Dr. Iqbal Hamza has been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor. Congratulations Dr. Hamza!

The department is proud to acknowledge the service milestones of three staff members. Janice Barber, Business Service Specialist, has achieved 30 years of service at the University of Maryland, all with this department, dating back to before the merger of Animal Sciences and Poultry Science. Kiera Finucane, Coordinator of Dairy-Beef Extension Activities and Dr. Angela Black, Coordinator of Animal Care, both marked their five years at the university and with the department. These three outstanding staff members were recognized for their service at the AGNR Convocation and Awards Ceremony on May 8 at the Riggs Alumni Center.

Postdoctoral research associate Dr. Andrew Schiffmacher was awarded the prestigious NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F32 postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Lisa Taneyhill and co-sponsor Dr. Iqbal Hamza. His over $164,000 fellowship titled, "Proteolysis of Cadherins in Cranial Neural Crest" will be funded for 3 years by the NIH-National Institute for Dental & Craniofacial Research.

Dr. Anjali Nandal, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Bhanu Telugu's laboratory, has been awarded a 2-year, $110,000 postdoctoral fellowship from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF.) Dr. Nandal’s project aims at directed differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into insulin producing beta-precursor cells for diabetes therapies. Remarkably, Dr. Nandal put together the grant proposal within the first month of joining the Telugu laboratory.

Dr. Amy Burk received the award for Excellence in Extension at the AGNR Alumni Celebration held on April 16, 2013 at the Riggs Alumni Center. Dr. Burk coordinates the Equine Extension Program for University of Maryland Extension focusing on three major areas: equine nutrition, horse pasture management and 4-H youth development. Dr. Burk is credited with developing an extensive applied research program to support her Extension efforts in areas including weight gain, diet and exercise on insulin sensitivity and inflammation in Thoroughbred geldings and works with a team of 23 on an equine pasture management program at the Central Maryland Research and Education Center located in Howard County. She also created an “Ask the Experts” column featured in major equine publications, is a regular presenter at the Horse World Expo and coordinates the Maryland 4-H volunteer horse council.

At the AGNR 2013 Convocation and Awards Ceremony on May 8 at the Riggs Alumni Center, Dr. Debu Biswas was a featured speaker during the morning program about promoting public health through our food supply. His talk was on “Controlling Bacteria in Poultry Products.”

Faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) came together on Wednesday, May 8 for the 2013 Convocation and Awards Ceremony at the Riggs Alumni Center. Sandra Nola, our Director of Administrative Services won On-Campus Staff Excellence Award.

Sandra Nola joined the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences in 2010 as Director of Administrative Services. She was hired to oversee all of our budgets, employee contracts, personnel functions, financial and administrative reporting, resource allocations, facilities planning, and purchasing. Sandra has performed exceptionally well in all of these responsibilities. Her broad background in all areas of administration and her relationships with key university stakeholders make her an outstanding resource to faculty, staff and students. Sandra’s work ethic incorporates a can-do attitude and she actively seeks ways to relieve faculty of administrative burdens wherever possible. Sandra has no problem learning new systems and incorporating new business processes. She has a keen eye for seeing the big picture and ways to improve customer service to the department.

A graduate of Penn State University, Sandra has held many positions in the private and public sector before joining UMD in 1994. She willingly serves on multiple department and college committees. Sandra is a creative problem solver who loves a challenge. She is known to ‘roll up her sleeves’ and assist in any manner. Her attitude is upbeat which allows people to feel at ease.

Sandra Nola is an outstanding example of a staff member. She is a professional. She is responsible and conscientious. She works hard and is prepared in advance. She maintains a positive attitude and interacts well with everyone in the department. She is proactive, regularly looking for ways to improve our operations and department. Congratulations Sandra!

Dr. Liqing Yu has received tenure and been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, effective in August. Congratulations Dr. Yu!

Special Workshop: Domestic Large Animals as Models for Agricultural and Biomedical Research Sponsored by the Department of Animal Sciences.

Click here for agenda and hotel information.
Click here to register.

Source:
http://ansc.umd.edu/workshopDomesticLargeAnimals/index.cfm?directory=home.cfm

Associate Professor Iqbal Hamza and NRSA postdoctoral fellow Dr. Carine White reveals the identity of the long-sought heme transporter which permits humans to recycle over 5 million red blood cells per second in their spleen and liver. Their study also shows that mutations in the human transporter, which they first discovered in worms, can be a causative agent for genetic disorder of iron metabolism in humans. These findings were published in the February 5th issue of CELL METABOLISM (http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131%2813%2900013-2). The work follows up on the heels of their discovery of the first heme importer (NATURE, 2008) and chaperone (CELL, 2011). More about this work can be found at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130205131752.htm.

Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130205131752.htm

Dr. Charlie Apter joined the faculty of the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences at University of Maryland College Park in August 2012 as Livestock Lecturer. His BS is from Clemson University and his PhD is in Animal Science (Equine) from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. Apter has spent much of the last 15 years teaching animal science and equine-related coursework. During the 11 years he taught in NE Missouri he managed a 45-head university-owned horse herd. Most of his teaching has focused on the basic science of animals including anatomy, physiology, reproduction, nutrition, and behavior, and the practical implications of animal science for the management of horses, cattle and other livestock. Upon graduation from Texas A&M, he first taught for 11 years in NE Missouri at Truman State University and then for the last 5 years he was Director of Agriculture at Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, TX. His teaching assignment at UMD will include a mix of equine, livestock, and animal science courses.

