Graduate Student Association
(Executive Committee pictured left to right: Maddie Mancke, Brigitte King, Taylor McAtee, Vanessa Horton, Torre Dunlea)
The Graduate Student Association seeks to provide learning, mentoring, and relationship building opportunities for graduate students in the College of Veterinary Medicine. If you are a graduate student in the College of Veterinary Medicine please join our organization to take advantage of these opportunities.
Feel free to email us at cvmgraduatestudentassociation@vet.k-state.edu if you have any questions.
Executive Committee:
President- Taylor McAtee, M.S. (taylormcatee@vet.k-state.edu)
Taylor McAtee is currently working on a Ph.D. with Dr. Renter in collaboration with industry in CORE’s Applied Beef Research and Management Training Program. She is originally from La Cygne, Kansas and has animal science degrees from K-State (B.S.) and West Texas A&M universities (M.S.). Her previous research was related to high-risk feedlot cattle and respiratory vaccinations (BRD). Taylor’s ongoing projects range from quantifying the influence of cattle health on greenhouse gas emissions to evaluating different BRD treatment protocols and novel feed additives in feedlot trials. This work underscores her commitment to fostering science-based management decisions in commercial beef production.
Vice President- Vanessa Horton, DVM, M.S. (veloso@vet.k-state.edu)
Vanessa received her veterinary degree from Brazil in 2017. She completed her M.S. degree at K-State in 2020, which focused on beef cattle nutrition, in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry. During her M.S. degree, she held multiple management roles, including interim Manager of the KSU Beef Cattle Research Center and Manager of the ASI Pre-harvest & Food Safety Laboratory. Her current interests include the application of epidemiological concepts and methods to support evidence-based inference related to animal health and production issues. Her doctoral research focuses on various aspects of veterinary epidemiology, food safety, cattle production and health.
Secretary- Torre Dunlea, M.S. (tdunlea@vet.k-state.edu)
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, I completed my undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I then pursued a Master of Science in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) at the University of Glasgow. Currently, I am working under Dr. Sanderson, focusing on building transmission risk models for foot-and-mouth disease.
Treasurer- Maddie Mancke (mmancke@vet.k-state.edu)
Maddie Mancke is originally from Washington State, where she completed two associate degrees in animal science and agri-business. She then transferred to Kansas State University to complete her Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences and Industry (Bioscience option). She has been working towards a Ph.D. in Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, starting in January 2023, through the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses include beef cattle health and production. Maddie has been involved in the feedlot industry since 2018 and hopes to return to a feedlot as a research scientist.
Social Chair- Brigette King (brigk@vet.k-state.edu)
My name is Brigette King (she/her). I am a graduate research assistant working under Dr. Herrin in the parasitology lab. I am studying ticks and tick-borne diseases for my master's thesis. I graduated from K-State in December 2023 with a bachelor's in Animal Sciences and Industry. I am currently working on vet school applications. I have a strong interest in shelter and community medicine and volunteer frequently with the outreach team here at the vet school!
Veterinary Student Liaison-