Projects

Does Prior Viral Infection Exacerbate the Animal Response to Heat Stress?

Effectively Communicating with Iowa Pork Producers

Effects of Supplemental Zn Level and Source on Immune Function and Associated Biomarkers of Immune Status in Weaned Calves Received into a Feedlot

The Effects of Ethephon on African Violets

The Effects of DFM on Broiler Breeder Tight Junction Abundance

Effects of Gibberellic Acid on Stem Length of Popular Lisianthus Cultivars

Lisianthus is a popular cut flower with problems of insufficient stem length that reduce marketability. Plant growth regulator GA3 was applied at multiple treatment levels and stem length was recorded. Cultivars treated with GA3 showed increased stem length. 250 ppm was most effective for ‘Mariachi White’ and 750 ppm was most effective for ‘Mariachi Pink’.

Effect of Listeria monocytogenes gene lmo2230 on lactic acid stress tolerance

Effects of Lifestyle on Eye Counts in Spondylids and Scallops

Spondylids and Scallops are both bivalve mollusk species. Spondylids do not swim and scallops do swim.  I count eyes on both species to determine if the number of eyes differ across species.

Effects of Low-Stakes Quizzing on Student Learning and Retention in a Plant Identification Course

Plant identification courses are historically challenging at the collegiate level. This human subjects, IRB-approved SoTL study evaluated low-stakes quizzing as a means to improve overall scores and retention of the plant material in Iowa State University’s horticulture woody plant identification course (HORT 240).

Effects of Mechanical Growth Regulation on Containerized Herbs

Effects of Nose Flap Weaning on Calf Performance

This is the second trial of this experiment that was looking at finding the effects of weaning, removing the calf from the mother and its milk. This is one of the most stressful points in a calf’s life which can decrease the calf’s ability to fight off sickness and disease and also can reduce the amount of feed that the calf consumes.

Estimating Northern Bobwhite Density Using Point Counts and ARUs

Northern bobwhite restoration is monitored annually under the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative Coordinated Implementation Program. Here, bobwhite densities were calculated from point count surveys.

Evaluation of genomic testing as a tool to improve profitability at the ISU Dairy Farm

Evaluating the Use of Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) for the Monitoring of Northern Bobwhite Coveys

We used autonomous recording units (ARUs) to record data on Northern Bobwhite Quails and also to test there effectiveness at collecting data. This research will also assist in the monitoring of Northern Bobwhite populations pertaining specifically to last years harsh winter.

Examining Changes to Intestinal Morphology of Broiler Chickens in Response to an Algae-Based Feed Additive in a Model of Coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is a species-specific parasitic disease known to affect intestinal structure and overall health in poultry. In this study, the correlation between coccidiosis infection and intestinal structure are observed at 5 different time points post-inoculation.

Finding The Truth Behind Heat Stress

This semester, I have been involved in an extensive project looking at the causes behind heat stress in barrow pigs. Myself along side with Johana Mayorga, Dr. Lance Baumgard, and Dr. Joshua Selsby hypothesize that the negative cascade of events that occur during heat stress is due to muscle mitochondria dysfunction

Foliar Application of Amino Acids and their Effects on Various Horticultural and Agricultural Crops in a Heat Stressed Environment.

Growing new and current begonia cultivars

Begonias are a popular plant found in people’s homes and gardens today. This project involved growing five, newly developed begonia and five begonia cultivars that are currently on the market. Then growing the begonias to a finishing size and evaluating each cultivar based on its height, width and flowering date to determine if the meet the requirement of the industry standard and have qualities growers want.

Harnessing Natural Metabolic Pathways for the Production of Biorenewable Compounds in S. cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast)

Climate change is having real world consequences on our planet. Antarctica loses 134 billion metric tons of ice annually, and historic weather events are the new normal.1 Its commonly known that humans must reduce our dependence on oil to mitigate future impacts of our changing climate.

Harnessing Natural Metabolic Pathways for the Production of Biorenewable Compounds in S. cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast)

My research goal has been to address how fatty acids can be harnessed to produce a variety of precursors for the emerging biorenewable chemical industry. Currently, I am independently running a project to discover novel variants within known genes in S. cerevisiae that result in the over accumulation of fatty acids.