Congratulations are in order for two graduate students who work in the research laboratory of Dr. Rafael Neves, assistant professor of food animal ambulatory, after they won awards at the recent Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference. Held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the three-day annual event is a collaborative effort between Purdue University, Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, and the allied dairy industry.
As part of the Student Presentation Showcase on Monday, April 15, graduate students from Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State University, and the University of Wisconsin vied for prizes up to $2,250 in the MS and PhD divisions.
Jillian Grantz won 1st place in the MS division oral competition for her presentation entitled, “Evaluation of the plasma oxylipin and endocannabinoid profile and the platelet and plasma proteome in postpartum dairy cows experiencing elevated systemic inflammation.”
Natnicha Taechachokevivat was awarded 2nd place in the PhD student oral competition for her presentation entitled, “The epidemiology of systemic inflammation: Associations of plasma haptoglobin in the first week postpartum with disease and milk yield in Holstein cows.”
Jillian and Natnicha successfully competed against students from MSU, OSU, Penn State and Purdue to win awards in their respective categories. “I am beyond proud of them,” commented Dr. Neves.
The Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference primarily serves individuals who provide nutritional advice to dairy farmers. Attendees include feed industry personnel, nutrition consultants, university faculty and students, extension personnel, and veterinarians.