AnSci Connection
The newsletter of the Department of Animal Science

September 2006

Last week, we welcomed back students for the 2006 fall semester under the new college name: College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). It was an exciting week seeing returning students and welcoming the 102 new freshmen into the Animal Science major. These new students in Animal Science represent about 30% of the total incoming freshmen and more than twice the number of freshmen entering any other major in CFANS. While the structure of the College has changed, the commitment to providing the highest quality education by the Department of Animal Science and the College has not.

Several exciting things are happening in the Department this month. First, on Monday, September 18th we will host a Research Day. The purpose of this day is to invite all users of animal science research to come and browse posters displaying our latest research findings and to recognize sponsors of our research. Research covering all species and disciplines will be on display. Graduate student research will be highlighted and there will be opportunity to visit with these young scientists about their findings. In recognition of all their research support, the poultry industry will be this year’s featured sponsor in a seminar following the poster session.

Just 9 days later on September 27th, the Animal Science Graduate Students and the Department will sponsor the 2006 Women in Science – Journeys in Academia symposium. This year, we have 3 outstanding women who are leaders in various areas of agricultural related research. They are: Dr. Karen Plaut from Michigan State University, Dr. Linda Saif from The Ohio State University and Dr. Kate VandenBosch the Interim Dean for CFANS here at the University of Minnesota. This will be a great opportunity for graduate students and all of us to learn about their research and successful career paths. 

More information on both Research Day and the 2006 Women in Science symposium can be found on our website (http://www.ansci.umn.edu/).
 
And finally, to add more to the busy calendar, 3 candidates for the Dean of CFANS will have public forums on campus this month. The candidates for Dean are: Professor Allen Levine, Head of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota; Professor Curtis J. Richardson, Director of Wetland Center Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University; and Professor Eric W. Triplett, Chair of Microbiology and Cell Science Department, University of Florida.  Information on the dates, times and location of these forums can be found on the college website (http://www.cfans.umn.edu/) or by contacting any of us in the Department. This is an important position that will determine the future direction of CFANS and have an impact on the research and education programs in Animal Science. I encourage all who can to come and participate in the forums and provide input into the selection of the next Dean of our College. 
  

Research Day to be Held September 18

The Department of Animal Science is presenting its Annual Research Day on Monday, September 18th in Haecker Hall on the U of M St. Paul Campus. This open house event is to recognize our research sponsors and will feature research posters from the 2005-06 professional meetings.

Program speakers include Rahn Annis, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc.; Rick Huisinga, Willmar Poultry; Beth Nelson, Midwest Poultry Consortium, and Steve Olson, Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.

The event begins with poster displays, which will include all species and disciplines, at 1:30 p.m. in the Livestock Hall of Fame on the main floor of Haecker Hall. Speaker presentations will take place in Room 365 Haecker Hall from 3:00-4:00 p.m.

Questions about the event may be directed to Jennifer Welsh (phone: 612-624-2722).
  

Animal Sciences Grad Students to Host 'Women in Science'

Animal Sciences graduate students invite the University community to attend our Women in Science symposium. The program features three scientists who were chosen based on the broad appeal of their areas of research (applied/translational and basic, multi-species), for their prominence as internationally recognized experts in their fields, and for their commitment to serve as mentors and role models for women scientists. The event will be held Wednesday, September 27th from 1:00-4:00 pm in Room 125 Animal Science/Vet Med Building on the U of M St. Paul Campus.

Scheduled to speak are Dr. Karen Plaut, Professor and Chair, Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, a dairy physiologist, mammary development, lactation, and breast cancer researcher; Dr. Linda Saif, Distinguished University Professor, The Ohio State University, member of the Food Animal Health Research Program at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and the Veterinary Preventive Medicine Department of OSU, a microbiologist and expert on mucosal immunity, mucosal vaccines, rotavirus, calicivirus and animal coronavirus infections, and developer of animal models for human viral diseases; and Dr. Kathryn VandenBosch, Interim Dean, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Professor, Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, a cell biologist of plant/microbe symbioses, and researcher on the functional genomics of legumes.

The three scientists will discuss their research and discovery as well as their journeys through academia as women in science. This event promises to be enlightening and inspiring. A reception will follow.
  

