In this image, I am presenting my Honors research project to professors across the United States at the ASAS-CSAS National Meeting in Hollywood, Florida.

Author: Audrey Dykes | Major: Animal Science | Semester: Summer 2025

My name is Audrey Dykes, and I am a senior undergraduate student in the Honors College here at the University of Arkansas majoring in Animal Science and minoring in Agribusiness. My research consists of investigating the passive transfer of antibodies from a cow’s colostrum into calves and relating it to the amount of stress seen in the mother at calving. My team and I experimented with blood serum antibodies, lactoferrin which is the most absorptive protein in cow milk, colostrum which is the first milk that the mother produces, and fecal cortisol metabolites to evaluate stress in the mothers. I recently presented a poster discussing the components and results of this project at the ASAS-CSAS National Meeting in Hollywood, Florida. After some encouragement, I agreed to attend in order to form relationships with other students and professors as well as grow in my communication skills. Going on the trip allowed me to broaden my horizons and witness the impact that other scientists are making within the field of animal and biological medicine. I learned about many diverse disciplines of research at the national conference that I will take with me as I continue my research journey. Furthermore, while I was presenting, many professors seemed highly interested in my project and inquired about it in detail. Many of my results were novel meaning that the correlations that I performed had never been reported previously. Therefore, I got to collaborate and receive feedback from members of academia associated with immunology. They provided me with ideas on how to expand my research and explored ways to minimize the outliers that emerged in my sample size. Specifically, I was able to discuss my project with a professor that was heavily invested in the veterinary department at Mississippi State University which allowed me to share my passion for large animals with a researcher, encouraging me to grow in my area of study. Besides my personal presentation, I had the opportunity to gain knowledge in other realms of animal science by sitting in on lectures, discussing projects with both graduate and PhD candidates, and networking with many professors throughout the week. My advice to future students traveling and attending conferences would be to step out of your comfort zone. Sit in on lectures that are completely different from your area of expertise and go to mixers that allow you to engage with other students. It is normal to feel slightly anxious before you attend because I certainly was! However, after removing my nervous thoughts, I was able to fully experience the conversations and form connections with individuals. Attending the conference also prepared me for my next chapter of my education. I am planning to attend veterinary school after graduation; therefore, I will take with me the communicative, innovative, and intrapersonal skills that I developed on this excursion. This conference provided me with a foundation for confidently sharing my research as my future will involve broadening my horizons to a greater extent. I look forward to continuing the completion of my Honors thesis and publishing my work thanks to the assistance from Honors College Travel Research Grant!