Dr. Hamza was awarded a 5 year renewal of his NIH grant titled "The Biological Role of Heme in Nutrition" for $1,931,357. His research program is supported by two additional NIH R01 and NIH R21 grants

MAIN DISH

• First Place: Animal Science
  Zhengguo Xiao
• Second Place: Pulled Pork Sliders
  Tom Porter
• Third Place: A-maize-ingly Delicious Corn Chowder
  Victoria Lake

SIDE DISH

• First Place: Buffalo Chicken Dip
  Kiera Finucane
• Second Place: Corn Bread Pudding
  Tim Reardon
• Third Place: Fabulous Fritters
  Carol Keefer

DESSERT

• First Place: Tantalizing Chocolate Torte
  Bob Peters
• Second Place: Insanely Tasty Terrapeanut Butter Pie
  Libby Dufour
• Third Place: Watergate Salad
  Victoria Lake

Dr. Tom Porter was awarded the Embrex Fundamental Science Award at the Poultry Science Association’s 101st Annual Meeting on July 12, 2012. This award is in recognition of Dr. Porter’s outstanding achievement in basic disciplinary science on which advancements in Poultry Science will be built.

Dr. Kasey Moyes joins the faculty as an Assistant Professor in August. She is currently here as a Visiting Assistant Professor. She has come to Maryland from Århus University in Tjele, Denmark where she was a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (2009-12) in the Department of Animal Sciences with Dr. Klaus Ingvartsen. She received her Ph.D. in Animal Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008 working with Dr. James Drackley. Dr. Moyes will be teaching ANSC101 and ANSC103 in the fall and ANSC 443, Physiology and Biochemistry of Lactation, every other spring. Dr. Moyes’ research interests in nutritional immunology of dairy cattle involve 1) the relationship between energy metabolism and immune response in dairy cows during mastitis and 2) the development of in-line and real-time measurement of biomarkers in milk for degree of physiological imbalance and subsequent risk of disease in lactating dairy cows on-farm. Her laboratory is being renovated on the fourth floor.

Dr. Mary Ann Ottinger was recognized on May 2, 2012 at the 5th Annual University-Wide Celebration of Scholarship and Research for her scholarly and research accomplishments during the past year. The event was sponsored by the Division of Research and the Provost Office.

Dr. Beverly Teter, research associate in Dr. Rich Erdman's lab, appeared on the television show "The 700 Club" in a segment about coconut oil and Alzheimer's disease. The show aired on January 5, 2012 on the ABC Family Channel and on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. A video of the segment can be viewed at http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS

Source:
http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS

Dr. Iqbal Hamza finished a sabbatical in Dr. Paul Liu's lab at the NIH learning zebrafish research with specific emphasis on hematopoiesis. Since then he has established a state-of-art zebrafish facility in our department animal wing complete with reverse osmosis water, mechanical and biological filtration, ultraviolet sterilizers and automated water exchanges. The plans were completed in March 2011, construction started in August, and the facility was assembled in December. The zebrafish facility can handle up to 10,000 adult fish and is equipped with sensors that monitor water quality, respond in an emergency via a paging system, and can be operated remotely. The facility will also be equipped with instruments to manipulate zebrafish embryos for generation of transgenic fish.

Fish are highly sensitive to their environment and are often the first animal to show negative effects of exposure to pollutants or other environmental damage. Endocrine disruptors, chemicals that occur in both natural and manmade forms, can interfere with the endocrine system and affect reproduction and development in fish and other animals. Aquatic ecosystems contain mixtures of chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, which originate from waste-water treatment plants, agricultural fields and pens, residences, industry, and aerial deposition. Some endocrine disruptors mimic natural steroid hormones, such as progestins. Progestins function through progesterone receptors and have critically important roles in reproduction. Currently, there are only a few published studies about the potential effects of environmental progestins. This study will determine whether these endocrine disruptors could interfere with progesterone-receptor signaling, which could have important effects on the reproduction and the robustness of fish populations. Data from this study will contribute to the understanding of the biological effects of altered progesterone-receptor signaling in wild fish.

This research grant was written and submitted by Drs. Edward Orlando and Jennifer (Farmer) Howard and will be executed by Drs. Orlando and Laura Ellestad.

Drs. Lisa Taneyhill and Carol Keefer, along with Dr. Arpita Upadhyaya in the Department of Physics, were awarded a UM ADVANCE Interdisciplinary and Engaged Research Seed Grant to study the functional roles of palladin and a-actinin in actin cytoskeleton remodeling during key developmental transitions. Their application was one of the first grants, out of only 15 total, to be given out by the new UM ADVANCE program. With this funding, Drs. Taneyhill, Keefer and Upadhyaya will now be able to acquire preliminary data in support of the submission of a future NIH R01 or NSF application.

UM, in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), has made an historic commitment to the professional growth of women faculty in all academic disciplines. Through this partnership, which involves a major contribution of in-kind funding from the University, the ADVANCE Program aims to improve rates of retention and advancement of women faculty by fostering changes in institutional culture. The goals of the seed grant program are to promote collaborations among women faculty members in departments and colleges across campus and to provide funding for preliminary or exploratory projects that will contribute to future external grant applications. http://www.advance.umd.edu/