Block and Bridle Club Show Champion Swine

Members of the Block and Bridle Club exhibited swine in the Open Class Show at the Minnesota State Fair. Club members were rewarded with a great educational experience that extended well beyond the classroom as well as top show placings.

The Block and Bridle members exhibited the Grand Champion Yorkshire female, Reserve Grand Champion Yorkshire boar, Reserve Grand Champion Duroc boar, 1st place Yorkshire female, 2nd place Yorkshire boar, and two 4th place Yorkshire females. All pigs were sold in the State Sale, providing the industry with some top quality genetics. 

All of the animals shown were from the Swine Research and Teaching Facility located on the St. Paul Campus. The Block and Bridle pigs were cared for, fitted and shown by Kaleb Kromann, Kyle Compart, Colby Lind, Evan Dee and Dallas Dornick—all members of Block and Bridle. They were assisted by Dr. Jerry Hawton, Professor Emeritus.
  

National Dairy Shrine Again Provides U of M Students with Largest Number of Scholarships

The August issue of "The Chronicle", the newsletter of the National Dairy Shrine, reviews the winners of the 22 scholarships awarded by that organization to college students. Members of the Gopher Dairy Club were awarded 6 of the 22 scholarships. Cornell University, Penn State University, and UW-River Falls each had 3 recipients of scholarships, and Delaware Valley College had 2 recipients.

Jonnie Schefers received one of two Kildee Graduate School Scholarships ($3,000) and also placed 1st in the Student Recognition Competition ($1,500). Jonnie will begin graduate studies at UW-Madison this fall. Lisa Thompson, Robyn Schnobrich, Brad Davis, and Justin Reeck will each receive $1,000 scholarships sponsored by Dairy Management Inc. for achievements in milk marketing.

This is the second year in a row that the U of M has had one of the two Kildee Scholarship recipients (Abby Anderson Barberg last year) and the 1st place student in the Student Recognition Competition (Sarah Olson Schmidt last year). Also, U of M students received 5 of 21 scholarships awarded by National Dairy Shrine last year. Therefore, over the two-year period, U of M dairy students received 11 of 43 (more than 25%) of all scholarships awarded by National Dairy Shrine.
  

Animal Science Professors Honored at ADSA/ASAS Joint Annual Meetings

Professor Emerti Donald E. Otterby and Alan G. Hunter were named ADSA Fellows at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) held July 9-13 in Minneapolis. The status of ADSA Fellow recognizes members of ADSA who have rendered distinguished service and made exceptional contributions to the dairy industry over 20 years or more. Election to Fellow is one of the highest distinctions an ADSA member can achieve. Professors Otterby and Hunter made outstanding contributions in research and teaching throughout their illustrious careers.

Above: ADSA President Dave Barbano presents Fellow Awards to Donald Otterby (left photo) and Alan Hunter (right photo).

Professor Marshall D. Stern was the 2006 recipient of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Corbin Award in Companion Animal Biology sponsored by The Iams Company at the 2006 ASAS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. Marshall received this award for his outstanding efforts in teaching, advising and development of the new companion animal biology curriculum in Animal Science at the U of M.

Professor Stern was also the 2006 recipient of the ADSA Teaching Award in Dairy Production sponsored by Land O’Lakes, Purina Feed LLC at the 2006 ADSA Annual Meeting. Marshall received this award for his outstanding teaching of undergraduate students in dairy science.

Above: Marshall Stern (left) is presented with the ASAS Corbin Award in Companion Animal Biology by the representative of The Iams Company.		Above: Marshall Stern (left) is presented with the ADSA Teaching Award in Dairy Production by Bill Miller, representative of Land O'Lakes, Purina Feed LLC.

AFIA Poultry Nutrition Research Award to Dr. Sally Noll

Dr. Sally Noll was the recipient of the 2006 American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) Poultry Nutrition Research Award at the Poultry Science Association annual meeting held in Edmonton, Canada in July. AFIA presents this award for distinctive work demonstrating sound research in poultry nutrition in the last 10 years. Dr. Noll was recognized specifically for her work on improving turkey meat yield through nutrition, and more recently for her research on the use of feeding distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in market turkey diets.

