Animal Science Graduate Student Wins Fellowship, Travel Grants

Okedoyin (center) wraps up collection of blood samples for my research work. With her are Andrea Gentry-Apple, DVM; Daniel Cooper, University Farm superintendent; and other project partners.

Deborah Okedoyin, a graduate student working with Uchenna Anele, Ph.D., in the Animal Science program, has received the International Livestock Congress Student Fellowship for 2024.

The fellowship targets outstanding students from international and domestic agriculture colleges and universities and provides travel funds to attend the International Livestock Congress, held this year in Texas.

“International Livestock Congress Fellowship is a tremendous honor, providing invaluable networking opportunities with pioneers in sustainable animal agriculture globally,” Okedoyin said. “It granted automatic memberships in the American Meat Science Association and Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, opening up valuable networking resources.

Most importantly, this opportunity allowed me to represent A&T on an international stage, sharing my research.”

Okedoyin also won travel grants to attend the 2024 STEM Women of Color Conclave & Leadership Colloquium in Virginia and the American Dairy Science Association Travel grant to present my research at the upcoming conference in Florida this summer.

Students Win Awards at Annual Research Directors Conference

CAES students from various programs won awards in the oral and poster presentation categories at the Association of Research Directors’ Symposium, held April 5in Nashville.

Oral Presentations 

Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment 

  • Graduate student Bahare Salehi won second place for her project, Agricultural Wastes-Derived Nanostructured Electrochemical Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications. Her mentor is Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi.                            
  • Undergraduate student Nathan Holt won third place for his project, A Novel High-Temperature Tolerant Pleaurotus sp.: Domestication, Mating Behavior and Interspecies Compatibility. His mentor is Omon Isikhuemhen. 

Family, Youth, Community, and Economic Development 

  • Graduate student Godwin Agbenyezi  won second place for his project, Qualifying Agricultural Trade Creation and Trade Diversion due to Free Trade Agreements. His mentor is Dr. Osei Yeboah. 

Poster Presentations 

Food Safety, Nutrition and Health 

  • Graduate: student Shahriya Valizadeh won second place for her project, Comparative Analysis of Plant-Based Surimi Variants. Her mentor is Dr. Reza Tahergorabi. 
  • Graduate student William Oyom won third place for his project, Enhancing Fried Chicken Nuggets with Oleogel and Hydrogel Coating Enriched with Thyme Essential Oil. His mentor is Dr. Reza Tahergorabi.