Prof. Burim Ametaj

Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Ag, Food & Nutri Sci Dept

Curriculum Vitæ

Contact Overview Announcements Courses Publications

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Ag, Food & Nutri Sci Dept

Email: bametaj@ualberta.ca
Phone: (780) 492-9841
Address: 4-10G Agriculture/Forestry Centre
9011 116 St NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2P5

Overview

About

Degree

PhD, Iowa State University

Job/Research Area

Ruminant Nutritional Immunology, and Member of AVRI Council

Committee Involvement

Administrative Involvement: Faculty Animal Policy and Welfare Committee

Research

Dr. Ametaj earned his DVM from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Albania and his PhD in nutritional immunology from Iowa State University. Following postdoctoral training at Iowa State, Purdue, and Cornell universities, he joined the University of Alberta in 2004. An internationally recognized leader in dairy-cattle health, he has helped advance the field from a predominantly reductionist model toward an integrated systems-biology framework. He also edited the landmark textbook Periparturient Diseases of Dairy Cows: A Systems Biology Approach (Springer, 2017).

His laboratory pioneered the application of metabolomics to dairy-cattle health, characterizing metabolic profiles in milk, plasma, urine, and rumen fluid. This research has identified biomarker signatures associated with major transition-cow diseases—including ketosis, mastitis, metritis, retained placenta, milk fever, and lameness—often weeks before clinical signs emerge. These discoveries are informing innovative disease-prevention strategies involving probiotics, precision vaccination, nutrigenomics-based feeding, and precision dairy farming.

A unifying theme of Dr. Ametaj’s research is the role of bacterial endotoxins in inflammatory, metabolic, and neurodegenerative disorders. His recent work reconceptualizes milk fever as an adaptive response associated with systemic inflammation, rather than simply a disorder of calcium deficiency, through the “Calci-Inflammatory Network.” Building on this systems-level perspective, he introduced the concept of the “Calci-Keto-Inflammatory Code,” which describes the coordinated interactions among calcium regulation, ketone-body metabolism, and inflammation in shaping physiological adaptation and disease. His research has also linked endotoxin exposure to Alzheimer’s-type neurodegenerative changes, extending discoveries in animal health toward human medicine within a One Health framework.

More broadly, Dr. Ametaj proposed “Stratodynamics,” a theoretical framework for understanding biological responses as dynamic, layered, and interconnected processes. Stratodynamics describes how living systems detect challenges, generate responses, and undergo transitions across molecular, subcellular, cellular, tissue, organ, systemic, and organismal layers. By integrating responses across these seven biological layers, the framework seeks to provide a unified foundation for understanding adaptation, resilience, and the progression from health to disease.

With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, an h-index of 49, and over 8,700 citations, Dr. Ametaj is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Dairy (MDPI) and was recognized by ScholarGPS as a 2024 Top Scholar, ranking among the top 0.5% of scholars worldwide.

Teaching

AN SC 310 – Physiology of Domestic Animals
How do animals keep their internal environment stable in a changing world? This course covers the fundamental principles of physiological regulation and homeostasis, examining the mechanisms that maintain homeorrhesis and well-being in domestic animals as they respond to external factors such as light, temperature, and social environment.
Prerequisites: BIOL 107 and 6 units of university-level chemistry.
Fall Term 2026

NU FS 403 – Dairy Science and Technology
From udder to table: the science behind milk and dairy products. Students explore the physiology of lactation and the biosynthesis, chemistry, and nutritional properties of milk components, then move into the technological principles of milk treatment and the production of fluid, concentrated, dried, sterilized, and fermented dairy products, including cheese, butter, and ice cream.
Prerequisite: NU FS 374.
Fall Term 2026

AFNS 503 – Processing of Milk and Dairy Products
A graduate-level look at the technology behind modern dairy processing. Covers the principles of milk treatment and the manufacture of fluid, concentrated, dried, sterilized, and fermented dairy products, including cheese, butter, and ice cream.
Not to be taken if credit received for NU FS 403. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Fall Term 2026

AFNS 601 – Seminar
A forum for specialized topics of current interest to AFNS graduate students, featuring presentations by students, faculty, and invited speakers. Students register in one of four sections—Animal Science, Plant Science, Food Science, or Human Nutrition—and attend throughout their program. MSc students normally register once in year 2 and present one seminar; PhD students register in years 1 and 3 and present one seminar per term.
Fall Term 2026

Announcements

MSc Graduate Position — Alternative Preventive Treatments for Mastitis in Dairy Cows

University of Alberta | Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science

Start date: May 1, 2027

The laboratory of Dr. Burim N. Ametaj is seeking a motivated MSc student to join a new research project developing alternative, non-antibiotic strategies for the prevention of mastitis in dairy cattle. Mastitis remains one of the costliest and most persistent diseases in the dairy industry, and this project aims to advance sustainable preventive approaches that reduce reliance on antimicrobials while improving animal health and productivity.

The successful candidate will:

Design and conduct experiments on alternative preventive treatments for mastitis

Perform laboratory and on-farm data collection and analysis

Present findings at scientific meetings and contribute to peer-reviewed publications

Qualifications:

A veterinary background (DVM or equivalent) is required

Strong interest in dairy cattle health, immunology, and disease prevention

Good written and spoken English; ability to work both independently and in a team

Prior research or laboratory experience is an asset

The position is fully funded with a competitive stipend. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

To apply, please send a cover letter describing your research interests, a current CV, academic transcripts, and the names and contact information of three references to Dr. Burim N. Ametaj at bametaj@ualberta.ca.

Note: In case you do not hear from me, after your application, that means you have not been selected. Thank you!

Courses

AFNS 503 - Processing of Milk and Dairy Products

Technological principles of milk treatment and processes for fluid milk products; concentrated, dried, sterilized and fermented dairy products; cheese, butter and ice cream. Not to be taken if credit received for NU FS 403. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Fall Term 2026

AFNS 601 - Seminar

Covers specialized topics of current interest to graduate students in AFNS. Presentations by students, faculty and invited speakers. Students register in one of four sections - Animal Science, Plant Science, Food Science or Human Nutrition. Attendance is required of all graduate students throughout their program. MSc students normally register for one term in year 2, and are required to present one seminar; PhD students normally register for one term in each of year 1 and 3, and are required to present one seminar per term.

Fall Term 2026

AN SC 310 - Physiology of Domestic Animals

Fundamental principles of regulation and maintenance of the internal environment. Includes a review of mechanisms providing for homeorrhesis and well-being of domestic animals in response to changes in the external environment (e.g., light, temperature, social). Prerequisites: BIOL 107 and 6 units in university-level chemistry.

Fall Term 2026

NU FS 403 - Dairy Science and Technology

Physiology of lactation, biosynthesis, and chemical, physical and nutritional properties of milk components. Technological principles of milk treatment and processes for fluid milk products; concentrated, dried, sterilized, and fermented dairy products; cheese, butter and ice cream. Prerequisite: NU FS 374.

Fall Term 2026

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