Alumni & Friends

Meet three new Extension Educators who will have an impact across our state. Also read about some members of our community who have been recognized for their service in the dairy industry, and we remember a late faculty member.

Boy in cattle barn.

MSU Extension Personnel

Michigan State University Extension is pleased to announce that three new Extension Educators have been hired to serve Animal Agriculture. Two people have been hired to work with the dairy industry and another to work with the pork industry. A search for additional swine Extension Educator is underway. Following is a brief background regarding MSUE’s three new Educators serving Animal Agriculture.

Paola Bacigalupo-Sanguesa, based in Branch County works with Dairy Industry in south central and southeast Michigan. Paola was born and raised in Chile and has an avid interest in livestock and dairy. Paolo has a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Chile, Santiago and completed a M.S. at Colorado State University in Clinical Sciences. Paola has dairy industry experience both in Chile and in the U.S. She comes to Extension with many skills and certifications including being fluent in Spanish, intermediate in Portuguese and qualified in Beef Quality Assurance. Paola said that, “Working with producers and animals is vital for the dairy industry,” and she wants to work with the dairy producers, dairy employees, and the animals in order to “improve how dairy cows are raised.”

Martin Carrasquillo-Mangual, based in Ottawa County will also work with the dairy industry across southwest Michigan. Martin (pronounced Marteen) grew up on his family farm in Puerto Rico and received his B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey. He completed his M.S. at MSU, working with Dr. Mike Vandehaar in dairy nutrition. Martin worked as a research assistant during his graduate studies and was involved with teaching guest lectures on mammary physiology, animal nutrition, dairy nutrition and dairy feed management courses. He says being a dairy educator with MSU Extension allows him to be involved with producers in the field and gives him the opportunity to inform communities about the importance of agriculture in their daily lives and provide them with accurate information about dairy farming practices.

David Thompson, also based in Branch County, will work with the swine industry in south central Michigan. Dave earned his Ph.D. in neurosciences at MSU and was program leader and research director with several pharmaceutical companies most recently with Pfizer Animal Health and Zoetis in Kalamazoo. Dave has training in parasitology, numerous physiology techniques and biochemistry, which helps fuel his research interests in animal health, wellbeing and productivity. Having spent 11 years at MSU in his youth, Thompson says it’s an honor to represent MSU Extension officially and to become a part of the institution.

ANS Alumni and Friends

Dr. Maynard Hogberg was honored with the Headliner Award by the Livestock Publication Council at the Ag Media Summit.

Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation

  • Francis and Wilma Trierweiler were honored in April for their dedication and love of God, family, farm and community.
  • Alvin J. Thelen was honored in April for his many decades of contributions to the dairy industry through his involvement in developing one of the nation’s first computer systems for recording dairy production records.

Read more about the Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation in the recent article by Melissa Hart: "Future Success is Generated by Past Visionaries: The Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation Celebrates 60 Years", MMPA, December 5, 2017.

W. Richard Dukelow

We remember Dr. W. Richard Dukelow who passed away January 1, 2018. Dr. Dukelow was an ANS faculty member who directed the Endocrine Research Center and served the research community in many other ways. His obituary can be found on the Lansing State Journal site.

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