ANSC's 36th Annual Symposium was a day filled with research presentations and enjoyment
ANSC graduate students present their research during the poster presentations section of the 36th Annual Symposium.
Image Credit: Jonathan Stephanoff
The 36th Annual Symposium of the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences was held on Thursday, May 25, 2023. The morning began with coffee, baked goods, and an insightful presentation by keynote speaker Dr. Lance Baumgard. Dr. Baumgard is a Distinguished Professor and the Norman L. Jacobson Professor of Dairy Nutrition in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. His presentation was titled, “Insults that cause intestinal hyperpermeability and the immunometabolic consequences,” which discussed various events like sicknesses, metabolic factors, and heat stresses that affect gut health leading to slowed growth and economic loss.
The rest of the day showcased the department's projects and research conducted by graduate students and post-docs, including 10 oral presentations and 27 posters. Through the Symposium, ANSC graduate students gain valuable presentation experience for their future participation in national and international conferences as well as feedback from faculty and guest judges.
Presentations included topics such as algae supplements for ruminants to reduce methane emissions, fecal transplants to increase fillet yield in rainbow trout, insulin processing in swine, heat stress effects on offspring, and prenatal supplement effects on offspring growth.
At the conclusion of the symposium, awards were given to the top-rated oral and poster presentations as well as other departmental recognitions. See the full list of honors below.
While all the oral presenters did excellent jobs, the two highest-marked presentations were given by members of the Hamza lab. The top award went to Xuedi Zhang who is mapping the interplay of gene variations and proteins that regulate iron compounds within cells and throughout the body with genetically edited mice. Second place went to Sohini Dutt who is testing different regulator proteins that manage the transportation of iron compounds.
Poster presentations were broken into two classifications this year: graduate students and post-doctoral associates. First place for graduate students went to Caitlin Ryan who is examining the addition of supplements to insulin sensitive mice with beneficial effects in the Sunny Lab. Second place for graduate students went to Andrew Brodrick who is working to better understand the spread and replication of infectious bursal disease virus, a highly contagious infection in young chickens in the Broadbent Lab. For post-doc posters, first place was awarded to Sofia Egana-Labrin who is conducting a surveillance study of infectious bursal disease virus by sequencing current strands in circulation and evaluating specific mutations in the virus also in the Broadbent Lab. Second place for post-docs went to Juyoung Kim who is working to define the importance of mitochondrial copper within specific cells that could be a possible therapeutic target for obesity in the Kim Lab.
The Shaffner Award for Research in Poultry’s first place recognition went to Dita Julianingsih who is studying new ways to inhibit bacteria growth that causes fowl typhoid and pullorum disease with a promising natural candidate of citrus oil in the Biswas Lab. Second place went to Kuan-Ling Liu who is expanding the understanding of pituitary gland development and function by documenting cell composition, heterogeneity, and gene expression profiles in the Porter Lab.
The Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award went to Anmol Kandel and the Outstanding MS Student Award went to Mario Alberto Barrientos. The 2023 ANSC Staff Member of the Year was awarded to Muriel Averilla-Chin.
Closing out the day was a barbecue dinner during which students, faculty, staff, and presenters enjoyed a relaxing time.
2023 SYMPOSIUM HONORS:
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Outstanding Ph.D. Student: Anmol Kandel
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Outstanding MS Student: Mario Alberto Barrientos
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Student Poster Presentations: 1st – Caitlin Ryan, 2nd – Andrew Brodrick
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Post-Doc Poster Presentations: 1st – Sofia Egana-Labrin, 2nd – Juyoung Kim
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Oral Presentations: 1st – Xuedi Zhang, 2nd – Sohini Dutt
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Shaffner Award for Research in Poultry: 1st – Dita Julianingsih, 2nd – Kuan-Ling Liu
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2023 Staff Member of the Year: Muriel Averilla-Chin
