Meet The Speakers

Ozturk is an assistant professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in dairy food science, with her position fully funded by the Dairy Innovation Hub. Her research program focuses on bioactive compounds in milk and dairy streams, with the overarching goal of developing advanced separation processes to extract these compounds and enable personalized nutrition and precision treatments aimed at improving human health.

Becca earned her Bachelor’s in Food Science and a certificate in Art Studios at UW–Madison. In school, she focused on product development and organic chemistry, and co-taught the first-year chemistry laboratory. Becca joined the Ozturk lab in Summer 2024. In her free time, Becca enjoys cooking, power lifting, Ultimate Frisbee, and astronomy. In her future, Becca hopes to work in the industry for a few years before returning to school and becoming a teaching professor.

Project summary: Whey protein concentrate (WPC) is a valuable coproduct of cheese manufacture and an intermediate in the production of whey protein isolate (WPI) and whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC). Produced by ultrafiltration of skim whey, WPC contains residual milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) components whose structure and bioactivity are sensitive to processing history. To ensure microbial safety, WPC undergoes pasteurization at multiple stages, but increasing thermal intensity may alter protein aggregation, oxidative stability, and bioactivity retention, ultimately influencing product quality and downstream separation. In this study, pilot-scale liquid WPC was subjected to increasing pasteurization intensity, including batch pasteurization and repeated high-temperature short-time (HTST) treatments to produce batch, 2×HTST, and 3×HTST WPC. Samples were then evaluated for changes in protein and lipid oxidation, bioactivity retention, microstructure, and secondary structure, and soluble protein profile. The results of this research will help guide high-quality production of WPC and its downstream products.

Shutske is a professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he also serves as an Extension Agricultural Safety and Health Specialist. With more than three decades of experience, he is recognized nationally for his work to improve safety, health, and risk management across agricultural systems. Shutske holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University, specializing in agricultural mechanization, machinery safety, and engineering. His expertise spans occupational health hazards, farm stress and mental health, safety engineering, and the emerging challenges posed by automation and robotics in modern agriculture.

Project summary: The project team from two agricultural safety and health projects funded by the DIH and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will present information about the conditions and perceptions that sometimes connect the agricultural labor shortage to workplace hazards and conditions. Several new and ongoing projects will be highlighted for participants. They include Wellness on Wheels; Becoming the Employer of Choice program; Preparedness for H5N1 and other Infectious Disease; and the Forward Farm Safety Toolkit. 

Wang is a postdoctoral research associate in the Huber Research Group in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UW–Madison. He specializes in chemical engineering and is passionate about the intersection of water, energy, food, and environmental sustainability.

Project summary: Cheese whey is an abundant dairy byproduct, but its conversion to food-grade low-calorie D-tagatose sweeteners requires more than selective lactose hydrolysis and galactose isomerization. It requires control of a coupled reaction and separation system in which hydrolysis chemistry, alkaline isomerization, ionic composition, and sugar purification interact across scales. Here, we report the development of a pilot-scale process integrating ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and diafiltration for lactose enrichment, sulfuric-acid-catalyzed lactose hydrolysis to glucose-galactose syrup, Ca(OH)2-mediated galactose isomerization, solution deionization, and simulated moving bed chromatography for tagatose recovery. The key challenge is maintaining a reaction environment that enables sugar conversion while producing a downstream feed compatible with ion removal and chromatographic separation. By integrating feed conditioning, reaction control, salt management, and product purification, this work defines a pilot-scale route for upgrading cheese whey into purified D-tagatose and establishes the process basis for continuous dairy-based sweetener manufacturing.

Ujor’s research focuses on sustainable biomanufacturing, synthetic biology, and microbial metabolism to enhance the production of fuels and value‑added chemicals. His work targets metabolic bottlenecks that limit microbial productivity and explores deploying metabolically versatile microbes to recover nutrients from waste streams while generating useful chemical products. The overarching goal of his research is to advance bio‑based approaches that support sustainable chemical production, environmental protection, and improved resource and water recovery in the face of growing global and climate challenges.

