Former student, Xiaoqiu (Churchill) Wang, has been awarded the 2016 Agri-King Outstanding Graduate Student Award. The award recognizes the achievement of outstanding graduate students working toward the mission of the ASAS: “The American Society of Animal Science fosters the discovery, sharing, and application of scientific knowledge concerning the responsible use of animals to enhance human life and well-being.”

Wang recently graduated with a Ph.D. in Physiology of Reproduction under the mentorship of Drs. Fuller W. Bazer and Guoyao Wu. He received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from China Agricultural University (Beijing, China) and completed an internship at Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo, Japan) before joining Texas A&M University. Wang’s research focused on mechanisms associated with the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in ruminants and pigs which has received world-wide recognition (2015 USDA-NIFA-AFRI Merit Award) and industrially (2015 Global Champion of Alltech Young Scientist Competition). He has published 28 peer-reviewed papers (10 as first-author and 18 as co-author), one book chapter, and 14 research abstracts. Churchill is now a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). His long-term goal is to become a leading animal scientist who will make a world of difference.