Storytelling, Staying Curious, and the Joys of a Career in Dairy Science with ADSA’s 2024 Graduate Student Award Winners

Our annual grad student takeover episode is back! This year, Matt sits down with three of the 2024 winners of ADSA’s Graduate Student Division awards: Jason Pronschinske and Philip Eberly, both hailing from the Department of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the mentorship of John Lucey, PhD; and Amanda Fischer-Tlustos, joining us from the Department of Animal Biosciences at the University of Guelph working with Michael Steele, PhD, and John Cant, PhD. All three of our winners delve into the research they presented at the 2024 ADSA Annual Meeting—from the science behind making shelf-stable cheese puffs from pure cheddar to understanding the best anticaking agents for grated mozzarella and measuring the metabolic activity in the mammary gland to map the physiology of the dry period and its impacts on future colostrum production. The group discusses the differences and similarities between the oral and poster competitions, advising future entrants on which to enter based on which skills you want to showcase or strengthen. The guests also explain why they entered the competitions, and agree that turning your science into a compelling story is the key to success. Whether you’re a dairy science student, a mentor for students, or an employer, you’ll want to listen in for their take on the dairy science job market, the best advice for staying curious and asking for support in grad school, and the thrill of being able to snack on your experiments.

Episode Twenty-One Show Notes

Learn more about ADSA’s Graduate Student Division and Undergraduate Student Division, including their robust award programs and the many benefits for student members. 

Are you interested in participating in ADSA’s undergraduate or graduate awards program? Submit your abstract to the 2025 ADSA Annual Meeting before February 12, 2025, and join us in Louisville, Kentucky, next June!

Curious to see the cheese-pull photo Jason and Philip reference? Check it out here.

Catch up on Amanda’s JDS Communications paper discussed in the episode:

Insulin, IGF-I, and lactoferrin concentrations and yields and their associations with other components within colostrum, transition, and whole milk of primiparous and multiparous Holstein cattle, JDS Communications (2024)

Review the mental health article referenced in the episode:

The huge toll of PhDs on mental health: Data reveal stark effects, Nature News (2024)

Read all three winners’ 2024 abstracts and connect with and follow them on LinkedIn:

·        Jason Pronschinske

·        Philip Eberly

·        Amanda Fischer-Tlustos