Dr. Noll extends her thanks to several people for their help and mentorship over the years starting first with that of her graduate student advisor (Paul Waibel) and support of colleagues (David Halvorson and Jerry Shurson). In addition, she has had the pleasure of working with several poultry industry nutritionists that have either served or are currently serving on the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association – Nutrition Subcommittee – Jim Halvorson, Greg Engelke, Gary Johnson, Herman Klein-Hessling, George Speers and Virgil Stangeland who have provided valuable advice and guidance over the years. Dr. Noll's research program is also the result of the hard work of many staff and students including Jeanine Brannon, Chikako Abe, Turkey Ergul, Fred Hrbek, and Terrance Yourchuck. Thanks to the AFIA for their sponsorship of the award and to Dr. Greg Engelke for the nomination. And last but not least, the support of family and friends!
  

Hueg Harrison Graduate Fellowship Award Goes to Martin Ruiz Moreno

It was announced in June that Martin Ruiz Moreno received the 2006-07 Hueg Harrison Graduate Fellowship Award! This year's pool of candidates was very strong and competitive. The Fellowship ($10,000) is awarded in recognition of the relationship forged between student and advisor, and an excellent academic record. Martin's advisor is Marshall Stern.
  

Thomas Bakken Receives 2 Awards at Annual Poultry Science Meetings

Thomas Bakken received the Student Research Paper Certificate of Excellence at the 95th Annual Meeting of the Poultry Science Association (PSA) held July 16-19, 2006 in Edmonton, Canada. His presentation, in the Physiology, Endocrinology and Reproduction section, was titled "Expression of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2C receptors in the hypothalamus during the turkey reproductive cycle: Colocalization with tyrosine hydroxylase."

Thomas also received the Nicholas Communication Award for Excellence in Turkey Research. Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms awards a certificate and $500 to any student winner of a Certificate of Excellence at the annual PSA meeting whose oral paper was conducted using the turkey as the principal unit of research. The award serves to increase awareness of the opportunities available to students who choose to do research with turkeys.
  

Research Proposal Selected for NRI Annual Report

A research project of Drs. William Dayton, Marcia Hathaway and Michael White, supported by a USDA grant, was selected for inclusion in the National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2005. The proposal abstract, "Mechanism by which IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 mediate the proliferation-suppressing actions of myostatin and TGF-β on porcine myogenic cells", appears on page 13 of the report.

In fiscal year 2005, a total of 2,650 proposals were submitted to the NRI and awards were made to the 486 highest-ranked proposals. Out of those 486, only 28 were highlighted in the Annual Report.
  

Journal Selects Transport Model for Cover

Dr. Melissa Palmer's work on anion transport in airway epithelial cells, in collaboration with So Yeong Lee, Peter Maniak, Dan Carlson, Scott Fahrenkrug and Scott O'Grady, was recognized when the American Journal of Physiology (Cell Physiology) selected her recently published transport model for the cover of six issues of the journal beginning with the July 2006 issue.

The model shows the proposed mechanism for protease-activated receptor (PAR-2) regulation of Cl- secretion in human lung epithelial (Calu-3) cells.

See the July, August, and September 2006 issues of the journal online.
  

Brazil Attracts Animal Breeders from Around the World

Belo Horizonte, Brazil, was the site of the 8th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production on August 13 to 18. The week-long congress is held every four years (2002 was in France, 2010 will be in Germany). For the Brazil congress, 1,005 delegates (animal breeders) attended, and delegates from the U of M were Les Hansen (invited oral paper), Yang Da (submitted oral paper), Brad Heins (submitted oral paper), and Tony Seykora.

Travel to Belo Horizonte was challenging for many delegates (including the Minnesota delegation) because of the recent bankruptcy of Varig Airlines; however, the congress was highly informative for all those attending.
 

Twin Trips to Colombia for Hansen

Dr. Les Hansen traveled to Bogota, Colombia, from July 19 to 27 to speak on inbreeding and crossbreeding of dairy cattle during the South American country's national dairy cattle show. Approximately 300 people attended his seminar in Bogota, and he repeated the presentation in the mountainous countryside north of Bogota.

