Dr. Mike Westendorf, Animal Sciences Extension Specialist and Professor, retired on January 1, 2025, after 31 years at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Dr. Westendorf grew up on a small dairy farm in Idaho before studying animal science at the University of Idaho as an undergraduate, then earning his PhD at the […]
Animal Sciences
Dr. Darcy Medica: Triple Animal Sciences Alumna Guides SUNY Ag & Tech College
Darcy Medica, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at SUNY Cobleskill, is a triple Rutgers graduate, CC’93, GSNB’96, ’02. She’s the first in her family to attend college and went on to earn a bachelor’s, a master’s and a doctoral degree in Animal Sciences. Her father, Jim Velcheck (CC’97) graduated from Cook College while […]
Veterinary Student Finding his Way Towards an Exotic Future
If there’s one thing Bryce Hunter has honed after his first year on the pre-veterinary track of the animal sciences program, it’s focus. The Honors Program at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences is more demanding than his high school self could have anticipated, but that has only strengthened his resolve to reach […]
Horse-Caring Helps Veterans With PTSD
A study by Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers has shown that military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who participated in a program caring for horses, experienced an improved mental outlook and easing of symptoms. Reporting results of the study in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers said the insights could open the door to a new approach in […]
Rutgers Awarded $250,000 USDA NIFA Grant to Prepare Students for Vet School
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to make strides to diversify the agricultural workforce, and the Rutgers Department of Animal Sciences continues to answer the call. Just over a year after being awarded funding through the NextGen grant for the Animal Science Discovery Program, Aparna Zama, undergraduate program director, has secured a five-year $250,000 […]
Distinguished Professor Dipak Sarkar and Team Publish Manuscript in Impactful Neurooncology Journal
Dipak Sarkar, Distinguished Professor of Animal Sciences, and his team recently published the manuscript, “DPPA4 increases aggressiveness of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors by enhancing cell stemness,” in the journal, Neurooncology. One of the leading oncology publications in the world, the journal has a high reputation in the field and is ranked number 15 of 322 international […]
Inaugural Animal Science Discovery Program Opens Pathways for Diverse Students in Agriculture and Animal Science
Douglass Student Center at Rutgers-New Brunswick was abuzz with expressions of gratitude and a reinvigorated passion for working with animals on July 3, as the inaugural USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program’s (ANSCId) Summer Experiential Learning Program (SELP) and Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) celebrated with a closing program. The three-week intensive, residential experiences […]
Three SEBS Faculty Among Those Honored with 2023-2024 Universitywide Excellence Awards
SEBS faculty Mukund Karwe, Holly Grace Nelson and Troy Roepke were among the Rutgers faculty recognized with 2023-2024 Faculty Excellence Awards, which honor outstanding members of the Rutgers community selected by their colleagues for exceptional contributions to teaching, research, or public service through a program of seven awards. For each award, the recipient receives a commemorative […]
Jeffrey Bluestone CC’74, GSNB’76 To Be Inducted Into Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni
Five influential Rutgers University graduates, renowned leaders in medicine, government, media, and civil rights, will be the newest members honored in the university’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in a ceremony on April 25. Among the new class to be inducted is Jeffrey Bluestone CC’74, GSNB’76, an internationally recognized immunologist whose four decades of groundbreaking research […]
Associate Professor Barry Jesse Retires After Nearly 38 Years at Rutgers
Barry Jesse, associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, will retire on January 1, 2024, after close to four decades of teaching and research at Rutgers. Jesse earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree for the University of Illinois in 1975 and 1977, respectively, and a doctoral degree from the Institute of Nutrition and […]