AGNR Students Showcase Their Work in Poster Presentations at Cornerstone Event
Animal Science's Niraj Suresh presents the details of his work at the Cornerstone Poster Session on October 23, 2025.
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
Our 7th annual Cornerstone Event presented another shining example of our exemplary students and the important work they are doing. The event showcased 68 student posters, with winning studies ranging from the use of black soldier fly larva to reduce methane and boost protein in animal feed, editing genes to understand fungicide resistance in crops, to studying how lactobacillus bacteria may kill Staph infections, and tracing contamination from irrigation water into microgreens. What an impressive display of AGNR excellence!
Below is the full list of winning poster presentations from the five categories that frame our Strategic Initiatives:
1) Establish a Healthy Food System and Ensure Global Food and Nutritional Security
1st Place - In vitro and in situ evaluations of black soldier fly larvae as a methane-mitigating protein substitute in dairy cattle diets - Helen Craig (ENTM-Grad)
2nd Place - Characterizing Berry Associated Microbiome of Maryland Wine Grape - Erin Harrelson (NFSC-Grad)
3rd Place - Dynamics and diversity of fungal species associated with strawberry and nearby weeds - Anshul Rana (PSLA-Grad)
2) Ensure Healthy Watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay
1st Place - Dynamics and diversity of fungal species associated with strawberry and nearby weeds - Niraj Suresh (ANSC-Grad)
2nd Place - Cover crop root and shoot biomass in climate-smart management systems - Cassandra Gabalis (ENST-Grad)
3rd Place - Real-Time Crop Water Stress and Irrigation Mapping Using Multispectral Imagery - Nathaniel Chen (Aerospace engineering-Undergrad)
3) Advance Innovative, Profitable, and Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems
1st Place - Genome-wide Association Study and Gene Editing Reveal a Novel Mechanism of Fludioxonil Resistance in Botrytis fragariae - Hongjin Lu (PSLA-Grad)
2nd Place - Impact of an Emerging Strawberry Disease on Different Cultivars in Maryland - Sam Hasselhoff (PSLA-Grad)
3rd Place - Designing Agrivoltaic Systems in Maryland: A decision-making framework for design and site planning - Zoe Holstine (ENST-undergrad)
4) One Health: Improve Human, Animal, and Environmental Health
1st Place - Investigation of Lactobacillus and their individual antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis - Anna Phan (ANSC-Grad)
2nd Place - Metabolites in urine differ among isoflavone metabolizing phenotypes for women who participated in the SWAN study - Holly Childs (NFSC-Grad)
3rd Place - Elucidating the Molecular Mechanisms of Broccoli Glucoraphanin in Mitigating Obesity-Induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - Taiwo Bankole (NFSC-Grad)
5) Optimize Urban Environments Through Design, Green Technology, and Community Engagement
1st Place - Evaluation of pathogen transfer and species specific glucosinolate profiles in microgreens irrigated with municipal and roof-harvested rainwater - Aishwarya Rao (NFSC-Grad)
2nd Place - Plot by Plot: Creating an Educational Framework for the Various Urban Growers in the DC-Maryland-Virginia Region - Rachele Franceschi (PSLA-Grad)
3rd Place - Assessing Ecological Uplift In Restored Riverine Wetlands - Hannah O'Connor (ENST-Grad)