Hansen had some trepidation about traveling to Colombia based on media reports on safety; however, he was delighted to observe that Bogota is a clean, safe, and modern city (however, none of these things apply to vast regions of jungle in Colombia). Although Bogota is very near the equator, the average high temperature year around is 68 degrees F.

Hansen will return to Colombia to speak at the annual conference of the large milk processing company, Colanta, from October 18 to 21 in the city of Medellin, which is in another mountainous area of Colombia. 
 

IACUC Introduces New Animal Use Protocol Forms

Research Subjects' Protection Program (RSPP) staff, in collaboration with committee members and U of M researchers, created three new protocols to simplify the submission and review process for display, teaching and wildlife animal usage. See:

• http://160.94.243.110/iacuc/download/#display
• http://160.94.243.110/iacuc/download/#teach
• http://160.94.243.110/iacuc/download/#wild

These protocols are tailored to cover three unique situations where animals are used for display purposes, in a teaching situation, or when studying or obtaining wildlife from their natural environment. If animals are used for any experimental work, the regular animal usage form or teaching animal usage form must be used.

If you have questions about using these new forms, please contact RSPP at 612-626-5654.
  

Your Dell Battery May be a Potential Hazard

Due to risk of overheating and potential fire hazard, Dell is voluntarily recalling certain batteries that were sold with Dell notebook computers between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006. Dell will replace the affected batteries at no charge.

A list of the models of Dell notebook computers that may have been sold with the batteries in question is available on their website at: https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx. The battery models that are subject to recall are also listed on the website along with instructions on how to determine whether your battery is affected.

Please contact Faraz (612-624-3435 mian0005@umn.edu) if you have questions or concerns about your notebook computer or its battery, or if you experience problems with the Dell website.
  

GroupWise Users — Are You Ready for Thunderbird?

As you may already know, our GroupWise email services are coming to end. The college has decided NOT to renew the licenses it has for the service in favor of adopting the Central University email system in conjunction with the freely available Mozilla Thunderbird email client. Faraz will be converting GroupWise users to Thunderbird during September and October.

Below is a list of things that you will need to take care of before meeting with Faraz regarding migration of email:

1. Start cleaning your email; 5 to 10 minutes a day of deleting and organizing will go a long way.
2. Think about your archives and whether you need them. If you are asking yourself "what are my archives" then you probably don't need them.
3. Clean up your address books; addresses can be converted over, but group lists will need to be re-created. (Don't worry about the Animal Science Department Address Book—those addresses and group lists will be converted and ready for use on the new email client.)
4. Delete old SENT mail.
5. Clean up your folder structures and think about what folders you really want to keep or need to keep.
6. Continuing cleaning, as the less mail you have to migrate, the faster the migration will go. YOU will actually be migrating the mail from GroupWise to Thunderbird after Faraz has things set up and shown you how it will works.

The whole process should take less than one hour to complete. Please contact Faraz (612-624-3435 or mian0005@umn.edu) with any questions and concerns that you might have—but, more importantly, contact him as soon as you are ready to switch to the new email client.
    

Alex Bach Here for 3 Months

Dr. Alex Bach, former M.S. and Ph.D. student with Dr. Marshall D. Stern is spending a 3-month sabbatical (July through September, 2006) as a Visiting Professor in Dr. Stern's laboratory. Alex is working with graduate students, Martin Ruiz Moreno and Melissa Thrune on several projects. He is working with Martin to study the effects of degradable protein, soluble protein and yucca extract on metabolism by ruminal microbes in dual flow continuous culture fermenters. Drs. Stern and Bach, and M.S. student, Melissa Thrune, received $30,000 from Lallemand to study the effects of yeast supplementation (Saccharomyces cerevisae) on ruminal pH, ammonia and volatile fatty acids in cannulated lactating dairy cows.

Dr. Bach wrote a proceedings manuscript along with Mary Raeth Knight, Marshall Stern and Jim Linn, which he will present at the 2006 Minnesota Nutrition Conference on September 20th, entitled “Protein, amino acid, and peptide requirements for proper rumen function and milk production."
  

