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Departmetn of Animal Science
University of Wyoming
Room 101 AS/MB
Department #3684
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: (307) 766-2224
Fax: (307) 766-2355
Email: animalscience@uwyo.edu 


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Emily Barr

Martin Akandawen

  


Emily Barr

Emily Barr

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  


Olivia Chase

Puja Boidya

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 

 

Olivia Chase

Olivia Chase

Olivia is a master’s student under the advisement of Dr. Bledar Bisha. Her research is divided into two modules, with the first involving enumeration and quantification of drug-resistant Salmonella enterica in retail food products using digital PCR (dPCR). The second module will involve the same enumeration and quantification of drug-resistant Salmonella enterica using dPCR. After her work here, she hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. | Email: ochase@uwyo.edu

 


Blake Fabrizius

Blake Fabrizius

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 |


 

Kemsley Gallegos

Kemsley Gallegos

Kemsley Gallegos is a master's student working under the advisement of Dr. Hannah Hollinger and Dr. Cody Gifford in the Animal Science department. Kemsley is studying the impacts of two common human diets, and its effect on metabolic indicators of gut and cardiometabolic risk in a crossover design using swine. Kemsley was born and raised in laramie, Wyoming. | Email: kgalleg2@uwyo.edu

 

 

Jake Gillespie

Jake Gillespie

Jake Gillespie is a masters student working under the advisement of Dr. Cody Gifford and is also the meat judging coach. He is a Texas kid, born and raised in Texas. He graduated from Clarendon college in 2020, then got recruited to attend West Texas A&M as a meat judger. He graduated from West Texas A&M and shortly after was convinced to attend grad school here and coach a team of meat judgers. He loves God, meat judging, his family and basketball. | Email: jgilles6@uwyo.edu


Josie Hernandez

Josie Hernandez

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   


Owen Hoal

Owen Hoal

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 |

 

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Aaron Kersh

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 

Dylan Laverell

Dylan Laverell

Dylan Laverell is an M.S. Student under the direction of Dr. Whit Stewart. Dylan master’s project will look at defining Calcium levels in clinical and sub-clinical ewes. Dylan finds fulfillment working in the sheep industry as he meets producers that work to produce sustainable food and fiber. He is from Big Timber, MT. | Email: dlaverel@uwyo.edu 

Chase Markel

Chase Markel

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

Mack Myer

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

Olivia Ohm

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

Shelby Raber

Shelby Raber is working under Dr. Cody Gifford studying the Crossover between Meat Science & Human Nutrition; primarily researching the key nutrients contained within animal muscle tissue and their importance on physiological effects in human nutrition. I graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science and a minor in Dairy Science. My Hometown is Virginia Beach, VA and I have 3 older sisters! | Email: sraber1@uwyo.edu

Takim Sarker

Takim Sarker

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

Aniket Sharma

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

Nikhil Srivastava

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 

 


 

 


 

Contact Us

Departmetn of Animal Science
University of Wyoming
Room 101 AS/MB
Department #3684
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: (307) 766-2224
Fax: (307) 766-2355
Email: animalscience@uwyo.edu 


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