AS THE WORLD POPULATION INCREASES AND THE AMOUNT OF LAND AVAILABLE FOR AGRICULTURAL USE DECREASES, IT IS NECESSARY THAT MORE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION PRACTICES ARE USED IN ORDER TO CONSERVE OUR AVAILABLE RESOURCES. NEARLY ALL COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED CATTLE IN THE UNITED STATES RECEIVE AT LEAST ONE ANABOLIC IMPLANT DURING PRODUCTION THAT RESULTS IN A 5-30% INCREASE IN PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY. ANABOLIC IMPLANTS ARE STEROID HORMONES, NATURALLY OCCURRING MOLECULES THAT ARE FOUND IN TRACE AMOUNTS WITHIN ALL ANIMAL PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS IN SOME PLANT PRODUCTS, SUCH AS SOYBEANS. ALTHOUGH IMPLANTS ARE ROUTINELY ADMINISTERED TO FEEDLOT CATTLE, THE CELLULAR MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH THEY IMPROVE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. AS SUCH, THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW STEROID HORMONES IMPROVE GROWTH OF SKELETAL MUSCLE, IN ORDER TO DEVELOP CONSUMER ACCEPTED STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE USED TO FURTHER IMPROVE PRODUCTION AND EFFICIENCY OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION. SPECIFICALLY, THE RESEARCH TEAM COMPRISED OF RESEARCHERS FROM UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY AND PURDUE UNIVERSITY, WILL ANALYZE HOW STEROID HORMONES IMPACT EXPRESSION OF GENES AND PROTEINS USING BOTH A CELL CULTURE MODEL AS WELL AS A LIVE ANIMAL MODEL. THE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE NEW KNOWLEDGE REGARDING THE SPECIFIC CELLULAR MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH STEROID HORMONES IMPROVE SKELETAL MUSCLE GROWTH. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP CONSUMER ACCEPTED STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE PRODUCTION AND EFFICIENCY OF CATTLE PRODUCTION.