Byung Whi Kong Now at University of Arkansas

Dr. Byung Whi Kong, who received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Animal Science in December of 2005 and worked as a post-doctoral research associate in Doug Foster's lab, accepted a faculty position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas. Whi's appointment is 80% research and 20% teaching. His research focus will be on the molecular aspects of viral pathogenesis. He will help team teach an undergraduate course in genetics and will be responsible for a graduate course in molecular biology. Whi was offered a generous start up package that included equipment for his research lab and funds for a research technician and a graduate student.

While at the University of Minnesota, Whi co-authored 11 manuscripts and 4 abstracts, and received the Shoffner Award twice and the Pomeroy Award once. In 2005, he was selected as the Outstanding Ph.D. Student in the Department of Animal Science.

Whi and his family moved to Fayetteville, AR on August 2nd after a roaring farewell party the night before at the home Linda and Doug Foster.

Those wishing to contact Whi can do so via email: bkong@uark.edu.
  

Graduate Club Elects New Officers

In July, the Animal Science Graduate Club elected new officers as follows:

President:  Melissa Thrune
Vice President:  Amy Hazel
Treasurer:  Dan Carlson
Ag Awareness Committee:  Mary Raeth-Knight, Brad Heins, Amy Hazel, Melissa Thrune

Melissa will be taking over all barn tours and other activities related to the Graduate Club. Questions about the Animal Science Graduate Club, may be directed to Melissa at 612-624-6216 or thru0006@umn.edu.
  

Time to Update to Your Personal Information

September 20th is the deadline for updating your personal information for the 2006-07 Student Staff Directory. Go to: http://hrss.umn.edu/ and click on "Update Personal Information". Log in with your Internet ID and password. You will also have the option to suppress your home telephone number and/or home address.
  

Respected Herdsman Victor B. Schmitt Passes
Submitted by Jay C. Meiske, Animal Science Professor Emeritus

Victor B. Schmitt, long-time beef herdsman at North Beef, Rosemount Experiment Station, died July 8, 2006, at the Paynesville Area Hospital at the age of 80. Vic started working in the Department of Animal Science in St. Paul as a teamster (for draft horses) in 1948. From 1957, Vic was herdsman for the beef cow herd that was moved to Rosemount. Vic retired in 1988, about 3 months short of 40 years of service at the U of M.

Eulogies at Victor’s funeral summarized his attributes as caring for and about people, caring about his job and certainly caring for the animals he worked with. Vic was loyal, meticulous, responsible and most dependable. He wanted work done correctly and timely. He rightfully had great pride in his work with the cow herd and it showed. He constantly strove for perfection—in following prescribed regimens, trying to achieve a 100% calf crop, in presenting and preserving the workplace, and in keeping complete and accurate records. He was respected for those traits by all who worked for and with him—laborers, vendors, graduate students and professors alike. Vic demonstrated considerable insight into achieving the goals of our research efforts. Though formal education for him ended early, Victor readily grasped trial objectives and demonstrated insight in attempting to remove all variables, except the one in question, so that reliable, accurate results could be achieved.

Vic enjoyed life, as was so eloquently and accurately described in eulogies at his funeral. He loved fishing, playing cards, woodworking and traveling with Ruth, spending many winters in Arizona. He was a fun-loving guy who loved telling stories. One supposed that if we convinced Vic to offer words of wisdom, it would sound something like: “Live life! Get up, get going! Go places; do things! And enjoy it as you go! Work hard—it’s good for you! Care! Care! Care! Love people; cherish them.” 

Victor is survived by Ruth, his wife of almost 59 years, and who yet resides in Paynesville.
  

Gary Duke, Raptor Center Co-founder, Dies

Dr. Gary Duke, co-founder of the U of M Raptor Center, died on August 21st at the age of 68 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

In 1967, after earning his Ph.D. in avian physiology at Michigan State University, Duke joined the U of M and taught avian physiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Duke started the Raptor Center with Dr. Patrick Redig in 1974 and they co-directed the center until 1986. Redig is the current director of the center.

The Raptor Center specializes in the medical care, rehabilitation, and conservation of birds of prey. In addition to treating approximately 800 birds a year, their internationally known program reaches more than 240,000 people each year through public education programs and events. The Raptor Center provides training in raptor medicine and surgery for veterinarians from around the world, and identifies emerging issues related to raptor health and populations. The center began as an offshoot of Duke's main research interest—digestion in birds.

