We’re proud to congratulate our faculty and students on several awards received over the summer! First, a look back at the Nobel Prize-winning Dr. Marshall W. Nirenberg. Our department was recently given a plaque to commemorate this historic achievement.

Marshall W. Nirenberg– Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1968.  

While a student in zoology at UF, Nirenberg worked as a research assistant with Ray L. Shirley and Georgie K. Davis in the Department of Animal Sciences. It was there that he first learned the value of radioisotope labeling in biological research. He subsequently made use of radioisotope for his research at NIH leading to the discovery of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.  

Faculty Awards 

Simmet Prize – Dr. Peter Hansen

Sponsored by Minitube International and administered by the International Congress on Animal Reproduction (ICAR), the Simmet Prize for Assisted Reproduction honors groundbreaking research in assisted animal reproduction. Established in memory of Dr. Ludwig Simmet, a pioneer in artificial insemination and founder of Minitube, the Simmet Prize recognizes active scientists for outstanding contributions in both basic and applied research. The largest award in animal reproduction is presented every four years at the ICAR meeting and includes a prize of €50,000.

ASAS 

• ASAS Fellow Award: Administration – Dr. John Arthington
• ASAS Fellow Award: Research – Dr. Adegbola Adesogan
• Bouffault International Animal Agriculture Award – Dr. Geoffrey Dahl 

Promotions 

• Promoted to Associate Professor – Dr. Angela Gonella Diaza
• Promoted to Professor – Dr. John Bromfield

Student Awards

Scholarships 

Hayen-Hissem Endowment for Graduate Student Travel Award to attend the 2026 ADSA  

• Giovanni Ladeira (Rezende Lab)
• Savitha Saikumar (Vyas Lab)

Travel award to attend the 2026 Beef Improvement Federation Annual Symposium

• Daniel Rosendo  (ANS undergraduate student, Rezende Lab intern)
• Castle Cavender  (Rezende Lab)

GSC Travel Grant to attend the 2026 WCGALP

• Andres Alvarado (Rezende Lab)
• Giovanni Ladeira  (Rezende Lab)

NRSP8 Travel Award to attend the Summer Workshop – Genomics for Animal Sciences (ASAS Pre-Conference Symposium) 

• Andres Alvarado (Rezende Lab)
• Castle Cavender (Rezende Lab)

2026 WCGALP scholarship 

• Castle Cavender (Rezende Lab)
• Giovanni Ladeira (Rezende Lab)
• Andres Alvarado (Rezende Lab)
• Patricia Takemi (Rezende Lab)
• Paola Boscollo (former post-doctorate with Rezende Lab)

National Milk Producers Federation National Dairy Leadership Scholarship  

• Gabriela Macay (Bromfield Lab)

Departmental Awards 

ANS PhD Student of the Year 

• Giovanni Ladeira (Rezende Lab)

Master Student of the Year 

• Savitha Saikumar (Vyas Lab)

2026 ADSA Annual Meeting Graduate Student Awards 

• Angelo De Castro (Yu Lab) – Purina Animal Nutrition Poster Competition, 1st Place, Production Division (PhD) 
• Savitha Saikumar (Vyas Lab) – Purina Animal Nutrition Poster Competition, 3rd Place, Production Division (MS) 
• Sophia Obeso (Hansen Lab) – 1st Place Three-Minute Thesis Competition and People’s Choice Award 
• Nicholas Kertz (Bromfield Lab), Jessica Xhumari, and Amanda Ojeda (Roesch Lab) – Sciencing Challenge Pitch Competition, 3rd Place 
• Giovanni Ladeira (Rezende Lab) – Southern Branch Production Division Paper Competition (PhD) 
• Mikayla Johnson (Faciola Lab) – Purina Animal Nutrition Poster Competition, Finalist, Production Division (PhD) 
• Hirys Olmo (Dahl Lab) – Purina Animal Nutrition Oral Competition, Finalist, Production Division (MS) 

UF Dairy Science Club Awards 

• 1st Place – Undergraduate Website Design Competition 
• 1st Place – Outstanding Chapter Scrapbook Award 
• 1st Place – Dairy Production Paper Presentation – Isabelle Barnett 
• Outstanding Student Member Award – Rebecca Lyons 
• 3rd Place – Dairy Science Quiz Bowl Competition 

Summer Graduates

Congratulations to the Master’s and Ph.D. students who graduated this summer!

Master’s

• Andres Estiven Alvarado Vargas
• Castle James Cavender
• Conner Addison Crawford
• Delaney Fay Binder
• Hirys Olmo De Godoy
• Jose Luis Infante Cangrejo
• Julia Rasia
• Noelia Alfaro Diaz
• Savitha Saikumar
• Fiona Zhang
• Chao Song

Ph.D.

• Abdul Waheed
• Federico Tarnonsky
• Giovanni Coelho Ladeira
• Gabriela Alejandra Macay Hernandez
• Yufen Li
• Zaeem Sarwar
• Muhammad Sohail Siddique
• Vinicius de Souza Izquierdo

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