send news release today

Alltech Young Scientists Award

Maggie Seiler

alltech-symposium-13-12Alltech awarded its annual Young Scientist Awards at the closing ceremony of the Alltech International Symposium on May 22.

The first award was for undergraduate research. Amanda Pesqueira was the recipient of this honor. Pesqueria attended the University of Maringa in Brazil before transferring to the University of Kentucky for her final year of undergraduate studies in animal science. Her research presentation, titled “Contractile Response of the Different Ergot Alkaloids in Bovine Cranial Branch of the Lateral Saphenous Vein In Vitro,” examines the compounds involved with fescue toxicosis syndrome in cows through the use of an advanced testing system. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in animal science.

Nimesha Fernando received the award for graduate research. She is a a graduate student at the University of Melbourne and looked at how high levels of CO2 in the environment affect the growth of grain through her research presentation titled “Free Air CO2 Enrichment Altered Wheat Grain Protein Quality and Rheological Characteristics: A Comparative Proteomic Analysis.” Using proteomic analysis, she showed that exposure to high levels of CO2 results in grains with lower levels of protein, and then applied her research findings to the use of wheat in food production.

Six other students had the opportunity to travel to Lexington as finalists for the awards. They were selected from an initial field of more than 8,000 students.

Find out more information about registering for the next Alltech Young Scientist Competition here.

Listen to the full presentation ceremony here: Young Scientists Awards

2013 Alltech International Symposium Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio