Agriculture, Veterinary & Rangeland Science

Outstanding Graduate Student

The Outstanding Graduate Student Award is given annually to graduate students who have distinguished records within their programs, shown leadership qualities on campus and worked for the improvement of our College.

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Erica Shebs graduated with a master’s degree in animal & rangeland science with an emphasis in meat science & food safety. Under the advisement of Amilton de Mello, Erica was a groundbreaking graduate research assistant who isolated and studied certain viruses as novel food safety interventions against E. coli on beef products. She has five published abstracts, one published research article with at least four more on the way as first author, and one review article. In addition, she is part of a university Extension project in collaboration with the Southern Nevada Health District, and she received third place at a national research poster presentation competition. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in the biotechnology or food industries to continue making an impact on the safety of our food. Erica says, "I couldn’t have done it without my advisor, Dr. Amilton de Mello and our team! I feel that now I can really continue this journey to make a real difference in the foods we eat. My time here at the University has truly been transformational both personally and professionally, and I am so grateful to all of the professors and students in the department teaching me to never stop improving. I will miss you all!"