News & AnnouncementsFaculty and Staff News
Special News - ANSC Alumnus is a "National" Sensation!
Former ANSC student, Justin Maxwell, made national headlines last night, but not as you might expect. Justin hit a walk-off grand slam for the Washington Nationals to give their troubled season a perfect storybook ending. The Nationals were down 3-4 to the Mets when Maxwell stepped up to the plate for the first time that night. What happened next was something that Justin will undoubtedly remember for the rest of his life. A Maryland native, Maxwell was actually drafted by the Baltimore Orioles straight out of high school in 2001, but declined the offer in order to pursue an education at the University of Maryland studying Animal Science. ANSC Professor and Department Chair, Dr. Tom Porter, recalls how Maxwell also excelled in the classroom. "He was a great student. I remember him hitting some home runs in our Physiology class," says Porter. Dr. Mark Varner remembers when he had Justin on the first day of class and asked him, "What will you be doing in 10 years?" Justin's response was, "Either playing major league baseball or I'll be a small animal veterinarian." A few years later, Justin was drafted for a second time in 2004, this time by the Texas Rangers, but again opted to stay and complete his education. After graduating college in 2005, Justin signed with the Nationals and spent the next few seasons playing in their minor league system. Unfortunately, Justin missed much of the 2008 season due to injury and then spent most of the 2009 season playing for a Triple-A team in Syracuse. It was only a month ago that Justin was called up to play for the Nationals in replacement of center fielder Nyjer Morgan. After last night's spectacular performance, it is clear that Justin is no longer in the "farm club," but has arrived in the big leagues.
The ANSC family wishes you our congratulations, Justin!
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Maryland Dairy Judging Team wins World Dairy Expo
Congratulations to our own Kiera Finucane and the Maryland 4-H Dairy Judging Team for winning the 2009 World Dairy Expo! This year's team is coached by Loretta Wright, a long-time supporter of dairy and Maryland 4-H from a dairy herd in Carroll County. The team is composed of Chelsea Davis, Emily Gill, Morgan Meisenheimer and Ariel Taxdal.
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Faculty/Staff Cookoff Results
We would like to thanks all of the organizers, participants, and student judges for helping to make this year's Faculty/Staff Cookoff a success! And a special congratulations to all of our winners!
View the Results!
Dr. Mary Ann Ottinger receives NIH Grant
Dr. Mary Ann Ottinger has been awarded a grant from NIH-National Institute on Aging entitled, "RECOVERY: Effects of E-Quinols on Neural Disease." The total amount is $357,201 for two years. The research is a collaboration with scientists from the VA/UMB Medical School and University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Ms. Anna Schlappal will be conducting her Ph.D. research as part of these studies. The focus of this research is to explore the effects of estrogens on the progression of neural disease, specifically Alzheimer's Disease in a transgenic animal model that has several of the human genes.
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Dr. Frank Siewerdt teaches first Brazilian Course in Genomic Selection
The first Brazilian course in genomic selection was held at the Center of Biotechnology of the Federal University of Pelotas, attracting 18 participants from four institutions and two countries (Brazil and Uruguay). Week 1 was taught by Dr. Heden Luiz Marques Moreira, covering molecular techniques used in data capture. Week 2 was taught by Dr. Frank Siewerdt, covering selection theory, marker-assisted selection, and genomic selection, including the latest developments on the topic.
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Student News
Oct 27, 2009
Nicole Fiorellino Awarded Scholarship
Nicole Fiorellino was recently awarded a "Backstretch Scholarship" in the amount of $2,000 from the Maryland Racing Media Association. Although Nicole doesn't work at a MD racetrack, she impressed the scholarship committee with her efforts as manager of our equine rotational grazing demonstration site, which just happens to house 4 off-the-track Thoroughbreds, and with her research efforts to characterize the use of pasture and manure best management practices by MD horse farm operators.
Nicole was also recently awarded a $600 Financial Support Grant from our very own Animal Sciences Graduate Student Association. The money will be used to support travel costs associated with her 60 farm field study that she's currently conducting ... Read More
Aug 03, 2009
Kristina Heuck wins Certificate of Excellence
Kristina Heuck, PhD candidate under the direction of Tom Porter, won a
Certificate of Excellence for presentation in the Physiology,
Endocrinology, and Reproduction Section at the Poultry Science
Association's 98th Annual Meeting on July 23rd, 2009 in Raleigh, N.C.Her
research poster entitled "Fine mapping of the glucocorticoid-responsive
region of the chicken growth hormone (GH) gene in embryonic pituitary
cells" is now eligible to compete for the 2010 Alltech Student Research
Manuscript Award. Kristina hopes to complete her dissertation research
in the fall of 2009. ... Read More
Jul 16, 2009
The Iager Scholarship
Congratulations to Amanda Heilman, the winner of the 2008-2009 Iager Scholarship! The Judy and Charles Iager Scholarship Fund was established in September 2007 by Judy '66 and Charles '65 Iager. Spendable Income from the Judy and Charles Iager Scholarship Fund provides annual scholarships for students enrolled in the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. ... Read More
Jun 01, 2009
The 23rd Annual Symposium
The 23rd Annual Symposium took place on May 29th, 2009 with guest speaker Dr. Jorge Piedrahita from NC State University. We would like to especially congratulate those students who won awards ... Read More
May 12, 2009
ANSC students receive Phi Beta Kappa Honors
Congratulations to Rick Paynter, Charlotte Sanford-Crane, and Monica Fernandez for being selected to Phi Beta Kappa ... Read More
