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Companion Animal Resources
To provide pet owners with unbiased research-based information, educators and researchers from America’s land-grant universities have banded together to provide a new Web resource on companion animals. The eXtension Companion Animal Community of Practice website presents information about health, nutrition, and behavior of dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, reptiles, and other companion animals. The Rutgers Animal Science Undergraduate Program Director, Dr. Daniela Sharma, is a founding member of this eXtension Community of Practice and recently hosted a webinar in the eXtension Careers with Companion Animals Webinar Series. (See the website for archived webinars!) If you’re interested in studying Companion Animal Science here at Rutgers (it’s one of five options in our Animal Science major as well as a minor), check out our Undergraduate Program homepage. If you’re already in the field, contact Dr. Sharma if you’re interested in presenting a guest lecture in her Careers in Animal Science class.
While you’re online, check out all the resources available on the interactive eXtension website, http://www.extension.org. You’ll find solutions to “real-life problems in real time”; resource areas include farm, pest management, energy, community, youth, and family as well as alerts and disaster issues.
2012 NESA Competition Results
Each February, Animal Science undergraduates from colleges and universities from Maine to Maryland gather near one of the campuses to judge livestock, participate in quiz bowls, and present original research and review papers in a “friendly” but fierce competition sponsored by the Northeast Student Affiliate (NESA) of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association.
Undergraduate students from the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences met weekly to prepare for the 2012 NESA competition, which was held at the University of Maine on February 18. Forty-seven teams from 10 universities participated. Thanks to the hard work of our students and our coaches, Dr. Barry Jesse, Dr. Carey Williams, and graduate student Danielle Smarsh, the Rutgers 2012 NESA Team brought home a 4th place ribbon! This white ribbon is proudly displayed in the Bartlett Hall foyer along with our 2nd place red ribbon from 2010 and our 5th place pink ribbon from 2011. We’ve established ourselves as a top-tier finisher in the competition!
Other noteworthy 2012 accomplishments include the following:
- Rutgers Team D placed third in the Quiz Bowl, our highest placing in that event in some time! Team members are Rebecca Aguilar, Samantha Buteux, Dale Levitt, and Sara Omar.
- Dale Levitt won 1st place, Original Research Presentations. Dale presented his G. H. Cook Honors thesis research in neuroimmunology, which he conducted in the Sarkar laboratory. The title of his presentation was "Chronic Shift Lag Alters the Circadian Clock of NK Cells and Promotes Lung Cancer Growth in Rats."
- Brittany Heil won 4th place in Review Paper Presentations. Brittany’s presentation was entitled "The Use of GFP in Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Research."
What else is happening? Check out the Dean's Monthly Report!
Each month, Executive Dean Bob Goodman posts a report at http://execdeanagriculture.rutgers.edu/message that includes news items and accompanying photos submitted by the academic departments, institutes, and centers of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Peruse the entire report, or simply search for “animal” – and you’ll find stories about the students, faculty, and staff of the Department of Animal Sciences and the Graduate Program in Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences. Enjoy!
Animal Science Newsletter - Winter 2011/2012
In this issue ...
Chair’s Message
Alumnus Awarded National Medal of Science
Undergraduate News
Graduate Program Highlights
Equine Science Center News
Pioneers in Endocrinology Workshop
Animal Care Update
NESA 2011 Accomplishments
In Memoriam
Archived Department Newsletters
Animal Science Newsletter 2010
Animal Science Newsletter 2009
Animal Science Newsletter 2008