Suzanne Millman, BSc(Agr), PhD
Section Leader - Animal Welfare, College of Veterinary Medicine
Professor
515-294-2817
smillman@iastate.edu
Professor Suzanne Millman holds joint appointments in the Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine and Biomedical Sciences departments at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is an applied ethologist, whose research interests include understanding behavioral responses of animals to states of pain and illness, refining techniques for on-farm animal welfare assessment and identifying practical interventions to enhance animal welfare. Professor Millman coordinates animal welfare instruction within the veterinary professional curriculum and coaches ISU’s animal welfare judging team. Dr. Millman provides professional outreach services to the community in animal behavior and animal welfare, including the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), HyLine International, United Egg Producers, Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa Veterinary Medical Association.
Anna Johnson, PhD
Section Leader - Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science
Professor
515-294-2098
johnsona@iastate.edu
Dr. Johnson earned her BS in Animal Science from Reading University, a Master's in Applied Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh, and her Doctorate degree in Animal Welfare from Texas Tech University in 2001. Dr. Johnson's current focus at Iowa State University is working in (1) finisher pig transportation, with the aim of reducing the incidence of fatigued, injured, and dead pigs, (2) temporal drinking behavioral patterns of nursery pigs to help swine veterinarians and producers know when the best time of day is to provide oral Ileitis vaccine, and (3) on sow productive lifetime with an emphasis on the sows behavioral repertoire, gait and motion with Drs. Locke Karriker and Kenneth Stalder. Dr. Johnson is active in the International Society for Applied Ethology and the American Society for Animal Scientists, and she serves on the Pork Checkoff's Animal Welfare Committee. In addition, Dr. Johnson provides extension services for commodity groups pertaining to animal welfare issues. Prior to joining ISU, Dr. Johnson was Director of Animal Welfare for the National Pork Board. She developed and implemented Checkoff-funded animal welfare and welfare-related research within the Science Technology Department. Dr. Johnson was instrumental in the formulation and launch of the Swine Welfare Assurance Program.
Becky Parsons, MS
Research Scientist II
515-294-2829
bparsons@iastate.edu
Becky started working in the Welfare Lab in December 2009 and has been involved with and managed several studies throughout the years with the Welfare Lab. These have included: investigating tools to detect and assess lameness in sows, effects of alternative housing designs on laying hen welfare, studying the efficacy of nerve blocking methods and pain management for disbudding in dairy calves, development and launch of Iowa Swine Welfare School, studying methods of euthanasia in swine and small ruminants, low stress handling methods in beef cattle, and looking into the behavior and cognitive abilities in dogs used as a human model of disease for MPS IIIB. Becky is originally from Iowa and attended Kirkwood Community College before transferring to Iowa State University to finish her Bachelor’s degree in Zoology. Near the end of her undergraduate tenure, Becky became interested in research and with the guidance of two faculty members, who would eventually be on her Master’s POS committee, completed two independent research projects before graduating. Becky remained at Iowa State to complete her Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology studying the effects of natural variation in brood size on growth of and the development of the stress response in nestling Tree Swallows.
Jan Shearer, DVM, MSc
Professor - Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine
515-294-3731
jks@iastate.edu
Dr. Shearer is currently Professor and Extension Veterinarian at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University. He received his BS degree from Ashland University in 1971, his DVM degree from Ohio State University in 1975, and his MSc in 1981. His primary research interests include management of lameness and foot care of cattle, issues related to animal welfare of livestock and the influence of housing and environment on animal production. He serves as a scientific advisor on several boards dedicated to the continued improvement of animal welfare in livestock production including Humane Farm Animal Care, Dean Foods, and Validus. He is a former Chair of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners Animal Welfare Committee and is currently serving as Chair of the Food Animal Working Group of the American Veterinary Medical Association's Panel on Euthanasia.
Students
Wan-Lin (Lyn) Chen
Veterinary Student
wanlinc@iastate.edu
Lyn is a second year veterinary student at Iowa State University. She started in the Animal Welfare Lab as a Summer Scholar Program student, and enjoyed behavioral research so much that she continued working in lab. Her summer project focused on the beef cattle commingling project, examining the effect of social buffering on cattle welfare in response to castration. Lyn is mainly interested in small animal medicine, and plans to specialize after graduating from vet school. Her interest in animal behavior originally came from exposure to small animal behavioral clinics, but she is excited to work with production animals and learn about animal behavior and welfare on a broader scope.
