UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences has a second cohort of six, two-year postdoctoral fellowships to help increase dairy-related research capacity through the Dairy Innovation Hub initiative.
A postdoctoral fellowship is a temporary position in academia for individuals who have already completed their PhD, but who are not yet in a permanent university, faculty or industry scientist position. The goal is to gain additional experience and training in a selected research area, while working alongside an experienced faculty member.
Meet the fellows:
Ligia Cavani, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences
As a member of Kent Weigel’s lab in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Cavani will conduct the Hub-funded project “Selection for resilient dairy cows.” This project seeks to improve the health and welfare of dairy cows and the sustainability of dairy farms by genetic selection for resistance to and rapid recovery from environmental and management disturbances.
Haylee Hanling, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences
As a member of Laura Hernandez’s lab in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Hanling will conduct the Hub-funded project “Comparing the efficacy of EGTA and 5-HTP induction and resolution of hypocalcemia in dairy cows.” This project seeks to treat hypocalcemia, a condition where the calcium level in a cow’s blood is too low, by investigating both preventative methods and hormonal mechanisms.
Sonali Mohapatra, Department of Biological Systems Engineering
As a member of Xuejun Pan’s lab in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Mohapatra will conduct the Hub-funded project “Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) synthesized from lactose as milk supplement to promote probiotic growth.” This project aims to synthesize GOS, a prebiotic molecule, from lactose for milk supplementation.
Rayhan Shaheb, Department of Agronomy
As a member of Mark Renz’s lab in the Department of Agronomy, Shaheb will conduct the Hub-funded project “Improving pest management to expand adoption of intercropping alfalfa and corn for Wisconsin dairies.” This project aims to increase the adoption of growing alfalfa alongside corn by identifying factors that lead to unreliable alfalfa survival.
Donald Lee Vineyard, Department of Soil Science
As a member of Phillip Barak’s lab in the Department of Soil Science, Vineyard will conduct the Hub-funded project “Green ammonia recovery from manure digester and lagoon by electrodialysis.” This project will use electrodialysis to remove ammonium, a form of ammonia, from manure lagoons and manure digestors to use in sustainable agriculture systems and energy production.
Juliana (Dias) Young, Department of Bacteriology
As a member of Garret Suen’s lab in the Department of Bacteriology, Young will conduct the Hub-funded project “Buccal swabbing as a molecular tool for rumen microbial profiling and diagnosis in dairy cattle.” This project aims to further investigate buccal swabbing, which is a swab on the inside of an animal’s cheek, as a substitute for rumen sampling.
