Stephanie McKay
Stephanie was born and raised in Texas where she attended Texas A&M University and received her undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Genetics. After receiving her M.S. from Texas A&M, Stephanie moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and where she received her Ph.D. in 2007. After a Postdoc at the University of Missouri, Stephanie joined the University of Vermont in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences where she is now an Associate professor.
Bonnie Cantrell
Bonnie is originally from Idaho and attended Washington State University where she received her B.S. in Animal Science. During her time there, Bonnie worked in the Neibergs laboratory on projects involving disease susceptibility of Johne’s disease and Bovine Respiratory Disease. Bonnie started her Ph.D. in the McKay lab in 2014. Her doctoral research focuses on neuroepigenetics. Specifically, she is working on profiling DNA methylation in the limbic system of the bovine brain.
Emily Stassen
Emily is originally from Connecticut and attend the University of Connecticut where she received her B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology. At UConn, Emily studied interactions between proteins and viral dsRNA in the Cole laboratory. Emily joined the McKay laboratory in 2018 as part of UVM’s CMB Ph.D. program and is studying DNA methylation in cattle.
Sean Quigley
Born and raised in the sweet garden state of New Jersey, Sean Quigley is a current junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences majoring in Molecular Genetics. What piques his curiosity scientifically includes, but is not limited to epigenetics, bioinformatics, synthetic biology and immunology. Sean has been in the lab since his second semester freshman year, working on bovine epigenetics, differential methylation analysis in the Colorado potato beetle, and helping out with other projects when needed. On campus, Sean is the Service and Philanthropy chair for Phi Mu Delta Fraternity, a writer and editor for the Natural Philosopher, and an organizer for TEDxUVM. In his free time, Sean enjoys a wholesome hike with some camping on the side, some fresh powder on the mountain to snowboard down, cliff jumping in the summer, and some craft beer at the end of the day. Lastly, Sean plans on doing his Senior Honors College thesis in the McKay lab before he graduates in the spring of 2020.
Alyssa Cote
Alyssa is from southern Vermont. She is currently a senior animal science major with a minor in wildlife biology. After graduation, her goal is to attend veterinary school. Alyssa is very interested in wildlife medicine and the interactions of wildlife with humans and domestic animals.
Aly Monteith
Aly is a junior animal science major on the pre-veterinary track, hoping to follow-up her undergraduate career by attending professional school and earning her DVM. She has always been interested in small animal medicine but her interest was broadened after she spent time working at the Miller Dairy Farm through the CREAM program at UVM. Aly began working in the McKay lab in the spring semester of her sophomore year, where she has been learning a lot about animal genetics and proper laboratory techniques and protocols.
Jen Carellas
Jen is a senior neuroscience major from Western Massachusetts. She began working in the McKay lab in the fall 2018 semester and is working on the bovine brain atlas. After graduation she plans on teaching and eventually attending medical school to pursue her interests in pediatric mental disorders and neurological diseases.