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 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

Ryan Knuth is a Ph.D. student under the direction of Drs. Hannah Hollinger and Bledar Bisha. In his doctoral program, he is investigating microbial communities in the ewe, lamb, and environment and any relationships with health and performance of both lambs and ewes. Once he completes his program, Ryan hopes to pursue a career in academia to best the American sheep industry and continue his interests in research, teaching, and outreach. Ryan is from Loganville, WI. | Office: AS/MB Rm. 403 | Email: rknuth@uwyo.edu

Chase Markel is a Master’s student working with Dr. Cody Gifford and Dr. Hannah Hollinger in the Animal Science department. Chase is studying right-sided heart failure caused by pulmonary hypertension in late finishing phase beef cattle, along with live growth performance and carcass quality. He hopes that his research will lead to advancements in the fed cattle sector, where he eventually would like to establish a career. Chase hopes to contribute to the beef industry in the future by focusing on the utilization of genomic and live performance metrics to increase efficiency in beef herds around the world. | Office AS/MS 401| Email: cmarkel1@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

Lauren Shortnacy is a Masters student working under the guidance of Dr. Steve Paisley (Department of Animal Science) and Dr. Carrie Eberle (Department of Plant Science). With a focus in ruminant nutrition and plant sciences, she is investigating the tropical legume, Crotalaria juncea, and evaluating its potential to serve as a high quality, high yielding alternative to alfalfa in Wyoming crop and livestock production systems. After finishing her degree program, Lauren hopes to pursue a career in the animal nutrition industry or in extension while operating a small scale beef production operation of her own at home. Lauren is from Gadsden, Alabama. | Email: lshortna@uwyo.edu.

Anahita 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