Jacob Gustofson
Undergraduate Student
jacobg3@iastate.edu
Jacob is an undergraduate student at Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business and started working at the welfare lab in December 2022. From a unique perspective, he enjoys working on the lab’s beef cattle commingle project as an observer and learning about animal welfare. He believes that animal welfare is necessary because every creature should be shown kind consideration. He is also excited about the research in the welfare lab and how it can make a difference.
Phoebe Rosen
Veterinary Student
phrosen@iastate.edu
Phoebe is from Virginia. She completed her undergraduate degree at Marymount University with a B.S. in biology. She is currently an ISU veterinary student in her second year. She started working with Dr. Millman in April 2022 to gain production animal experience from a welfare standpoint as she’s interested in animal behavior and welfare. She is interested in a mixed animal track and possibly working with production animals for the federal government. She has learned so much while working on a project about CBD oil and its effects on recently disbudded dairy calves, and she looks forward to learning more and being able to implement what she’s learned in her veterinary school coursework!
Olivia Saul
Undergraduate Student
osaul@iastate.edu
For as long as she can remember, she knew she loved animals and wanted to learn ways to help them best she could. Growing up in Southeast Iowa, her passion for animal health and welfare was able to develop everyday. She is currently a sophomore at ISU and plans on graduating with a Bachelors of Science degree in Animal Science. Her future plans are to attend Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. She used to be a diehard small animal fan, but becoming a part of the animal welfare team has opened the doors to working with calves as well as other production animals. Her first research project in the animal welfare lab studied virtual reality effects on perching in laying hens, and she looks forward to many more research opportunities.
Emiline Sundman, BS, MS
PhD Student
esundman@iastate.edu
Emiline completed her M.S. in Animal Physiology, with a focus in Animal Ethology, in Summer 2021, and joined the Welfare Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2021. Her Master's research thesis was titled "Environmental Enrichment to Improve Swine Survivability", which focused on using environmental enrichment to target and improve specific survivability issues in the early farrowing and early nursery environments. Prior to that, Emiline received her B.S. in Agricultural Science from Truman State University, with a minor in Equine Studies, in Spring 2019. Her senior capstone project was a research project investigating the effects of round bale hay net design on aggressive and agonistic behaviors in horses. Emiline’s PhD work in the Welfare Lab will focus on the behavior and welfare of beef cattle in commercial feedlot chronic pens.
Past Lab Members
Annette O'Connor, BVSC, MVSC, DVSC, FANZCVSC
Professor - Epidemiology
Dr. O’Connor is an internationally recognized veterinarian and quantitative epidemiologist who is particularly interested in the application of epidemiology to better inform policy related to food safety, one health, animal welfare, animal health, and veterinary clinical practice. Dr. O’Connor has been a leader in veterinary science in efforts to translate research into practice by reducing research wastage and maximizing the value of research. She has led initiatives that seek to improve the reporting of all research involving animals; these initiatives have required international collaborations and have had international impact on reporting in veterinary science.
Dr. O’Connor's professional reputation is also documented through her extensive publications (>100 peer-reviewed manuscripts), invited national and international presentations at numerous producer and research meetings, and strong extramural funding record. Dr. O’Connor has a strong teaching and mentoring record of graduate and veterinary students. Dr. O’Connor also served as an advisor for the European Food Safety Authority and the Food and Drug Administration, as president for the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine and the Evidence-based Veterinary Medical Association, and as a faculty representative on university faculty senate committees.
Where are they now? Dr. O'Connor is currently the Chairperson of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Professor of Epidemiology in Large Animal Clinical Sciences.
Alejandro “Alex” Hurtado-Terminel, MS
Research Associate I
hurtado@iastate.edu
Alex joined the Animal Welfare Lab in the fall of 2017. As a recent graduate from Iowa State University, he obtained a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences. Alex originates from Chihuahua, Mexico. He has a background in biotechnology and informatics and with his mind set in research, he has a deep interest in domestic animal behavior and welfare of animals used in laboratory settings.
Where are they now? Alex was accepted as a masters student at NDSU in computer science.
Melissa Hempstead, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
mnh3@iastate.edu
Dr. Hempstead completed her PhD in biological sciences at the University of Waikato and AgResearch in New Zealand in 2018 and her thesis investigated potential improvements for disbudding dairy goat kids to eliminate or reduce pain. Her research included assessing behavioral and physiological indicators of pain in goat kids, best-practice recommendations for cautery disbudding including efficacious pain mitigation. Prior to this, Dr. Hempstead completed a bachelor of science with honors and evaluated the behavioral response of goat kids to cautery disbudding.
Dr. Hempstead worked alongside Dr. Paul Plummer and Dr. Jan Shearer at Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine on a two-year research project evaluating dairy goat welfare on commercial farms in the Midwest, which included research evaluating pain mitigation for disbudding and castration of goat kids.
