Martin is a graduate student from Ghana working under Brenda Alexander. Atrazine, a popular herbicide, interferes with the brain reward pathway. To the best of our knowledge, the effect of gestational and lactational exposure to Atrazine has not been reported. He is investigating the effect of maternal exposure to Atrazine in the pig on the reward pathway of the neonatal offspring. He will use immunofluorescence assay to indirectly quantify dopamine production by measuring expression of tyrosine hydroxylase in the ventral tegmental area of the neonatal pigs. He will use RT-qPCR and western blot to quantify transcripts and protein levels respectively of selected dopaminergic reward pathway genes. Data from these assays will provide information about the effect of gestational exposure to Atrazine on the reward pathway of the fetus.
Emily Barr is a Master’s student working under Dr. Hannah Cunningham-Hollinger in the Animal Science department. Emily is from Northwestern Pennsylvania where she grew up raising market hogs and lambs for 4-H. This influenced her decision to attend the University of Findlay where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in animal science. Through Emily’s undergraduate studies, she became interested in how seemingly unrelated processes in livestock are actually heavily influenced by each other, which led her to continuing her education in graduate school. Emily is looking forward to applying the knowledge and skills she learns at UW to her future career in animal science. | Email: ebarr3@uwyo.edu
Puja Boidya is currently serving as a Graduate Research Assistant and engaged in research activities conducted under the supervision of Dr. Bledar Bisha's lab. Her goal is to acquire a deeper understanding of antimicrobial resistance trends that are prevalent among a larger population as well as to identify potential public health issues linked to antibiotic resistance. To achieve this, she is working on wastewater influent to provide valuable insights into the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the community. Puja was born and raised in Bangladesh. | Email: pboidya@uwyo.edu
Blake is a first year Graduate student working under Dr. Rosasco and Dr. Lake studying reproductive physiology in cattle. He grew up in Carr, Colorado, raising seedstock and commercial Simmental cattle. His research focuses on heifer developmental strategies to alter ovarian follicle reserves and reproductive efficiency. | Email: bfabrizi@uwyo.edu |
Josie Hernandez is under the advisement of both Dr. Cody Gifford and Dr. Whit Stewart. The research project that she is conducting involves the collaboration of Katahdin sheep producers in the Intermountain West region and US-MARC. The goal is to evaluate optimal feeding and management strategies for lambs on different diets and analyze carcass data and attributes. She is enthusiastic about being able to work in the industry and continuing her education. Josie is from Auburn, CA. | Email: jherna35@uwyo.edu
Samuel Hincapie is a master's student under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Block. He is from Medellin, Colombia and graduated in agricultural engineering in December 2024 from Zamorano University in Honduras. Samuel is currently researching the role of PGRMC1 in bovine embryos and what influence it has on conceptus survival and pregnancy maintenance. | Email: shincapi@uwyo.edu |
Owen Hoal is a masters student working under the advisement of Dr. Cody Gifford in the Animal Science Department. His research will focus on congestive heart failure in beef cattle. Owen is from Colorado and competes on the rodeo team for the university. | Email: ohoal@uwyo.edu |
Aaron Kersh is a PhD Student in animal science under the direction of Dr. Paulo Lima. His research involves ruminent nutrition, specifically nutrition and digestibility of various range forages in our area. He will analyze plant secondary compounds and their effects on digestibility and gas production in ruminants. Aaron is from Cheyenne, Wyoming. |Office AS/MB Rm. 252 | Email: akersh2@uwyo.edu
Chase Markel is a PhD student working with Dr. Cody Gifford and Dr. Hannah Cunningham-Hollinger in the Department of Animal Science. Chase is studying hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in beef cattle and the impact of this pathology on economically important traits related to growth performance and meat quality. He hopes that his research will lead to advancements in the fed cattle sector, where he eventually would like to establish a consulting career. Chase strives to contribute to the beef industry by demonstrating the importance of data management and physiology in making educated management decisions to increase efficiency and sustainability. | Office AS/MS 403| Email: cmarkel1@uwyo.edu
Mack Myer is a master’s student working under the advisement of Dr. Dittoe. Mack is studying meat microbiology as well as ways to improve food safety in pre and post-harvest processes. She completed her bachelor’s degree in animal science at CSU. Mack is looking forward to continuing her education in this field. | Email: mmyer2@uwyo.edu
Olivia Ohm is a master's student under the guidance of Dr. Jeremy Block. She is originally from the Chicagoland area but has been out west for the better part of 4 years. Currently, she is investigating the development and viability of blastocysts following dissociation. In other words, she is separating individual blastomeres from the 8-celled blastocyst stage and looking to see if these individual cells can continue to divide and develop. | Email: oohm@uwyo.edu
Shelby Raber is studying under Dr. Cody Gifford researching the Crossover between Meat Science & Human Nutrition; primarily researching the role of red meat in the human diet using biomedical swine models. Shelby graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science and a minor in Dairy Science. Shelby's hometown is Johnson City, Tennessee, and she has three older sisters! | Email: sraber1@uwyo.edu
Takim is working under the supervision of Dr. Bledar Bisha, Department Head and Associate Professor of Food Microbiology, on the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) project. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a critical tool for monitoring disease dynamics and informing public health decisions. His research focuses on assessing the prevalence of virulent microorganisms, such as Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV, in wastewater from Wyoming communities. This project aims to evaluate the impact of these pathogens on public health, considering factors like flow rate, temperature, microbial diversity, and fecal matter presence. | Email: msarker@uwyo.edu |
Aniket Sharma is a graduate student from India. Microbiologist by background, he is currently working in understanding the antimicrobial resistance trend for bunch of different food-borne pathogens like Campylobacter, Salmonella under the mentorship of Dr. Bledar Bisha. When not in lab he likes to watch movies. Upon completion of his degree, he aims to move in the industrial sector to apply his research in making healthy what we eat! Fun fact: He is a vegetarian scientist working with meat samples! | Email: asharma7@uwyo.edu
Nikhil Srivastava is a PhD student in the Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences Program, in Dr James Pru's lab. He is working to understand the complex molecular interactions taking place during pregnancy in mouse. He is from India and is a strong supporter of cultural diversity in the department. He is also a poet and writes regularly on various platforms. | Email: nsrivast@uwyo.edu