Project summary: Whey permeate (WP), a major byproduct of cheese manufacturing, is an attractive low-cost feedstock for the industrial production of value-added chemicals. However, residual lactic acid (LA) inhibits microbial growth and product formation during fermentative WP valorization. Here, ion-exchange pretreatment removed ~80% of LA, increasing butanol titers from ~8.0 g/L in untreated WP to ~15.0 g/L. Coupling fermentation with in situ liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) further raised butanol to 21 g/L. Notably, CRISPR-Cas9 engineering of Clostridium beijerinckii enabled comparable butanol production (~21 g/L) in ion-exchange-treated WP without LLE, whereas the wildtype produced only 7.1 g/L. In parallel, ion-exchange-treated WP supported ~50 g/L 2,3-butanediol production by Enterobacter hormaechei. Together, these stepwise processes and strain-engineering strategies substantially enhanced solvent titers from WP, demonstrating a scalable route for dairy waste valorization and strengthening the commercial potential of WP-based biorefineries.

Antunes is a PhD student in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Pierre Research Group. Her research focuses on gut health, metabolism, and the role of dairy‑derived bioactive compounds in shaping the gut microbiome and metabolic outcomes. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Nutrition Sciences from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and Human Nutrition from Arizona State University.

Rodrigues is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he works in Hilário Mantovani’s lab. Trained as an animal scientist , Rodrigues earned his Ph.D. from the Universidade Federal da Paraíba after completing both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Universidade Federal do Maranhão. His research interests center on animal science and dairy systems, with experience spanning graduate research and international scholarly collaboration, including a visiting scholar appointment at UW–Madison before his postdoctoral role.

Talk summary: The gut microbiota plays a fundamental role in the health and physiological development of dairy calves during early life. Disruptions in this microbial ecosystem have been associated with gastrointestinal disorders, particularly diarrhea, one of the most common health challenges during the preweaning period. Despite its importance, the microbial patterns linked to diarrheic transitions in calves are still not fully understood. Recent advances in microbiome analysis allow the identification of microbial community structures, or enterosignatures, that describe dominant compositional patterns within the gut microbiota. Evaluating how these enterosignatures change during early life may provide insights into the relationship between microbial development and calf health. Understanding these dynamics is essential for identifying early microbial indicators of disease and for improving strategies to promote gut health in dairy calves during the preweaning phase.

Viquez Umaña is a PhD student in animal sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, working in the Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences, mentored by Hilário Mantovani. Her research focuses on the early establishment of the calf gut microbiome and the identification of candidate probiotic microorganisms to support animal health and productivity. She earned her undergraduate degree from the Universidad de Costa Rica and has presented her work at regional and national scientific meetings.

Talk summary: The microorganisms of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of cattle are responsible for transforming feed into usable energy and protein for the cattle. The microorganisms that arrive first in the GIT of young calves have long-term effects on cattle, since they are responsible for educating the immune system, increasing microbial diversity, and decreasing colonization by pathogens. Given their relevance to mature microbial composition, we aim to identify and characterize microorganisms that colonize the GIT early, or early colonizers. Additionally, we believe they have potential as probiotics within the commensal and native microbiome during the early stages of calf development. 

Zayas is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he works in Francisco Peñagaricano’s lab. His research centers on the application of quantitative and statistical approaches to improve understanding of complex traits in animal systems, with an emphasis on genetics and genomics relevant to dairy production. Through his postdoctoral work, he contributes to interdisciplinary research aimed at advancing animal health, productivity, and sustainability.

Talk summary: In-utero heat stress has lasting effects across daughters (F1), grand-daughters (F2), and great-grand-daughters (F3), including reduced mammary epithelial cell proliferation and elevated cell death. F1 and F2 descendants from heat-stressed dams also produce less milk in their first lactation compared to cooled controls, with F3 data pending. This persistent, seemingly inherited phenotypic change may reflect transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Our objective was to identify differentially methylated features conserved across generations as potential mechanisms underlying these production losses. Mammary gland parenchyma biopsies were collected at weaning from F1, F2, and F3 descendants of heat-stressed and cooled dams and processed for whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. Reads were mapped, deduplicated, and CpG sites extracted using Bismark. Differentially methylated cytosines were identified using methylKit and annotated to differentially methylated genes (DMGs), with biological relevance assessed through literature search and functional enrichment analysis.

Sheybani is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she conducts research in Francisco Peñagaricano’s lab. Her doctoral work focuses on quantitative and statistical genetics, with an emphasis on applying genomic and computational approaches to better understand complex traits in animal and agricultural systems. Through her training at UW–Madison, she integrates data analysis, genetics, and interdisciplinary collaboration to address research questions with both scientific and practical impact.

