Animal Science Graduate Students

Katherine Agster is a Masters student working with Dr. Brenda Alexander. In her graduate program, she is studying the effect of a progesterone agonist in the ventral tegmental area and dopaminergic reward pathway of reindeer brains while in rut in relation to herd management. Upon completion of her program, Katherine plans to attend veterinary school. Katherine is from Littleton, CO. | Office: AS/MB 401 | Email: kagster@uwyo.edu

Clara Bouley is a master's student advised by Dr. Bledar Bisha. Clara is studying the application of viral indicators in microbial source tracking of fecal contamination in Wyoming surface water. She plans to attend medical school following completion of her program. Clara is from Sheridan, WY. | Office: AS/MS Lab 129 | Email: cbouley@uwyo.edu

Whitney Brown is a masters student working with Dr. Jeremey Block studying reproductive physiology. She is studying effects of administration of a mycobacterium cell wall fraction (MCWF) prior to mating on reproductive outcomes. Whitney plan to work in applied research. She is from Belleville, Wisconsin. | Office: AS/MS 401| Email:wbrown30@uwyo.edu

Aaron Kersh is a master's Student in animal science under the direction of Drs. Whit Stewart and Derek Scasta. In his research he is studying the effects of targeted grazing of sheep on larkspur predominated rangelands and changes of trace mineral composition during various plant phenological stages over the grazing season. After his research is done, he hope to continue in range science as a range animal nutritionist. Aaron is from Cheyenne, Wyoming. |Office AS/MB Rm. 401| Email: akersh2@uwyo.edu.

Michaela Kuzniar is a masters student working with Dr. Jeremy Block. She is studying the effect of IL-1beta during embryo culture on embryo development following ovum pick-up and pregnancy rates following embryo transfer. After this program she is planning to pursue a PhD in cattle reproductive physiology. Michaela is from Chicago, IL. | Office AS/MS 401 | Email: mkuzniar@uwyo.edu

Alexys McGuire is a Masters student advised by Dr. Bledar Bisha. She is currently working on a project surrounding the analysis of wastewater for COVID-19, as well as modeling COVID-19 prevalence in wastewater, and looking for COVID-19 variants in wastewater. Alexys hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in genetics and head her own lab, where she can study gene therapy. Alexis is from Akron, CO. | Office: Lab 130 | Email: amcguir9@uwyo.edu.

Courtney Newman is a first year M.S. Student under the direction of Drs. Whit Stewart and Cody Gifford. Courtney’s project will look at the potential use of blockchain technology in the U.S. Sheep Industry. She hopes her work will help those in the sheep industry begin to understand where they can utilize new technologies and ultimately help the entire sheep industry to continue to grow and progress. Courtney intends on continuing a career in the U.S. Sheep Industry. She is from Fort Collins, Colorado. | Office: AS/MB 401 | Email: cnewman@uwyo.edu

Clara Ritchie is a Masters student working with Dr. Cody Gifford. Her research involves a two part project. Fatty acid profiles were determined from muscles originating from 150 sheep to determine whether fatty acid profiles alone are related to overall sensory performance. In addition to this, a feeding trial is currently being conducted to assess carcass characteristics between high concentrate diets in comparison to lambs fed a grass diet followed by a short high-energy diet in these two management strategies. After she complete her program, she plan to pursue a career in R&D. | Office: AS/MB Rm. 401 | Email: critchie@uwyo.edu

Anahita Tajani is a PhD student and her advisor is Dr. Bledar Bisha. She is working on antimicrobial resistance of some bacteria, such as E.coli and Salmonella, in retail meat. After her program is finished she would like to pursue her research in industry, especially in food safety. Anahita is from Iran. | Office AS/ MB Rm. 401|email:aghorban@uwyo.edu