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September 4, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NMC Names Travel Scholarship Winners

VERONA, Wis. (September 4, 2007) -- The National Mastitis Research Foundation board of directors selected four graduate students - Jose Carlos de Figueiredo Pantoja, Kasey Margaret Moyes, Laura Solano Quesada and Jolanda Jansen - as the first recipients of NMC's (formerly known as the National Mastitis Council) Student Travel Scholarships. These students share a common interest - controlling mastitis and improving milk quality. The scholarships provide funding for recipients to attend the NMC 47th Annual Meeting, January 20-23, 2008, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Pantoja is pursuing a master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a veterinary medicine degree in 1996 from Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, and worked as a field veterinarian until 2005. Under the advisement of Pamela Ruegg, Pantoja's research projects focus on somatic cell count and the incidence of intramammary infections across lactations, and evaluation of modified system of dairy farm regulatory oversight for Wisconsin dairy farms. He plans to pursue a doctorate degree and dedicate his career to research and teaching related to mastitis prevention and milk quality.

Moyes, a University of Illinois doctorate student, earned her master's degree in nutrition and milk quality from the University of Connecticut, and bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in animal science. Her overall research objective involves determining the effect of negative energy balance on the susceptibility to mastitis in dairy cattle. Moyes' research involves examining the effect of dietary-induced negative energy balance on the innate immune response in midlactating dairy cattle - using an intramammary Streptococcus uberis mastitis challenge in vivo, or challenging isolated blood neutrophils and monocytes with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccarides in vitro.

Jansen is pursuing her doctorate degree from Wageningen University in The Netherlands. Previously, she earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree in animal sciences, with specializations in animal production systems and communication and innovations studies.

Jansen's current research at the Dutch Udder Health Centre focuses on communication strategies and social factors related to mastitis control practices. She wants to develop strategies to motivate dairy producers and veterinarians to implement effective mastitis control practices, along with evaluating the effectiveness of communications tools, such as study groups, newsletters and treatment plans.

Quesada, a Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica doctor of veterinary medicine student, is working on a dissertation project that identifies mastitis-causing bacteria and their antimicrobial susceptibility on dairies in Costa Rica. This project involves different farms from Costa Rica's most important dairy areas. Along with improving milk quality, milk production and farm profitability, Quesada's goals are to determine the variation and prevalence of bacteria and the diversity in the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and initiate an educational plan for dairy producers to develop and implement culture programs for their herds.

NMC, a global organization for mastitis control and milk quality, supports the development
of future udder health, milking management and milk quality specialists. A not-for-profit
professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality, NMC promotes research and provides information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality and milk safety. Founded in 1961, NMC now has nearly 2,000 members in more than 40 countries. NMC is headquartered in Verona, Wis.

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