Talk summary: This study evaluated associations between fecal microbiome and methane emissions in lactating dairy cows. We measured methane production (MeP, in g/d), net energy for lactation (NEL), and body weight (BW) in 704 mid-lactation Holstein cows. We calculated residual methane intensity (RMI) as the regression of MeP on NEL and metabolic BW. We found several taxa, including Methanobrevibacter, Bifidobacterium, and Methanosphaera, positively correlated with MeP and RMI (p < 0.05) using Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Also, we used non-negative matrix factorization to identify microbial signatures across cows and found that the fecal microbiome can be represented by six distinct co-occurrence groups (enterosignatures). One enterosignature enriched in Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group and Oscillospiraceae UCG-005 was positively associated with methane traits, while another enriched in Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group and Monoglobus was negatively associated (p < 0.05). Overall, our study suggests that the fecal microbiome could be used as an easy-to-measure proxy for methane emissions.

Bowers is originally from Houston, Texas and began her undergraduate studies as a pre‑nursing student before discovering her interest in agricultural research through work in a dairy nutrition laboratory, which led her to change her academic focus. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in December 2024. As a master’s student, Abby is analyzing blood samples to evaluate the effects of maternal choline supplementation on calf growth and blood metabolites. She is also working with tissue samples to quantify gene expression and protein abundance in adipose tissue to investigate nutrient metabolism in high‑ and low‑feed‑efficient cows. The overarching goal of her research is to better understand tissue‑level nutrient utilization to improve efficiency and sustainability in dairy production systems.

Cruz is originally from Paraíba, Brazil, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and a master’s degree in Animal Science from the Federal University of Paraíba. He earned his PhD in Animal Science from the Federal University of Viçosa, during which he also completed a one‑year internship in Luiz. Ferraretto’s laboratory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His doctoral research focused on animal nutrition, with particular emphasis on evaluating the fermentative and microbiological quality of silages for ruminants. During his postdoctoral training, Cruz aims to investigate the effects of individual and combined feed additives fed to lactating and transition dairy cows, to understand how these additives influence postpartum milk production, metabolism, and physiological biomarkers to support improvements in dairy cow performance and health.

Talk summary: Dietary interventions that can improve peripartum health and postpartum production in dairy cattle continue to be of great interest. Not only can these interventions be of economic value if they result in increased postpartum production, improvements in health and animal longevity (i.e. avoiding culling in the postpartum period) can have positive impacts on animal welfare and economic, environmental, and social sustainability. These interventions don’t come without a cost, and farmers and nutritionists are often left to prioritize which intervention to use without sufficient research data to compare them. Of particular interest are chromium (Cr) and rumen protected choline (RPC), and the potential synergistic effects during the transition period. Supplementation of Cr and RPC in dairy cows has been linked to improved metabolic function through differing mechanisms. The objective was to determine the effects of peripartum supplementation of these additives on milk and colostrum production, and blood metabolites. 

Pinzón is a dairy outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension, leading statewide programs in milk quality, udder health, and dairy workforce training. She holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a master’s degree in dairy science from UW–Madison. With over 20 years of experience across research, consulting, and industry training roles, her work focuses on translating research into practical, bilingual education to improve milking practices, mastitis prevention, and on‑farm communication for dairy operations.

Talk summary: Mastitis remains one of the most common and costly challenges in U.S. dairy herds, and its prevention depends on consistent milking routines and proper animal care. However, despite extensive research, essential knowledge often fails to reach the dairy workforce, which faces barriers such as low literacy, language differences, limited livestock experience, and varied educational backgrounds.

The Milk Quality from the Udder World (MQUW) trainer certification program was developed to address this gap by equipping on-farm trainers with practical, research-based mastitis prevention strategies. The program combines a bilingual online course with an in-person workshop to build trainers’ confidence and teaching skills. Key tools include portable Milk Quality Practice Kits for hands-on learning and a durable, bilingual Milk Quality Training Guide featuring clear explanations, illustrations, discussion prompts, and QR-linked videos. Together, these resources help standardize milking routines, reduce mastitis risk, and strengthen workforce skills. The program aims to certify 150 participants in its first year.