Maria is an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine. Maria is very passionate about Mycoplasma and has dedicated the last two decades of her research to it. Maria is also very involved with students, allowing for unique opportunities. She has mentored many PhD, MS, DVM, and undergraduate students, as well as hosting summer interns. Maria is also affiliated with the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Swine Disease Eradication Center. Learn more about Maria's research here: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Maria-Pieters-34903857 

https://vetmed.umn.edu/bio/college-of-veterinary-medicine/maria-pieters 

https://vdl.umn.edu/ 

https://vetmed.umn.edu/departments/centers-and-programs/swine-program/research/swine-disease-eradication-center 

Amanda Sponheim is a DVM and current PhD candidate in the lab, focusing on diagnostic approaches for M. hyopneumoniae in high and low prevalence scenarios. Amanda is also a Swine Key Accounts veterinarian at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. 

Shelby is a graduate student working towards an MS in veterinary science. She has been evaluating the impact of M. hyopneumoniae infections on production and the environment. 

Timothy is a DVM student and a current summer scholar. He is applying ArcGIS to map out wild boar populations infected with M. hyopneumoniae in the US. 

Casondra has been working with the lab since her undergraduate degree, she is now pursuing her DVM. Casondra assists with both field and lab based research investigations by performing sample collection and processing, genetic material extraction, PCR testing, and material organization and preparation. 

Kaydance is a DVM student and a summer intern at the lab. She helped create an estimation cost calculator for M. hyopneumoniae, which will help swine producers continue on the path to disease elimination. 

Maija is a summer intern in the lab, helping with a bit of everything. She is currently working on standardizing digital PCR for M. hyopneumoniae. She is a current accepted VetFAST student.

Makayla assists with lab work while completing her DVM. 

Cassidy Cordon is a veterinary student and research assistant in the Mycoplasma lab. Her work has focused on investigating the indirect transmission of M. hyopneumoniae. She is currently preparing a manuscript on this work for publication.