we are dealing with lives, right? And I work with animals and and we have animals under our responsibility, and uh it is and they require a 24-hour care. It doesn't matter if it is Christmas or if it is New Year's Eve, it is it's it's our life. We work with them, right? And uh they're not just a tool for us, it's they are part of what we do and what we are. Yeah, so that brings a challenge, a very big challenge, because there is the psychological portion of it as well. Uh, because these model models that use animals uh um that we get very involved with. So and we take that very seriously. So that that's one of one of the aspects that usually don't show up when we are writing something or when we are trying to send that scientific message, but it is intrinsic to the process and uh and it is stressful, right? And uh it is stressful, I guess, as any other thing we do, right? So we we we always need to make sure we we we do proper care for that. But uh I would add as well as a challenge uh as how we can as people develop their careers, right? We always have that in mind that you need to you need to conquer the milestones, you have it to uh you have it to to be present, you have it to uh uh to show your efforts. And it is very easy when, especially for for younger researchers, but not only younger, I guess this could be applied for for for all kinds of levels in a career. It is it is easy for for people to get trapped within their own areas of expertise and just interact with people that they they that are talking within the same terms that they are and doing the similar research that they are doing. And as more cross-disciplinary we become, more impactful we are. We were just talking about this a little bit before, but it's challenging because you have to open yourself to an unknown arena, right? To a unknown schedule, to a unknown agenda, and to sometimes different funding sources that you're not used to. And it is change, I guess, is difficult for human beings, I guess. Maybe I'm too philosophic over here.

Vikram Baliga 19:47

No, I no, I think you're right on. I we're not we're not great at that. Yeah, um, but I think that there's something to be taken from that just as a general concept as well, that changes and challenges are not bad. There are opportunities in some cases to learn something new or to look at a research question in a different way, or a lot of different things. So I I like how you talk about that a lot. Um, so that kind of leads me into as we as you find new questions and find new challenges. Like, what's next? Is there a something on the horizon for you in terms of future research, of plans you have that you know I don't want you to give away anything you're not supposed to, but but overall I'm curious what your next steps are in just sort of your whole research world?

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Absolutely, absolutely. I guess uh uh it's clear, has been clear to me that being a little bit self-shown or uh being more um how can I put this tackling more of great challenges where we would need multidisciplinary teams to solve these great challenges uh is definitely something that I have been on the route for a couple of years already. Uh, what is the disadvantage of that? Yeah, well, the disadvantage of that is then you become uh perhaps if you're trying to promote yourself for some reason, that's not the path, I guess. So, but uh the the point is we can be much more impactful working in these teams and bringing people through the same mentality that we can solve great challenges. For instance, uh, if you we are in a semi-arid, arid region, so water is limited, water quality is a challenge. Can I bring this to the digestive physiology of it? Yeah, absolutely I can. That's what we write proposals for. Uh, but now can I become just a component now of a great scenario where it's not only affecting the digestive physiology inside the digestive? To attract of these animals, but also people that own these animals, people that will consume the products that are produced by these animals, the land, the land use, and the resources that now will be better utilized. You see how we we get a great challenge and we become just a component of it. And if I can be involved in something like that in solving a great challenge, and even with a smaller participation, I'm four. And a smaller participation, unfortunately, doesn't say less amount of time. Right. Because for these great challenges, you're gonna invest literally the same amount of time, but uh you you basically kind of disappear on that cloud of uh uh of uh of uh people willing to provide the solution or provide an insight about something, but I still prefer to be within the cloud and being impactful, right? Than uh just trying to shine somehow in uh in uh in something that is not impactful. And uh perhaps that my name would be brought first, and uh, but what is uh how people's lives were changed because of that, right? I just posed that question at the end. And then if I see that I'll be impacting people's lives in a better way, in a positively way, in a greater way, uh that's that's that's how I prioritize things, right? And and the disadvantage of that is it takes time, right? Right, it takes time as everything. And uh you need to make sure you you don't quit in between.

Vikram Baliga 23:47

So uh the longevity of staying with it is certainly can be a lot, but I mean I think that's what's a more noble goal than that, then one building coalitions and collaborations and making sure that everyone involved is um yeah, involved in in and that uh that there are multiple voices and multiple thoughts involved. I think that's really cool. Um so as we as we sort of wrap up here, we've talked a lot about impact and we've talked a lot about uh what this means. And and we have uh listeners from a wide variety of walks of life. Some that are you know more initiated in agriculture and and know some of the science behind it, and some that don't. And so I guess the question I want to leave us with and leave you with is if there was one thing or or a couple of small things that you, or big things that you would want the listeners of this episode to take with them. What's the what's the take-home that you hope they get from this conversation?

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Oh, absolutely. I guess uh, and again, as the overall picture, that it always has to be there, right? So because that's the way that we lose focus if we so uh let let me leave you with this, leave uh with this message is everything we do, it doesn't matter the job we do, and uh we we love it to work with research, we love it to empower people, we love it to develop these professionals that will be researchers in the future. Uh but regardless of that, whatever we do, I guess the question we should ask ourselves is are we making somebody else's life better? Are we making somebody else's life better? And are we doing our best to make that a reality? So if you apply that to any type of job, any type of job, and uh you won't be able to find an exception for that. Uh especially in research, especially in research, are we are we doing our best to make somebody else's life better? And this is research for me, because everything we do, regardless if it is basic or applied, at the end of the at the end, the final objective is to for the society, is if it is not directly related to the product that they will consume, is related to something that will yield that product. So, but at the end of the day, what we are trying to do is to make uh improve people's life, so uh quality of life, perhaps. So, are we making somebody else's life easier or better uh with the things that we do every day? And if you have this in the back of your mind, I guess it will it will dictate priorities for you in an automatic mode, in an automatic transmission mode, right? Yeah, and uh and that involves personal life and professional life as well. So it will definitely dictate priorities if you have this.

Vikram Baliga 26:51

So I think that's a good priority to have and a good uh focus. Well, Jones, thanks so much for coming in and talking with us. I think I've learned a lot. I think it's uh I I really like your perspective on research and the impacts it can have on the community and um our students and and everyone in between. So thanks for your time, thanks for your knowledge, and and we appreciate you being a part of this. My pleasure, always available.