The Foundation for Food Agriculture and Research (FFAR) announced Jaimie Strickland, a doctoral candidate for the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, as 1 of 17 inaugural recipients of the FFAR Fellows award. As part of the graduate training program, students from across the United States completed a week-long training course designed to prepare them for successful careers in food and agriculture science.

The FFAR Fellows Program pairs doctoral candidates with academic and industry partners to equip students with the skills needed to facilitate their transition to the workforce. Through the FFAR Fellowship, Strickland is supported by an industry sponsor, Elanco, which funds half of her expenses for the professional development program over a three-year period. The funding provided by her industry sponsor is matched by the FFAR to double the investment in preparing early-career scientists for the workforce.

As one of eight Professional Development Fellows, Strickland also will receive funding toward professional development and her research, which explores how micronutrients, like Vitamins A and E, can improve dairy cattle health.

As a dairy practitioner, Strickland is passionate about the health of dairy cows. The FFAR Fellows Program will not only help her reach her goal of finding novel methods for improving health in dairy cows through nutrition but will give her the tools she needs to teach and share that knowledge and research with students and the public.