Research

Dr. Rhodes works in the area of mammalian endocrinology; specifically in stress and reproductive endocrinology. His interest in pursuing topics related to stress has been stimulated by the ongoing debate concerning the welfare of domestic animals in agricultural contexts. The overall objectives of these studies have been to evaluate performance, physiology, behavior and welfare of lambs exposed to common sheep practices (eg. tail-docking, shearing, vaccinations, castration, etc.). The goal of the work is to define optimum times and means of performing common management practices in sheep.

The second thrust of his work in endocrinology deals with reproduction pharmacotherapy. The overall objective of this work is to develop and test the efficacy of hormone delivery systems. The active principals that he works with with include FSH and LHRH.