Alfred Roca, Ph.D.

Dr. Alfred Roca conducts genetic studies on wildlife and domesticated animals. He uses DNA from elephants to determine conservation priorities for the species and to establish the geographic origins of confiscated ivory. He also studies “endogenous” retroviruses, which are retroviral copies that have become permanent components of the DNA of humans and animals, and can impact their health.
Affiliations: Roca is a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also affiliated with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology; the School of Information Sciences; and the Illinois Natural History Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute.