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DLACS Graduate Students

Megan Lighty

Megan Lighty

DVM/PhD Candidate, Avian Medicine
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
Graduate Advisors: Dr. F. William Pierson & Dr. Tanya LeRoith
 
e-mail: mlighty@vt.edu


Education

2007 Bachelor of Science, Animal Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

Brief Bio

The field of veterinary research allows me to combine my passion for animals, agriculture, and scientific inquiry. While working on my undergraduate degree I completed an honors thesis studying the effects of growth hormone and thyroid hormone on the production and secretion of insulin-like growth factor-1 by chicken hepatocytes. My interest in poultry medicine is focused on the impact of flock health on the nation’s food supply.


Research Project Involvement

Investigation of clostridial cellulitis in commercial turkey operations – Our current research is focused on establishing the national incidence of cellulitis in commercial turkey flocks, estimating the cost of this disease to the turkey industry, and investigating bird and management factors contributing to the development of the disease.


Professional Memberships

  • Licensed Poultry Technician, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture
  • Biomedical & Veterinary Sciences Graduate Student Association

Awards

  • Best Graduate Student Presentation, 80th Northeastern Conference on Avian Diseases