Duke published 105 scientific papers, chapters in 9 books, and 25 contributions to symposia proceedings. He served as President of the International Raptor Research Foundation, National Comparative Gastroenterology Society, the Minnesota Zoological Society, and Vice President of the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association. He also served as Director of the Avian Research Center at the U of M and chaired several committees. In addition, Duke was a recipient of the Merck Award for Poultry Research, the American Motors Conservation Award (international), the ASPCA Award for Humane Excellence, and a WCCO "Good Neighbor" Award.

Duke retired in 2000 after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Maryann; two daughters, Rebecca (Carrie) and Lisa; and two grandchildren, Gabrielle and Ben.
  

Poultry Extension Workshop Held June 29th

A workshop on Flock Euthanasia and Carcass Disposal in Catastrophic Disease Events was held at the Holiday Inn in Willmar, MN on June 20th. The program was presented by the U of M Extension Service in cooperation with the Universities of Delaware and Maryland, and USDA. The program emphasized that a rapid response to an emergency disease situation such as avian influenza is critical in the control and eradication of a disease outbreak. Options for euthanasia and disposal of infected meat-type poultry and layer flocks were covered in the workshop.

Fifty-five people attended the day-long event. The program included presentations on Mass Euthanasia and Disposal Options for Catastrophic Poultry Disease Events by Drs. Bud Malone (University of Delaware) and Nat Tablante (University of Maryland), and updates on avian influenza topics by Dr. Dale Lauer of the Board of Animal Health and Dr. David Halvorson of the U of M. Dr. Ron Lippert (Willmar Poultry Company) talked about the practical aspects of composting. Thanks to all of the program speakers!

Further information on program materials may be obtained by contacting Dr. Sally Noll by email at nollx001@umn.edu or via telephone at 612-624-4928.
 

Fun, Food and Friends at Annual Picnic

Faculty, staff, students and friends of the Department enjoyed beautiful weather and plenty of great food for the Animal Science Annual Picnic and Awards Ceremony held June 22nd.

Dr. Doug Foster, Director of Graduate Studies, kicked off the awards ceremony with Outstanding Student Awards for two very deserving and hard-working graduate students. Mariana Carriquiry received the award for Outstanding Ph.D. Student, and Mary Raeth-Knight received the award for Outstanding M.S. Student.

Melissa Thrune then presented Dr. Foster with the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award, an honor he also received in 2005. Dr. Jim Linn presented the Outstanding Service Award to Faraz Shaukat in recognition of his outstanding service and exceptional dedication to the Department. And, last but certainly not least, Dr. Abel Ponce de León presented Dana Souther with an Appreciation Award for her dedicated service to the Department.

Congratulations to all the award winners! And, thank you to all who contributed to the success of the event.

Below are a few photos taken at the 2006 Animal Science Annual Picnic and Awards Ceremony:

Melissa Thrune

Melissa grew up in the suburbs of the Twin Cities in Rosemount, MN. Melissa completed her undergraduate career here at the U of M and received her Bachelors of Science in May 2003 with a degree in Science in Agriculture. Her undergraduate senior thesis was completed with Dr. Marshall Stern comparing two different techniques for measuring in vitro intestinal digestion in the dairy cow. Melissa had no prior knowledge of livestock nutrition or concepts, but learned a lot during her four years of undergraduate work. After taking a year and a half off of school, Melissa came back to the U to continue her education again working under Dr. Marshall Stern. She is currently finishing up her Masters degree in Animal Science, working with both companion animal nutrition and ruminant nutrition.

Melissa will finish up her Masters degree in December or January of this school term.  After graduation, Melissa hopes to work for a sales company that specializes in companion animals as well as livestock nutrition.

In her free time, Melissa enjoys reading anything non-school related, enjoying time with her friends, watching a good movie, spending time with her dog Comet, as well as pet sitting. 
  

Mariana Carriquiry successfully defended her doctoral thesis on September 7th. Her thesis title: Dietary fat and bST in early lactation in dairy cows.

Michelle Duong was wed to Tuan Ta on August 20th. Michelle and Tuan celebrated at two wedding receptions — the first on August 20 at U-Garden Restaurant in Minneapolis; the second on August 26 with family in Bentre (south of Saigon), Viet Nam. Before returning to the U.S., they'll travel to Nya Trang, the home town of Tuan's mother.

