Faculty Award Winners

Jillian Bohlen Associate Professor

Animal & Dairy Science

jfain@uga.edu 706-542-9108

Leadership for the 21st Century

Dr. Jillian Bohlen was recently chosen as a member in Class20 of LEAD21. The primary purpose of LEAD21 is to develop leaders in land grant institutions and their strategic partners who link research, academics, and extension in order to lead more effectively in an increasingly complex environment, either in their current position or as they aspire to other positions. ADS is excited for this opportunity for Dr. Bohlen and can't wait to see what the experience brings to us here in the department.

Lohitash Karumbaiah Associate Professor

Animal & Dairy Science

lohitash@uga.edu 706-542-2017

CAES Alumni Association Award of Excellence

Dr. Lohitash Karumbaiah joined the faculty at the Regenerative Bioscience Center and the CAES Department of Animal and Dairy Science in 2013. An associate professor and director of the Translational Glycomaterials and Neural Repair Laboratory, Karumbaiah’s research team developed the first-ever tissue-engineered glycomaterial, a “brain glue” for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries. His laboratory was also the first to demonstrate the use of an insulin excipient for treating glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer.

Karumbaiah is passionate about student training and skill development, mentoring several undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees into research and industry positions in the U.S. and abroad. His lab provides experiential learning opportunities for high school students and undergraduate summer research interns through the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health-supported experiential learning programs.

Kari K. Turner Associate Professor

Animal & Dairy Science

kturner@uga.edu 706-542-8588

CTL Senior Teaching Fellow for 2024-2025

Dr. Kari Turner was chosen as a CTL Senior Teaching Fellow for the coming academic year (2024-2025). The goals of this program are to provide senior faculty with: opportunities for the sharing of ideas with other dedicated, highly motivated, and innovative teachers from other disciplines who may have similar interests and who face similar teaching challenges; opportunities for professional and personal renewal; funding for an instructional project designed to strengthen courses and teaching methods in each participant's academic department; and reinforcement of UGA’s instructional environment as one that honors and recognizes dedicated teaching scholars; that values a synergistic relationship between teaching, research, and service; and that promotes a learning community spirit on a large campus.

Dr. Turner chose to use her grant money to purchase an injection simulator to further the hands-on learning experience for her equine and pre-vet students.

Todd Riley Callaway Associate Professor

Animal & Dairy Science

todd.callaway@uga.edu 706-542-0962

CAES Alumni Association Award of Excellence

Dr. Todd Callaway is an associate professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences AES Department of Animal and Dairy Science. A ruminant microbiologist, Callaway grew up on a small horse, dairy, and beef farm and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal and dairy science from CAES in 1993 and 1996. He received his doctorate in microbiology from Cornell University in 1999.

Following graduate school, Callaway joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in 2000 as a research microbiologist in the Food and Feed Safety Research Unit at the Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center in College Station, Texas. Callaway has published more than 200 refereed journal articles, more than 25 book chapters, and two books.

Daniela A. L. Lourenco Associate Professor

Animal & Dairy Science

danilino@uga.edu 706-542-0948

Innovation in Animal Breeding and Genetics Award

Dr. Daniela Lourenco is an Associate Professor in Animal Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics at The University of Georgia. Her research has focused on improving livestock production, health, fitness, and efficiency using genomic information, developing statistical methods and software for genetic evaluation and genome-wide association, and addressing issues related to using big data and multi-omics information. She has been actively working with several US and international breeding companies and breed associations. Her multispecies genetic research program has secured over $10 million in grant funds from government and private sources since 2015. Dr. Lourenco oversees a team of 20 graduate students, postdocs, and researchers and received the UGA Fred C. Davis Early Career Award in 2020. She has authored over 275 conference proceedings, 165 peer-reviewed publications, including 40 in the Journal of Animal Science, and 85 invited talks on five continents. She has taught several short courses and trained geneticists globally.

Celebrating Recent Grant Success

Dr. Daniela Lino Lourenco was recently awarded a $650,000 by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture for her grant titled, "The Other Side of Genomics: Methods and Tools to Identify the Possible Negative Effects of Genomic Selection."