Anita Oberbauer is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Animal Science. She received her B.S. in Zoology at UC Davis, graduating with highest honors, and earned her Ph.D. in animal science from Cornell University and then completed postdoctoral fellowships in perinatal biology at Loma Linda University and biological chemistry at UCLA prior to joining faculty at UC Davis in 1989 as an assistant professor. She has served in various administrative roles including department vice chair (4 years), department chair (8 years), and Associate Dean for Agricultural Sciences (4 years) before being appointed as Executive Associate Dean in 2021. Oberbauer studies growth and development, focusing on the cellular components that regulate skeletal growth and body composition. Her teaching has included courses in growth and development, molecular biology, sheep management, and oncogenes. Early on in her career, she was asked to develop companion animal courses for the department. She has been at the forefront of incorporating companion animals into animal science curricula having taught and delivered two high-enrollment courses on the topic. Those courses proved an entry into studying the genetic basis for animal health disorders, most particularly dogs and dairy cattle. She has trained more than 30 M.S. and Ph.D. students and has been supported by federal and private agency funds. She is a director for the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals Board, provides numerous invited talks on canine genetics, served on many federal grant review panels (NIH and USDA), and managed two grant panels. Oberbauer has served on editorial boards of several journals including the Journal of Animal Science and the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, and many professional society committees. She received the UC Davis Distinguished Teaching Award, the American Society of Animal Science Corbin Award in Companion Animal Biology, the Distinguished Teacher Award for the Western Section of American Society of Animal Science, the Outstanding Mentor Award from the UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research, the Asa Mays Excellence in Canine Health Research Award from the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, and the University of California Davis Prize in Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.