Students
Current ISU Graduate Students
| |
 |
Larry Sadler
PhD Candidate - Biomedical Sciences
Larry is an Iowa native, hailing from a farm in Dunkerton, IA. He completed a BS in Agricultural Business and a BS in Animal Science, followed by his MS in Animal Physiology with a specialization in Ethology, here at Iowa State University. Larry will soon be receiving his PhD and his current project involves the efficacy and distress associated with gas euthanasia in piglets. In his free time, Larry is an avid horseman, and looks forward to continuing this equine passion as well as working with swine and beef cattle upon completion of his PhD.
|
|
Current ISU Veterinary Research Students
| |
|
|
Monique Pairis
Veterinary Student
Monique is a third year veterinary student at ISU. She graduated from Grinnell College in 2003 with a BS degree in biology. Monique is originally from Southern California, and although she is unsure of her plans after graduation, she would like to work in a mixed animal practice and continue pursuing research in animal behavior and welfare.
During her time at ISU, Monique has been an integral part of the animal welfare program. She has assisted with several collaborative studies in dentition, euthanasia, dehorning, fear, and several animal management-related topics, in addition to presenting data at international meetings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liza Hendricks
Veterinary Student
Liza is a third year veterinary student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She graduated from the State University of New York College at Oneonta, Class of 2010, with her BS degrees in biology and chemistry. Liza hails from a dairy farm in Upstate New York, and after graduation will pursue mixed animal practice, with a dairy focus. During the summer of 2012, Liza assisted with several collaborative studies in infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, piglet euthanasia, and dehorning of dairy calves. Her personal research project is the titration of ethanol doses and denaturing agents to provide analgesia during dehorning of calves. Along with her mentors Dr. Jesse Goff (DVM) and Dr. Suzanne Millman (PhD), Liza is using different drug protocols in conjunction with pressure algometry to determine the efficacy of denatured ethanol products for use in place of lidocaine, which is traditionally used for dehorning procedures.
|
|
|
|
Beth Bystrom
Veterinary Student
Beth, an Ames, IA, native, is a second year veterinary student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her BS in Biology in 2011 from Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. Her veterinary interests involve small animals, exotics, and shelter medicine. Her recent summer project involved analyzing the factors that affect length of stay for shelter cats. She also looked at whether adopted cats were selected from a specific location or cage within the shelter setting. After completion of her veterinary degree, Beth looks forward to being an animal shelter veterinarian or working in a small animal clinic with time spent assisting shelters.
|
|
|
Heather Newton
Veterinary Student
Heather is a second year veterinary student at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a Chicago native and received her BS in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010. After graduation, she hopes to work with exotic species or in a mixed animal practice with an exotic emphasis. Heather has worked on several summer projects under her mentor, Dr. Annette O'Connor. Together with another DVM student, they are performing a meta-analysis and review of the efficacy of whole-cell bovine trichomoniasis vaccine, motivated by the recent positive cases in Iowa bulls. She is also conducting a literature review involving the use of pain medication in calves during dehorning and castration to determine possible economic benefit, and assisting on collaborative projects involving infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis.
|
|
|
Michelle Christianson
Veterinary Student
Michelle is a third year veterinary student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Michelle hails from northeast Iowa, and her background includes Simmental cattle breeding and showing through her family's business. She completed a BS in Marketing from Iowa State University in 2003 and a BS in Biochemistry in 2010. Her summer research project was on evaluating forage for grazing beef heifers genetically selected to grade USDA choice. Her project is funded through the IHLAC foundation, and the research performed under her mentor Dr. Renee Dewell (DVM). Upon graduation, Michelle looks forward to practicing mixed animal medicine with a bovine focus.
|
|
Jessie Juarez
Veterinary Student
Jessie is a third year veterinary student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and she is a southwest Iowa native. She completed her BS in Animal Science and Dairy Science at ISU in 2010 as well as her MS in Animal Science in 2012. Her recent summer research project included assessing the health, welfare, and behavioral characteristics of pasture-fed versus conventional feedlot cattle. The goal of the project was to determine if grass-fed beef can perform at the same level as feedlot cattle. After graduation, Jessie plans to enter into a mixed animal practice, with her primary interest being large animal medicine.
