Lab Members

Members of our lab are interested in a wide array of factors related to dairy cattle nutrition and management. Learn a bit about us here!

Madison Simonds

Madison Simonds

Nutrition
MS Student
Madi began her M.S. with Dr. Boerman in August of 2023. Originally from Litchfield County, Connecticut, Madi grew up showing dairy cattle with her local 4H group and rode horses in the hunter jumper division. She attended Housatonic Valley Regional Highschool where she was heavily involved in agriscience education and the National FFA Organization. Madi received her American FFA Degree in Indianapolis in October 2022. Madi graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Food Systems and a concentration in Animal Science. During her time at UVM, she was employed by the UVM Dairy, was a member of the UVM CREAM program, and served as Co-President of the UVM Dairy Challenge team. Madi's research in Dr. Boerman's lab is focusing on utilizing digital imaging to record and track individual cow intake in group housing. Outside the lab she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and her dog Hank.
Isabela Santos

Isabela Santos

Nutrition
PhD Student

Isabela joined the Boerman lab in August 2023. She is originally from Brazil, where she obtained her B.S. in Biosystems Engineering from the São Paulo State University in January 2021 and her M.S. in Agribusiness and Development in May 2023. She found her passion for research and Extension during her undergraduate studies, where she participated in animal welfare projects to improve animal production. Throughout her Master’s degree, she worked with sanitary practices to improve the microbiological quality of milk from small producers. In the Boerman Lab, Isabela’s research involves improving feed consistency using video and data systems. During her free time, Isabela enjoys spending time with friends and family, watching TV series, and cooking.

 

McKinley Flinders

McKinley Flinders

Nutrition and Data Science
MS Student
McKinley began her MS with Dr. Boerman in August 2022. Originally from Scioto County, Ohio, she attended Shawnee State University throughout high school prior to transferring to Purdue, where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Animal Sciences in December 2021. A long-time 4-H alumnus, she is passionate about Extension education and served as a 4-H intern at the Tippecanoe County Extension office before beginning her MS. In the Boerman Lab, McKinley's research involves exploring digital agriculture, informatics, and machine learning through the development of depth imaging software that monitors dry matter intake of dairy cows. Outside of the lab, McKinley enjoys engaging in her community through teaching and supporting local organizations. She loves to travel and goes camping with her dog, Olive, as often as she can.

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Kyrstin Gouveia

Kyrstin Gouveia

Nutrition
MS Student

Kyrstin began her MS with Dr. Boerman in August 2022. Originally from Wabash County, Indiana, she attended Purdue University for her BS in Animal Sciences and graduated in May 2022. During her time as an undergrad she found a passion for research by working as an undergraduate research assistant in a dairy lab on campus, as well as an animal care technician taking care of lab animals such as mice and rats. In the Boerman Lab, Kyrstin’s research focuses on the transition period in dairy cattle and evaluating how prepartum muscle reserves and branched-chain volatile acid supplementation impacts the cows during their transition based on health and production parameters, as well as monitoring tissue mobilization to better understand muscle mobilization implications in the cow. Outside of the lab, Kyrstin enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially her cat, Pumpkin, and getting involved on campus and in the community.

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Sam Hanno

Sam Hanno

Management
MS Student

Sam joined the Boerman lab in January 2023. Being born and raised in Newton County, Indiana, she was introduced to the dairy industry early in her life and was an active 4-H and FFA member. She received her undergraduate degree in Animal Sciences from Purdue University in May 2022. During her undergraduate career, she worked as a student employee at the Purdue Dairy where she discovered her passion for dairy cattle. In the Boerman Lab, Sam’s research involves various aspects of dairy management such as monitoring the changes in body composition throughout lactation, using video cameras to automatically detect lameness, and integrating data from multiple sources to improve management practices. During her free time, Sam enjoys riding horses, spending time with her friends and family, and exploring outdoors.

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Past Lab Members

María Montes González

María Montes González

Behavior and Data Science

María began her MS with Dr. Boerman in January 2021. She is originally from Mexico, where she completed her undergraduate studies in Agronomy in June 2020. María is interested in integrating, analyzing, and translating the data from dairy farm monitoring systems to management practices to improve the units' efficiency and animal welfare. Her project used the data from automated milk feeders to characterize biological and environmental factors' effect on feeding behavior. She applied social network analysis to feeding reports to better understand the social behavior of calves. 

 

Andrew Richards

Andrew Richards

Nutrition
Andrew grew up a family dairy farm in Western New York. Growing up on a dairy farm led him to pursue a degree in Animal Sciences from Alfred State and Cornell University. During his undergraduate studies, he hoped to develop the skills to one day positively contribute to the dairy industry. This aspiration led him to pursue an MS at Purdue under Dr. Boerman. In the lab, his research involved utilizing industry data streams from programs such as DairyComp and EZfeed to develop a predictive equation for dry matter intake.    
Rebecca Klopp

Rebecca Klopp

Management
Becca Klopp began pursuing her Ph.D under Dr. Jackie Boerman in August 2018. She received her B.S. in Animal Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University in May 2016 and her M.S. in Animal and Veterinary Sciences from Clemson University in August 2018. Becca is from Bethel, Pennsylvania, and began her work in laboratories as an undergraduate on research projects at Penn State. During her time at Purdue, she enjoyed mentoring undergraduate students and was active in the Graduate Student Organization at Purdue. Her research interests include dairy calf growth, health and management as well as maternal factors and management practices that impact colostrum quality.
Tabitha Steckler

Tabitha Steckler

Management
Tabby graduated from Purdue University in May 2018 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Animal Sciences. She joined the lab group in June of 2018 and obtained her Master’s of Animal Sciences in August 2020, focusing in dairy management. Tabby served as the Graduate Student Advisor for the Purdue Dairy Club and is invested in helping students interested in production agriculture. During her time at Purdue, Tabby’s Master's project was focused on working with large data sets from a northern Indiana dairy farm. Tabby specifically focused on the effect that total milk consumption and health incidences in automated calf feeders has on overall growth and production during the lactation period.
Conor McCabe

Conor McCabe

Management
Originally from West Linn, OR, Conor McCabe is a 13-year 4-H alumnus and completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University in May 2018. His research focus includes measuring tissue mobilization in cows during the transition period after they have undergone prepartum light phase shifting. In the few months prior to his start at Purdue, McCabe taught agriculture and served as an extension agent in the Central Region of Ghana with the NGO AgriCorps. In his spare time, Conor enjoys outdoor recreation, serving his community, and watching the Seattle Seahawks. Going forward, he looks to combine his interests in the sciences, extension, and global agriculture, to grow the availability and affordability of animal protein for communities around the world.