Jeffrey Griggs successfully defended his Masters thesis on August 17th. His thesis title: Management methods and microbial characteristics of chickens marketed as antibiotic-free.

Asia Lukas and husband Jan welcomed a 7.5 lb baby boy into their family on July 10th. Jan (Jr.) is their third child after son Filip (19 months) and daughter Klara (3 yrs).

Bob Pagel resigned from his position as Undergraduate Advising Counselor in July. He accepted an advising position at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. Bob is also coaching their football team.

Kim Reno, our former graduate student program coordinator, gave birth to an 8 lb, 11 oz baby boy, Dylan James, on August 21st. Dylan is Kim and Jim's the third child after two girls, Megan and Kiley.

Minho Song and wife Jounju celebrated the birth of their first child, a girl, on July 7th. Yeon Woo weighed 7 lb, 15 oz at birth.

Marshall Stern was an invited speaker at the Convocation event for the Class of 2010 held in Northrup Auditorium on September 5th.
  

Dr. Gerald Shurson, PI, was awarded a total of $98,800 in four grants from the Minnesota Pork Producers Association:

1. Assessment of feeding diets containing increasing levels of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to grow-finish pigs on growth performance, pork fat quality, and susceptibility to oxidative rancidity. Amount: $25,000. Period: 5/1/06-12/1/07.
2. Use of 20% DDGS and high amounts of synthetic amino acids to replace soybean meal in grow-finish swine diets. Amount: $25,000. Period: 5/1/06-12/1/07.
3. Assessment of energy content and effects on pork fat quality of modified DDGS from Corn Plus. Amount: $23,800. Period: 5/1/06-12/1/07.
4. Effects of withdrawing DDGS from grow-finish pig diets at various time intervals pre-slaughter on growth performance and pork fat quality. Amount: $25,000. Period: 5/1/06-12/1/07.

Dr. Scott O'Grady, PI, and Dr. Scott Fahrenkrug (co-PI) received $150,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for "Engineering a CFTR deficient porcine model of CF." Period: 6/21/06-9/20/06.
  

Department of Animal Science seminars are held September through May on Mondays at 3:00 p.m. in Room 365 Haecker Hall. Everyone is welcome. Please join us.

September 2006

5- Classes Begin (Fall Semester)

13-15- 60th Annual NAAB Annual Convention and Biennial Technical Conference, Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Milwaukee, WI. Contact: NAAB, 573-445-4406.

14- 5th Annual U of M Open House, Southern ROC, Waseca. For more information, call: 507-835-3620.

18- Research Day, 1:30-4:00 p.m., Haecker Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus. Contact: Jennifer Welsh (612-624-2722).

18- CFANS College Assembly, 9:00-10:30 a.m., St. Paul Student Center Theatre. 

19-20- 67th Minnesota Nutrition Conference, Holiday Inn St. Paul/ East Hotel on I-94. For more information, call 612-624-4000.

27- Women In Science, hosted by Animal Sciences Graduate Students, 1:00-4:00 p.m., 125 Animal Science/Vet Med Bldg., St. Paul Campus.

October 2006

3-7- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI.

19-22- Minnesota Beef Expo, Minnesota State Fairgrounds, St. Paul. For more information, call 651-643-6476 or email info@mnbeefexpo.com.

November 2006

16-17- Swine Nursery Management Workshop, West Central ROC, Morris. Contact: Mark Whitney, 507-389-5541.

December 2006

5-6- Midwest Dairy Expo, St. Cloud Civic Center. Contact: Eir Garcia-Silva, MMPA, 320-203- 8336, or Jim Salfer, U of M Extension Service, 320-203-6093.

14-15- Artificial Insemination in Swine Training Course, Southern ROC, Waseca. Contact: Mark Whitney, 507-389-5541.

February 2007

8-9- Swine Wean to Finish Management Workshop, West Central ROC, Waseca. Contact: Mark Whitney, 507-389-5541.

15-16- Swine Wean to Finish Management Workshop, Southern ROC, Waseca. Contact: Mark Whitney, 507-389-5541.