Dr. Jen Roberts of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine has been awarded an MSU Lilly Teaching Fellowship for the 2017–2018 academic year. This competitive award program enables promising early-career faculty to engage in a year-long exploration of effective practices in higher education.

"As the College continues its pursuit of a new veterinary medical curriculum, this opportunity could come at no greater time,” said Dr. Julie Funk, Associate Dean for Professional Academic Programs and Student Affairs. “We’re excited for Dr. Roberts to work with other colleagues across campus who share common interests in developing innovative courses to enhance student learning. This program will allow her to help shape academic culture and further develop her skills as an educator and mentor within the College.”

As a Fellow, Roberts will produce a teaching development project, participate in an annual retreat, and attend monthly seminars on teaching.

"I am honored and humbled to be representing our College as a Lilly Teaching Fellow," says Roberts, DVM, DACT, assistant professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. Roberts’ project "Assessing Effectiveness of a Novel Bovine Regional Anesthesia Model for Veterinary Student Skill Development and Competency” will evaluate the use of a model created by veterinary students in the Veterinary Simulators selective. The project’s objective is to determine if using a model while training veterinary students improves competency and confidence when presented with a live patient. Her mentors during the fellowship year will be Dr. Laura Nelson of the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Robin DeMuth of the MSU College of Human Medicine.

Roberts earned both her BS and DVM from Michigan State University. She is a large animal clinician at the MSU Veterinary Medical Center, where she focuses on comparative theriogenology and reproductive ultrasound. Roberts’ research interests are improving dairy cattle reproductive performance and epigenetic programming in large animal species. Her teaching interests include integration of models for experiential learning and clinical skills development in the veterinary medical curriculum.