Jesse Robbins, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
robbinsj@iastate.edu
Dr. Robbins was born and raised in rural Iowa. In 2006, he earned his B.S. in Agricultural Science and Environmental Ethics from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA where he also managed a small lambing operation. After graduating he worked as Program Director for the Washington State Dairy Federation where he also served as Project Manager for Washington Dairy Industry Research and Education Program.
In 2017, Dr. Robbins earned his PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) Animal Welfare Program. Broadly speaking, he is interested in applying psychological theory and methods to the study of human-animal interactions and issues of agricultural sustainability. To date, he has studied the relationship between farm size and indicators of animal welfare; factors affecting public trust in modern food production; effects of non-therapeutic surgeries (i.e. tail docking and ear cropping) on perceptions of both dogs and their owners; and attitudes towards the creation of genetically-modified animals. Dr. Robbins worked as a post-doctoral Fellow in Dr. Millman’s lab where he developed animal welfare training curriculum for veterinary students.
Matthew Jorgensen, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher - Animal Welfare
mwj@iastate.edu
Dr. Jorgensen graduated from Cornell University with a B.Sc. in Animal Science before going on to pursue a Master's degree in Applied Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Animal Science from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Jorgensen's research has focused on implementing population health techniques and precision technologies to assess and improve the welfare of young animals in domestic and semi-domestic agricultural systems. He also retains a strong interest in animal behavior and welfare across the realms of domestic, captive exotic, and wildlife. His current work focuses on developing tools for animal welfare instruction in veterinary schools across the United States. He has also been involved as a faculty member at Saint Catherine University in the development and delivery of undergraduate coursework in animal behavior, behavioral ecology, and animal welfare.
Where are they now? Matt has joined the USDA-ARS Livestock Behavior Research Unit based out of Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. He is working with dairy cattle and swine to identify novel methods of measuring welfare, to explore interactions between animals and technology, and to maximize the health and welfare of young animals across production systems.
Paxton Gray, DVM
Veterinary Student
plgray@iastate.edu
Paxton grew up in a small farming community in Minnesota where he developed his interest in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. In 2018, Paxton received his Bachelors of Science degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University and recently finished up his first year of vet school at Iowa State's College of Veterinary Medicine. Paxton enjoys working with cattle and has an interest in cattle behavior and handling. He looks forward to broadening his scope of animal welfare and behavior through his work in the animal welfare lab.
Where are they now? Dr. Gray has since earned is doctorate of veterinary medicine.
Samantha (Sam) Wilson, DVM
Veterinary Student
samw14@iastate.edu
Sam grew up in Lake Zurich, IL where she developed a passion for animals and the environment. Sam pursued her wildlife interest and received her Bachelor’s in Wildlife Conservation with a Minor in Geographic Information Systems from Virginia Tech in May 2018. While at Virginia Tech, Sam participated in a black bear research lab, worked as an aquaculture lab assistant, and learned about food animal production on a dairy farm. As a veterinary student at Iowa State, Sam is excited to learn more about poultry this summer and hopes working in the Animal Welfare Lab will give her new insight into the animal production industry.
Where are they now? Dr. Wilson has since earned her doctorate of veterinary medicine.
Maddison Tyrrel, BS
Veterinary Student
mrtyrrel@iastate.edu
Maddison became part of the welfare laboratory fall of 2014, and assisted with a variety of projects. Some of the projects she was involved with included: swine and small ruminant euthanasia methods, acclimation and low stress cattle handling, and small ruminant disbudding trials. In the fall of 2016, Maddison started her journey in the world of collegiate animal welfare judging contests competing as an undergraduate and currently as a veterinary student. Maddison is currently a second year veterinary student and received her Bachelors of Science from Iowa State University with a major in animal science. Maddison believes that her passion for animal welfare will provide a great asset to her veterinary career path.
Where are they now? Maddi is going into her fourth year of veterinary school.
Jessica Anderson, BA
Veterinary Student
jand02@iastate.edu
Jessica joined the CVM Animal Welfare Lab in Fall 2017 as an Iowa State Summer Scholars Student. She is a third year veterinary student at Iowa State and is currently the Animal Welfare Club President for the school. Jessica became interested in animal welfare at her undergraduate institution where she studied how tailbiting compromises the health, growth, and welfare of growing-finishing pigs. Previously, Jessica worked with Dr. Still-Brooks and Dr. Millman on a project evaluating the behavioral responses for several alternative methods of disbudding in dairy goat kids.
Where are they now? Jessica is currently a mixed animal veterinarian in west central Minnesota.