Grad Office: 203 Terrill
802-656-5892
Both MS
and
PhD degrees
are offered
through the Department of Animal Sciences. Currently all graduate
programs involve a combination of courses and graduate research for a
thesis. Areas of study broadly correspond to the specializations and
research interests of the faculty. The following is a sample of
graduate research currently being conducted by our graduate students:
 Melissa Bainbridge is
originally from Burlington, Massachusetts. She graduated from the
University of Vermont in 2011 with a B.S. in Animal Science. She then
spent the next two years working as a field technician for the Vermont
Dairy Herd Improvement Association. Melissa will be working on her
Ph.D. in Animal, Nutrition and Food Sciences with Dr. Jana Kraft. Her
research will focus on improving the nutritional attributes of milk,
concentrating on bioactive fatty acids, to promote both human and
animal health. Melissa also enjoys hiking, cooking and
running. Email: Melissa.Bainbridge@uvm.edu |
 Aimee Benjamin,
originally from the
small town of Bernhards Bay, NY, received her B.S. degree from Cornell
University in 2005. Following graduation she worked at the Cornell
Dairy Facility where she became an integral part of the herd health
team. Aimee will be working in Dr. David Kerr's lab towards a Ph.D. in
Dairy Science. Her research interests are E. coli mastitis
and the immune
system response following infection. Email: albenjam@uvm.edu |
 Laura Cersosimo
grew up in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. In 2011 she received her
Bachelor's Degree in Animal Science from the University of
Connecticut where she was a member of the Dairy Club and
taught
first-year Animal Science students how to show dairy cows. During the
summers
of 2010 and 2011 she interned at Pfizer's Comparative Medicine
Department. She attended Northeastern University in Boston for a year
and then transferred into the ANFS Ph.D. program at UVM.
Laura will be conducting research in Dr. Andre Wright's lab focusing on
looking at methanogen populations within five breeds of dairy
cattle along with other ruminants. One of her favorite interests
outside of school is baking, especially cake decorating. Email:
lcersosi@uvm.edu |
 Kelcie DeClue,
originally from Columbia, Missouri, received her Bachelor's Degree in
Animal Science from the University of Missouri in 2012. After
graduation, she worked as a lab technician at the university. Kelcie
will be working on her Ph.D. in genetics in Dr. Stephanie McKay's lab.
Her research interest is in epigenetics and behavior. She enjoys
reading and cheering on sports teams from her alma mater. Email:
kelcie.declue@uvm.edu |
 Benjamin
Green, originally from Kingston,
Massachusetts, received his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Colby
College and is currently working on his Ph.D. with Dr. David Kerr.
Ben's research focuses on the bovine immune response in
relation to mastitis infection with an emphasis on epigenetics. He
enjoys the
outdoors, a good cup of coffee, and the Red Sox.
Email: Benjamin.Green@uvm.edu |
 Suzanne Ishaq is
originally from
Worcester, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University
of
Vermont in 2007 as a Justin Morrill Honors Scholar with a BS in Animal
Science and a minor in Nutrition and Food Sciences. From 2007 to 2010,
she worked as a technician at a local small animal hospital. Sue
started her Ph.D. in Animal, Nutrition and Food Sciences in July 2010
and will be working in Dr. André-Denis Wright's lab on the
microbe environment in the digestive tracts of moose. Her focus will be
on methane production and ways to reduce it, and how this reduction may
be applied across various ruminant species. Email: Suzanne.Ishaq@uvm.edu |
 Shun Kitaoka was born in the city of
Takamatsu,
Japan. Shun received his B.S. in Biology and his M.S. in
Biological Science at Okayama University. For the last four years he
has been a research scientist at BioResearch Laboratory, BioBusiness
Development at Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Shun is pursuing a
Ph.D. in Dr. Feng-Qi Zhao's lab. He will be conducting research on
glucose transporter genes in Caenorhabditis
Elegans, as it relates to
diabetes. After receiving his Ph.D. he plans to return to Japan to
continue his scientific research at Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Shun enjoys playing the piano and golfing. Email: skitaoka@uvm.edu |
 Robert Mugabi was
born and raised in the small district of Lyantonde in Uganda where he
received his primary and high school education, Later Robert joined
Makerere University in Uganda where he received his Bachelor of
Veterinary Medicine degree. He completed a Master of Science degree in
Infectious Disease Management and Biosecurity from North Dakota State
University and has joined UVM to pursue his Ph.D. He will be working in
Dr. John Barlow's lab focusing his research on Staphylococcus aureus
molecular epidemiology and biofilm formation of different isolates in
cattle farms. Email: rmugabi@uvm.edu |
 Yogi
Misra graduated
from
Punjab
Agricultural
University,
Ludhiana,
Punjab,
India
in November of 2004 with a Master's
Degree in Animal Reproduction, Gynecology & Obstetrics (MV Sc)
and
a minor in Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry and a Bachelor's in
Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (BVSc & AH). Yogi is
currently working on his PhD and his research focuses on the hormonal
control of the mammary tumorigenesis/breast cancer using transgenic
mice and human mammary tumor samples. He is studying the intricate
molecular mechanisms by which pregnancy or hormones induce protection
against breast cancer. How pregnancy induced differentiation of the
mammary gland reduces the incidence of mammary carcinogenesis also
generates tremendous interest. Email: Yogi.Misra@uvm.edu
"This area
of
research is of tremendous significance as the incidence of breast
cancer is on the logarithmic rise in the western world."
Yogi has a
huge inclination/liking
for the sweet things, ice cream, muffins; S'mores are his favorite. |
 Mital Pandya, originally from
Columbus, OH,
received her Bachelor's Degree in Animal Sciences from Ohio State
University in 2006. She completed her Master's Degree in Veterinary
Public Health from the same university in 2007. Following graduation
she worked as a research assistant at Plum Island Animal Disease Center
in Orient Point, NY. Mital will be working in Dr. John Barlow's lab
towards a Ph.D. in Animal Science and Immunology. Her research
interests are Foot and Mouth Disease and the immune system response in
bovine following vaccination or infection. Email: mpandya@uvm.edu
|
|
|
 Yong
Shao grew up in the Shandong province of China. Yong
achieved
his BS degree in animal science in 2003 and MS degree in animal
genetics and breeding in 2006 from China Agricultural University. He
started his PhD program at UVM in January 2008. His research mainly
focuses on the glucose transporter in the mammary gland, specifically
the hormonal regulation of glucose transporter gene
expression.
Email: Yong.Shao@uvm.edu |
 Xiaozheng Song is a
graduate student in
the
laboratory of Dr. Zhongzong Pan. He graduated from Shandong Normal
University in China and joined the Lactation and Mammary Gland Biology (LAMGB)
PhD program in the summer of 2008. He is interested in molecular
mechanisms of mammary gland development and breast cancer. Xiaozheng's
current research is focused on how estrogen receptor affects mammary
gland cell proliferation. Email: Xiaozheng.Song@uvm.edu |
 Rink Tacoma is
originally from the Netherlands and immigrated with her family at the
age of two to New Zealand where in 2012 she completed her BSc in Animal Science
at Lincoln University. Rink also worked at Penn State as a
research technician before starting her Ph.D. program at UVM. She is
currently working on her Ph.D. with Dr. Sabrina Greenwood in dairy
nutrition, specifically looking at diet and milk protein interactions.
She enjoys being in the outdoors with good company.
Email: rtacoma@uvm.edu |
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