|
|
Lauren Larsen
Veterinary Student
Lauren is a third year veterinary student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and she is interested in mixed animal medicine. She is originally from eastern Iowa and earned her BS from Colorado State University. During her time at CSU, Lauren became very interested in the fields of research and shelter medicine. To pursue these passions, Lauren conducted a research project investigating the behavior and welfare of dogs and cats housed in shelters following cases of cruelty or neglect in the Summer of 2011. She has continued this line of study in Summer of 2012, focusing primarily on cats in shelters. Lauren aims to establish the best management and caretaking protocols for this vulnerable subpopulation of animals, and implement those into shelter environments. After graduation, Lauren hopes to further her education in the field of behavior and continue to incorporate shelter medicine into her career. In addition, she would like to continue to pursue her hobby of dog agility training.
|
|
Elizabeth Beilke
Veterinary Student
Elizabeth is a second year veterinary student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and will join the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine during her third year of veterinary school. She attended Kansas State University and graduated in 2010 with a BS degree in Animal Science and Industry. She also earned a Poultry Science certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011. Her recent summer research project was on poultry euthanasia methods for use in end-of-lay hens. The low economic value of end-of-lay hens in the industry has inadvertently led to many undesirable outcomes with regard to hen welfare. Her research involves evaluating a newly devised method of gas euthanasia for on-farm use in removal of these hens. In addition to this project, Elizabeth has enjoyed collaborating on another poultry-related project investigating alternative housing welfare for laying hens. Upon graduation, Elizabeth will head into industry, practicing poultry medicine for large egg laying and/or broiler facilities.
|
|
Lourdes Maldonado
Veterinary Student
Lourdes is a second year veterinary student at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and hails from Juncos, Puerto Rico. She is currently on the mixed animal track and, after graduation, looks forward to working for the government. Lourdes has a BS in Animal Industry, with concentrations in dairy cattle and sub-products and pre-veterinary medicine, from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus (2004). During her senior year she conducted research involving broiler nutrition under a USDA grant. This project looked at the effects of using shrimp meal in broiler diets on live performance and carcass traits. Lourdes' second degree is a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, with a focus on family, health, and social law (2008). She is also certified as a Mediator by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (2008). Her recent summer project was related to pig euthanasia with carbon dioxide gas.
|
|
Current Graduate Student Collaborators at Other Institutions
| |
 |
Katrine Fogsgaard
Graduate Student - Aarhus University, Denmark
Katrine is currently working on her thesis concerning the behaviour and management of sick or injured dairy cows and is developing a survey to collect information about the management and design of hospital areas on dairy farms.
|
|
|
|
 |
Janet Higginson
Graduate Student - University of Guelph
Janet is from rural eastern Ontario, where she realized at a young age that she wanted to work with animals and was very interested in their behaviour. Janet graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Animal Biology from the University of Guelph. She has worked as a veterinary technician in a small animal hospital and as a surgery technician in the large animal clinic at the Ontario veterinary College, gaining experience working with a wide variety of animals, from small exotics to heavy horses
Janet decided to pursue her interest in animals and their behaviour as a laboratory technician in the ethology lab. She has worked on various projects, including a cow comfort study in collaboration with Dr. Dave Kelton, examining the effects of varying lengths of chain on the behaviour of dairy cows housed in a tie-stall barn.
In January 2007, Janet started her Master’s degree. She is examining sickness behaviour in swine, looking at the social needs and responses of these animals when infected with Salmonella. She is interested in contributing to the field of knowledge on sickness behaviour in hopes of improving the welfare of animals that are ill.
|
|
|
 |
Cindy Todd
Graduate Student - University of Guelph
Cindy grew up in eastern Ontario on a family dairy farm. She spent her early years working on the farm, which was where she developed a keen interest for animal agriculture. In the spring 2004, Cindy completed her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree at the University of Guelph. In the fall of the same year, she began pursuing a Masters of Science in Epidemiology in the Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, Cindy has gained a great deal of research experience. She completed a senior undergraduate research project that examined the effect of rumen fluid supplementation on neonatal dairy calf performance and health. Cindy has worked as a dairy research assistant at the Kemptville Campus Research Station. During her graduate program, she has also served as a dairy health management research associate in the Department of Population Medicine. As such, Cindy has had an active role in the research planning and design, as well as data collection, analysis and reporting for several clinical trials in dairy cows and calves. Cindy’s Masters program investigates the efficacy of meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, as a supportive therapy for dairy calves with neonatal calf diarrhea complex.
|
| |
|
