Prof. Dr. Skorn Koonawootrittriron Vice President for Area-Based Mission Integration · Kasetsart University
ศาสตราจารย์ ดร.ศกร คุณวุฒิฤทธิรณ
Better genetics for dairy cattle, swamp buffalo, beef cattle, pigs, fish, shrimp and chickens in the tropics.
Prof. Dr. Skorn Koonawootrittriron is an animal geneticist and Vice President of Kasetsart University. For nearly three decades he has turned farm records and genomic data into breeding programs that make tropical livestock more productive.
- Professor of Animal Breeding
- Head of TAGU
- Editor-in-Chief, 2 journals
Scientist, leader, mentor.
Working with universities, industry and government
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Six research themes
Meet the animals he works for.
Signature work
From farm records to genomes.
The work behind his team's 2024 Platinum Impactful Research Award at Kasetsart University: from dairy farm records to genomic selection, now also used for beef, fish and buffalo.
1996 · 1/6
It starts with farm records
Dairy farmers record every cow's milk, pedigree and calving. With DPO and the University of Florida, these records feed the DPO Sire & Dam Summary, published every year since 1996. The multibreed model he developed with the University of Florida (2002) ranks Thailand's crossbred cows fairly across breed groups.
1996First DPO sire summary
2015 · 2/6
Then come the genomes
A project funded by Kasetsart University's research institute (2015–2017) built a genomic evaluation for Thai dairy cattle. DNA markers (SNPs) join the pedigree and milk records, so a young bull's merit can be predicted years before his daughters give milk.
2–3 yearsTo develop a line, down from many years (as the team reports)
Impact · 3/6
Better cows, sooner, for less
Farmers select genetically superior replacement cows 14.8% faster, about 7.4 months sooner (KU, 2020). In its award summary the team also reports average rearing costs down 12,580 baht per cow, and 31.54 kg more milk and 741.19 baht more income per cow each year.
7.4 moReplacement cows sooner
Beyond dairy · 4/6
On to beef, fish and buffalo
The same methods now serve other animals. Smile Beef and a Buriram beef producers' network use genetic evaluation to raise cattle the market wants, Manit Genetics selects tilapia broodstock with genomic data, and the CP Foundation's Buffalo Modern Farm selects Thai swamp buffalo. The work also covers Kai Dam Nil Kaset chickens, pigs, catfish and shrimp.
+25–30%Profit for the beef company (as the team reports)
2024 · 5/6
A Platinum award
In 2024 Kasetsart University gave this body of work its Impactful Research Award at Platinum level, the only Platinum that year. It is a team award: he led the team, with Prof. Mauricio A. Elzo of the University of Florida, Assoc. Prof. Thanathip Suwanasopee, and TAGU's researchers and students.
PlatinumKU Impactful Research Award, 2024
2026 · 6/6
In use at DPO today
DPO's 10th genomic evaluation covers 14,662 cows on 1,326 farms, with 5,175 genotyped animals. DPO uses it to prove sires and sell their semen to farmers.
1,326Dairy farms in the evaluation
Impact in numbers
Research that shows up on the farm.
- 115+ 115+Journal articlesPeer-reviewed, 2001–2026
- 1,968 1,968CitationsGoogle Scholar, Oct 2026
- ×3.65 ×3.65Social return on research investmentSROI estimate, Thammasat Univ. 2024
Research you can actually use.
Two national dairy evaluation systems, developed with DPO and the University of Florida.
Partners across Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and the USA.
Bangkok, Thailand · Partner sites
- Gainesville, USA
- Nagoya, Japan
- Tsukuba, Japan
- Nanning, China
- Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
- Mekelle and Afar, Ethiopia
- Ås, Norway
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Melbourne, Australia
Let's do research together
Universities, research institutes, industry and government: joint research projects, publications, student exchange, training and talks.
Start a conversation
Study animal genetics at TAGU
M.S. and Ph.D. projects in genomics, data science and real farms, with partners around the world.
Join the team